There are many perennials that plant lovers can enjoy in the Pacific Northwest, and Enumclaw has a special one — the local Garden Club.

The Enumclaw Garden Club has been helping beautify local lawns and the city as a whole for more than a century, and you may have seen their work without realizing it, as the group maintains potted flowers both at Enucmlaw’s City Hall and the Veteran’s Memorial Park, the senior center flowerbeds. The EGC is also responsible for the elk statues that greet residents and visitors alike as they drive north into the city on state Route 410.

The group currently has around 100 members and is headed by President Marilyn Cooper; she’s no stranger to gardening, but she’s relatively new to the EGC, having only joined up after the COVID-19 pandemic subsided as a way to meet more people.

Both Cooper and her VP, Debbie B’Hymer, said the group was very welcoming to them, as exemplified by the fact that they’re both “new blood” in leadership roles. And even though they’ve been gardening their whole lives, they’ve also learned a lot from the group’s Master Gardeners.

“We have some members that are so knowledgeable. It’s frightening,” Cooper said.

Unlike most flowers, the EGC seems to be most active as a group in the fall to the spring, since the summer is gardening season, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have events in the summertime, like hosting garden tours and tea parties.

Meetings are monthly from September to May on the fourth Wednesday of the month, and are held at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1949 Hall (44426 244th Ave SE), starting at 9:30 a.m. with coffee and tea. There are often outside presenters that attend the meetings — March’s guest was Bryn Tavasci from the Washington State Federation of Garden Clubs’ Chinook District, who talked about creative garden crafts people could make from common recyclables.

Beyond the Breakfast for the Birds event every spring, May’s annual plant sale is one of the group’s biggest events of the year.

This year, the sale is scheduled for May 11 (Mother’s Day weekend), 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the corner of Cole Street and Initial Avenue. Cooper said that most of the plants come from their members (or are donated), and all the proceeds help fund the nonprofit.

“Its our big money maker for the year,” Cooper said.

To join the club, you can download membership documents at enumclawgardenclub.info; dues are $25 a year.