About Us

Moringa Garden Circle History

• A group of 22 young women who were members of Junior Welfare, Park Temple Methodist Church Circle, and neighbors of Nelle Ball (our first President) organized the Moringa Garden Circle in 1956. The spicy Moringa, or horseradish tree, was chosen to personify this young, dynamic group. The meeting time was set and still stands today. Moringa Garden Circle meets the first Wednesday following the third Friday of the month —September through May.  Our members were traditionally working women, so our meetings were always held at night.  Today, we have working and retired women and men in our ranks, and we still meet in the evenings.

• Dynamic from the beginning, Moringa Garden Circle's first project was the research and publication of a booklet of endangered plants native to Florida. The effort won both state and national. awards. Other projects included the Poison Plant Program, which assembled an exhibit, and the planting of a rose garden at the Stranahan House. Throughout the years, our members have participated in many worthwhile and innovative projects, a tradition that continues today.

• Members of Moringa Garden Circle have taken many field trips. A trip to the Everglades to find and study native orchids and bromeliads was the impetus that established the slat house at The Glenn F. Bates Garden Center. 

• William Osmet served as guide on these field trips and to honor his devotion to the study and preservation of native orchids, the Moringa Silver Bowl Award was established for the best species orchid in the Flower Show. 

• Members' Dinner and the Moringa Holiday Party are annual events enjoyed by both members and their guests. Never have so many eaten so much!   Last year, we celebrated together for the first time after two years (due to the pandemic) for the holidays where we watched the annual Winterfest Boat Parade on the Intracoastal Waterway.  Our meetings and members are legendary for our food and drinks!

• Moringa Garden Circle and its Moringa members have been responsible for the first Secret Garden Tour, a tradition that continues in the Fort Lauderdale Garden Club today.  Our members also received National awards for automating the FLGC Flower Show, and our members hold many awards within the community for gardening and for civic contributions. Every year, Moringa Garden Circle helps to celebrate National Arbor Day with gifts of trees and plants to the community.  Moringa Garden Circle also plants trees in memoriam for loved ones we have lost with our Memorial Tree Fund.  All trees are planted in local Fort Lauderdale parks.

• One last note: Moringa Garden Circle is unique in the number of mother-daughter pairs our membership embraces. Long may this tradition continue.