During the winter of 1982-1983, a group of women gathered at the Sublette County Library to begin the business of putting together a garden club. The club is still going strong and celebrating 40 years of service in Sublette County.

“The first order of business was to decide on a name for the club. The day of the first meeting brought terrible weather. There was such a wild blizzard you could hardly see. We thought sage should be in our name since about the only thing growing here in Pinedale at the time was sagebrush. Then someone looked out the window and jokingly mentioned snow should be in the club’s name. With a little discussion and a lot of laughing it was decided. Our club became The Sage and Snow Garden Club of Pinedale.

“It’s definitely an appropriate name to stay ‘in tune with nature,’ at least for about eight months of the year. Next, officers were elected, dues set, chairmanships chosen, and a regular meeting day set. We had 14 charter members. Officers elected were Barbara Pelliccione-President, Martha Williams-Vice-President, Janice Kanski-Secretary, and Ann Stevens-Treasurer.” (quoted from the historical archives).

The club’s mission statement:

“We promote and encourage an interest in gardening, the study of horticulture, 

the conservation of natural resources, the beautification of the community 

and raising the awareness of citizens of any age to the joys and rewards of gardening,”

The club started to put their mission statement into action that first year by starting the annual flower barrel project along Pine Street. The club quickly took on plantings to make Pinedale beautiful – planting over 150 seedling pines in the town parks, hundreds of plants at the Sublette Center, and multiple plantings throughout the town. Janice Kanski started an annual garden tea at her greenhouse each summer. The club hosted a plant sale and organized many educational programs for club and community members.

Besides the flower barrels, over the years the club has pursued many different projects – such as a Christmas lighting contest, horticulture projects at the Sublette County Fair, cookbook, Home and Garden Show, Rendezvous floats, Arbor Day tree projects, daffodil sales, as well as our current projects (listed below). 

Current projects of The Sage & Snow Garden Club:

• Annual Flower Barrel project

• Annual garden tour

• Weekly Garden of Beauty awards

• Water Wise Garden, located on North Maybell Avenue in Pinedale.

• Annual scholarship of $500/year

• Christmas Wreath for Mountain Man Museum auction (garden club holds the record for the longest contributor)

• Ask Flora articles for the newspaper

• Member & community gardening education (hosted at club meetings, Sublette County Libraries, & Sublette BOCES).

• Annual plant sale

• Sage & Snow website

The Sage and Snow Garden Club continues to follow the mission set by the original members.  The club has grown throughout the years, with over 100 current members in Sublette County.  Dues remain at $10/year, the same amount set by the founding members. The club keeps our many projects as the central focus for our existence.

If you would like more information about The Sage & Snow Garden Club activities or membership – go to our website @ https://www.sageandsnowgardenclub.org/  or contact Arlinda McLaughlin @ 307-367-2791.