History
The Idea of a Garden Club
Minnewa Bell explored the idea of forming the Bel-Air Garden Club during a 1931 luncheon she held for her dearest friends and neighbors at her vast home, Capo di Monte (Top of the Mountain). At that time, she and her husband, Alphonzo Bell, had been living at their estate for more than eight years since the Alphonzo Bell Company had purchased land and developed the community of Bel-Air.
Her guests agreed and decided the first official meeting would take place the following month. At the conclusion of the luncheon, true to the garden theme, there was a reading of Rudyard Kipling’s poem The Glory of the Garden and a local florist demonstrated how to create the perfect corsage bouquet.
“Our England is a garden that is full of stately views,
Of borders, beds and shrubberies and lawns and avenues,
With statues on the terraces and peacocks strutting by;
But the Glory of the Garden lies in more than meets the eye.”
The First Meeting
The first official meeting of the Bel-Air Garden Club was held at the Bel-Air Administration Building, today known as the Hotel Bel-Air. The attendees agreed that “the principle objective of the club is for its members to develop an active interest in gardening with its multiplicity of opportunities to create beauty and happiness.”
Minnewa added that the Club would also maintain the beauty of Bel-Air and promote civic beautification. The dues were $2 per year, and the price of lunches ranged from 25¢ to 75¢ per person.
The Club’s Work & Projects
Over the next years, the Garden Club held successful annual flower shows in the Administration Building attended by thousands, as well as annual public tours of residential gardens. Sometimes the house tours went until 10 p.m. The Club also scattered wildflower seeds over barren hills and assisted in the beautification of the greater Los Angeles area.
The flower shows were suspended during World War II so that members could organize the Bel-Air Red Cross Auxiliary and raise money to buy a van for the Red Cross. During and after the war, the Club also focused on helping the soldiers at the Sawtelle Veterans Home by bringing flowers to the wards and decorating the dining halls, chapel, and board rooms for holidays.
The Garden Club Today
Today the Bel-Air Garden Club still provides funds for the community and decorates the East Gate and West Gate at Christmas. It also contributes to Bel-Air’s landscaping by maintaining street triangles and islands and other projects.
The Club has a long tradition of hosting speakers and creating private tours for its members to explore gardens and architecture in Southern California and around the world.
Members continue to actively pursue the club’s motto to this day.
