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About Ann Arbor Farm & Garden

Founded in 1947 as a branch of the Woman’s National Farm & Garden Association, Ann Arbor Farm & Garden is now an independent nonprofit 501(c)3 organization. Our mission is to promote and support local gardens, farms, and environmental stewardship through education, community service, and grants and scholarships.

Monthly meetings are normally held on the second Thursday of the month, September thru May, at the Ann Arbor City Club, 1830 Washtenaw Avenue in Ann Arbor. For these meetings, the doors open at 11:30 am with a lunch (available by pre-purchase only for members and their guests) being served at noon. Those members who have not purchased a lunch are welcome to come anytime after 11:30 am for coffee and dessert and socializing. The business meeting starts at 12:45 pm with the program beginning at 1 pm. Programs feature local, regional, and national speakers on a wide variety of gardening and environmental topics. The meetings conclude around 2 p.m.

Non-members are welcome to attend the program for a $5.00 fee and by preregistering one week prior on the website.

At least one public meeting is held on a Saturday in April.

Field trips and garden outings are held at various times throughout the year and offer fun, informal opportunities to learn and connect with other members. Most of these events require preregistration and are only open to members.

Flower Therapy brings member volunteers together to share the joy and healing power of flowers at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Women’s Hospital. These are monthly or bi-monthly gatherings. The flowers are donated by various vendors in Ann Arbor.

Civic service gets us out into the community and our hands in the soil! After three years of working with the city of Ann Arbor and its Adopt-a-Park program, we are now collaborating with the African American Cultural and Historical Museum on Lohr Road in Ann Arbor.

As an all-volunteer organization, we rely on our members to get involved in a variety of ways, big and small. Whether it's helping plan and staff events such as the June Garden Walk or biennial Auction, reviewing grant and scholarship applications, serving on a committee or the Board, or digging in on a civic service project, every member contributes to our success. (These are also some of the best ways to learn about Farm & Garden and make new friends!)

Just as gardens change and evolve, Ann Arbor Farm & Garden is changing and evolving too. We’re proud of our long, rich history and the visible impact of our philanthropy in the community. We treasure our Farm & Garden friendships and the camaraderie of working together for a good cause. From that strong foundation, we’re working to build a more dynamic, diverse, and dedicated organization that meets the needs of our members and our community.

It’s an exciting time to be an Ann Arbor Farm & Garden member.

Our Proud History

In May 1913, in the small farming community of Ambler, Pennsylvania, 300 women discussed plans to “promote horticultural and agricultural interests throughout the country between women bound by this common interest.” Organized in January 1914, the Women’s National Agricultural and Horticultural Association elected gardener and author Louisa King of Alma, Michigan, as its first president. Renamed Woman’s National Farm & Garden Association, to emphasize the individual responsibility of each member, the association was formally incorporated in October 1919.

With the advent of World War I, WNF&GA focused on growing victory gardens and supporting the Women’s Land Army, which trained women for and assigned them to farming work as men were sent overseas.

The Ann Arbor Branch came into existence in the fall of 1946, when Mildred Matthaei and her newly formed Horticultural Committee agreed to join fortunes with the national group and its Michigan Division, which had formed in 1926 in Louisa King’s Alma garden. The Ann Arbor Branch was formally accepted into WNF&GA membership on September 25, 1947.

The Branch held its first Greens Market in December 1947 (last in 2009) and its first Garden Walk in 1991. Through these and many smaller events, AAF&G has raised and distributed more than $660,000 in local garden-related grants and student scholarships over our 76-year history.

Over 70 years, our Branch contributed more than $47,000 to National and Michigan Division scholarships and programs. In May 2017, Ann Arbor Farm & Garden members voted to become an independent nonprofit group, withdrawing from the national and state Farm & Garden organizations.