On March 19, the Beaufort Council of Garden Clubs hosted the West Low Country District Spring meeting at Dataw Country Club.

It was a community event. The ROTC Color Guard of Beaufort High School presented colors while third and fourth grade students from Beaufort Academy sang “America the Beautiful.”

<a href="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/IMG_5993.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-15664" alt="IMG_5993" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/IMG_5993-300x225.jpg" width="300" height="225" /></a>Former state representative Edie Rodgers, a member of Lady’s Island Garden Club, welcomed the assemblage. She spoke of how garden clubs everywhere make valuable contributions to their communities and throughout the state.

Judith Dill, President of the Garden Club of S.C., cited specifics of what garden clubs do across South Carolina. The Blue Star Marker and the Memorial Garden honor active and former service men. Clubs provide scholarships to further the study of plants and the environment. They also sponsor high school students to Camp Wildwood each summer. The mission of garden clubs everywhere is “Beautification, Education and Conservation.”

Featured speaker Amanda McNulty, host of the TV show “Making It Grow,”  gave  a delightful and informative talk about the value of trees. Trees are the  theme of the state garden club.

McNulty described how she planted trees to cool her non-air conditioned house. She also spoke of planting wind-breaks to block the winter north wind from over cooling a bedroom in an “attic” area. McNulty laughingly confessed that trees do indeed hang over her house because “that’s what insurance is for.”

[caption id="attachment_15665" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/IMG_6000.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-15665" alt="Beaufort Academy students sing “America the Beautiful.”" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/IMG_6000-300x225.jpg" width="300" height="225" /></a> Beaufort Academy students sing “America the Beautiful.”[/caption]

She passionately believes that trees passively improve the quality of air both outside and inside a house.

McNulty also explained how well-placed trees in cities make drivers slow down naturally. She believes planting curb side trees changes the aesthetic of cities, making them more beautiful while cleaning pollutants from the air.