Margaret Reid was an active member of RGC, and her renowned  wildflower garden is another major footprint of RGC. This is not to say that RGC created or maintained the garden – it was strictly a personal endeavor of Margaret.  However, her RGC membership supported and encouraged her gardening efforts.  Which were a little unusual:  She acquired her first plant in 1932, when Herbert Hoover was president, when she heard of a road widening in Raleigh that threatened some green and gold, a native plant. “That’s too pretty to be scooped up,” she thought, and so her garden began. Every time she heard of any development, she’d get 2 steps ahead of the bulldozer and dig plants until the trees started falling.

Her garden, created over a period of 50 years, contains an extensive collection of plants native to Wake County and the surrounding region. Margaret used principles of gardening and ecology she learned from her friend and mentor, Bertram Whittier Wells. We’ll be hearing a program on BW Wells and his “natural gardens” later this year, thanks to Penny, our Environmental Chair.

“You can go three times around the garden without repeating yourself,” says Amy Mackintosh, who lovingly looks after the Margaret Reid Wildflower Garden, which is owned today by the Triangle Land Conservancy.  Look for open days announcements … on their website.