Historic Gardening: New club at Granger House in Marion

Barbara Feller, director of the Granger House Historic Museum in Marion, said the new gardening club for youths is up and running. Their next meeting is scheduled for Sunday, May 23 at 2 p.m. at Granger House, 970 Tenth Street in Marion.  They are accepting new members, in fourth to 12th grade.

Barbara said to ensure adequate supplies are on hand, those who are interested in participating should call ahead: 319-377-6672.  The fee, which includes membership in Linn County 4-H is $40.00 per person.

The new club was profiled in The Gazette on April  21, 2010. Here's that article:

Historic Gardening: Marion's Granger House will be site for new club for youths

By Cindy Hadish

The Gazette

MARION - Organizers hope young members of a new Granger Garden Club will cultivate enthusiasm for gardening, and history.

Youths in fourth through 12th grades are invited to join the club that meets beginning Sunday at the historic Granger House, 970 10th St., Marion.

“It's going to be very hands-on, down and dirty,” says Barb Feller, 60, director of the  Granger House Historic Museum.

The museum has about 35 regular volunteers, many of whom are retired.

Feller and others who initiated the club hope a younger crowd will breathe new life into the site, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The students might make their own Facebook page about the club or create other ways to bring history to the modern world, she says.

In turn, youths will learn about heirloom plants, organic gardening and more that will culminate in entering the fruits of their labor in the Linn County Fair and Iowa State Fair.

By joining the club, students will become members of 4-H, with all the benefits of membership, including instruction through Iowa State University's Linn County Extension.

Linn County Master Gardeners will help students students design, plant and harvest a Victorian era vegetable garden.

Lilacs and tulips are among plants that grace flower beds outside the Granger House. An herb garden also already exists near the museum's grape arbor.

Plans call for tilling a 10-by-20-foot plot near the brick carriage house.

Planting a vegetable garden would take the site back to the era where most homes had a “kitchen garden” that supplied fresh vegetables for daily meals.

The Italiante home was built in the 1840s and occupied by the Granger family for nearly 100 years.

A cradle scythe, used for cutting grass, and an iron horse-drawn plow are among the artifacts in the well-kept carriage house.

Feller says the students won't use the old-time tools, but will get to tour the buildings and learn about how farming was done more than a century ago.

Members don't need to know how to garden to join the club, she says.

In fact, Feller and others hope “city kids” are interested in learning about gardening.

The club will meet monthly, but students and their families, will be able to garden at the site as their schedules permit.

Cheri Dickey, 62, of Cedar Rapids, a Granger House volunteer, pointed out chives, oregano and other plants in the herb garden.

Rhubarb and asparagus are among the plants that were commonly grown in the Victorian era that the site could use, she says.

Volunteer RuthAnn Herbert, 79, of Cedar Rapids, says one of the club's benefits will be eating fresh tomatoes and others vegetables grown in the garden.

“It's kind of nice when a child realizes carrots don't just magically appear in the grocery store,” she says.

 Comments: (319) 398-8428; cindy.hadish@gazcomm.com

What: Granger Garden Club

Where: Granger House Historic Museum, 970 10th St., Marion

When: Series of six monthly meetings begins 2-4 p.m. Sunday, April 25.

Who: Fourth- to 12th-graders in Linn County

Cost: $40, which includes membership in 4-H

Contact: ISU Linn County Extension at (319) 377-9839; Granger House at (319) 377-6672 or e-mail:

grangerhouse@juno.com