What Happened to the El Granada Garden Club?

 

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When I first moved to El Granada, I couldn’t help but notice that some of the median strips–especially the one near El Granada Market–were filled with flowers. A sign told me that the flowers had been planted and were maintained by the El Granada Garden Club.

Garden Club members planted colorful flowers and also pine trees–Daniel Burnham style– (if you don’t know who Mr. Burnham was–he was the renowned architect who, during the Ocean Shore Railroad era, developed the unique street plan for El Granada, you know, the one you can get lost in– and, who, intended that there be vast plots of flowers and trees planted along the broad avenues.)

In the early 1900s, flowers and trees were planted as Burnham indicated in his beautiful plan. But after the Ocean Shore went bust so did Coastside real estate, and, well, there was nobody around to do the gardening.

Being a great lover of flowers and gardens, I can’t help but wonder who was going to water all those plants and trees? Who would pay for the watering? What would happen if there was a drought? Had the Ocean Shore thought it through?

Most of all, I am wondering what happened to the El Granada Garden Club….