In 1915, twenty-five civic-minded women established the Middletown Garden Club. Today the club's thirty-eight men and women from thirteen towns have the same goals and interests as the original members: preserving land for conservation, respecting the environment, honoring the art and creativity of flower arrangements, disseminating knowledge of horticulture, and just enjoying the pleasures of the garden.

In the early years, meetings took place in members' homes and gardens and each meeting was followed by a Board of Gardeners report of what was in bloom. Inspections by the Board were a requirement of membership. Men were invited to join as were gardeners from surrounding towns. The Board of Gardeners made garden books & catalogs available to all. Members spoke at meetings on gardening subjects and the club sponsored speakers, including Beatrix Farrand, the only woman among the founders of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

 

The Middletown Garden Club has a long history of civic projects that benefited the community. Early on, a garden fete was held to benefit Middlesex Hospital. During World War I, members pooled their money to buy a Liberty Bond to support the war effort, and when the bond came due that money was donated to war torn France for the purchase of fruit trees. During World War II, members supported the war effort by meeting in a central location to conserve fuel and then adjourning to the deKoven House to fold gauze bandages.
 

Funds for club projects mostly came from dues, which were $1 a year in 1915 and rose steadily over the years. A very successful fund raising project, the 1926 manufacture and marketing of garden stakes, netted the club $846.75, which was used to plant an underpass and the hospital grounds. Dues still cover most of the operating costs of the club today.
 

The club joined the Garden Club of America in 1920 and was one of the founding members of the Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut in 1926.