Timeline
February 1931
Mrs. Alphonzo Bell, Sr. met with friends at her Bel-Air residence and proposed the concept of a Bel-Air Garden Club.
March 1931
The first meeting of the Bel-Air Garden Club with Mrs. John D. Fredericks as President and Minnewa Bell as Vice president. Minnewa vowed to beautify Bel-Air. She named many of the streets from her European travels such as Chalon, Stradella, and Lausanne.
Dues were $2.00 per year and lunch prices ranged from 25 to 75 cents.
March 30, 1932
First Flower Show held at the Administration Building which is now the Hotel Bel-Air. Some displays were near the stables where the Riding Club housed their horses, which later became suites of the hotel.
June 1938
By 1938, the BAGC had put on 8 professional flower shows and two garden tours.
1940
The Bel-Air Garden Club organized the Bel-Air Red Cross Auxiliary and devoted their time to aid in the World War II war effort. Many members assisted the Los Angeles Chapter of the Red Cross. With the garden tour funds and other benefits, the Garden Club purchased a van for the Red Cross.
1942
Garden Club members assisted at the Sawtelle Veterans Hospital by distributing flowers to the wards, decorating the dining halls at Christmas, and the chapel and board rooms at Easter.
1942
The heraldic coat of arms was created by Malcolm Cameron with many components of garden themed representations like sow bugs, acanthus leaves, a potted plant, and a garden glove pendant.
1951
The Bel-Air Garden Club and the Los Angeles City Department of Parks and Recreation, along with landscape architect Edward Huntsman Trout, created a Fragrant Garden for the blind at Lafayette Park. More than 3,000 scented plants, shrubs , herbs, and flowers were planted.
Mrs. Kenneth Blake (Bel-Air Garden Club President) and Mrs. Valley Knudsen
1970
The Bel-Air Garden Club was presented an award for their contribution to the beautification program by the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. The award was presented at the Stratham House during the International House and Garden Tour sponsored by The Bel-Air Garden Club on April 21, 1970. The beautification program for Los Angeles was created by Valley Knudsen.
1970s
Ladies of the Bel-Air Garden Club visit outside a private residence where a Garden Club speaker luncheon was hosted.
April 2019
The city of Los Angeles awarded a Certificate of Appreciation to the Bel-Air Garden Club for their work on a beautification project for Fire Station 71.
Present Day
Bel-Air Garden Club members continue to take an active interest in gardening and all it entails to create beauty and happiness. Our speakers are experts from a range of fields and topics: interior designers, landscape architects, historians, architects, florists, lifestyle gurus, conservationists, royal historians, and academics. The Garden Club schedules unique guided outings for its members to explore and tour gardens and architecture locally and around the world.