Celebrating Senior Champions

Community Champions, Group

Eleanor and Deborah Scully on behalf of the Seeders and Weeders Garden Club

The Seeders and Weeders Garden Club was established in 1934 by a group of young women from Pittsburgh’s East End and the Fox Chapel area. For more than 75 years, the Seeders and Weeders Garden Club has been a catalyst for the greening of Pittsburgh. The club's primary goal always has been to “make a more livable and loveable Pittsburgh,” says longtime member Eleanor “Gishie” Scully.

The Seeders and Weeders Garden Club developed its special relationship with the residents of Canterbury Place, located in the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh, in 1987. The Canterbury Place administrator, the Rev. John Fetterman, inspired Ms. Scully and Jean Robinson to invite their fellow gardeners to undertake the design, planting, and upkeep of a new terrace garden to provide an outdoor sanctuary for the residents.

“I enjoy working with the residents at Canterbury to create a beautiful garden in the city.  They always smile when we are there,” said Sarah Woodins in 1994.

In 1998, the Seeders and Weeders Garden Club, again under the watchful eye of Jean Robinson and Eleanor Scully, undertook the design, planting, and upkeep of a new rooftop garden on Harmony Hall for residents in this secured area of the facility. 

As noted in the Seeders and Weeders Garden Club's history booklet, the gardeners “make virtually unused space into a lovely area that allows Harmony Hall residents to see, smell and feel the fresh air out-of-doors and to visit with their families there.” In 2008, the club members were again called into action to design and oversee replanting of the terrace garden after an extensive infrastructure renovation at Canterbury Place. 

This quote, from the Seeders and Weeders Garden Club's history booklet, aptly describes the members' dedication to the residents of Canterbury Place: “It is fair to say that one is not fully a Seeder and Weeder until she has pulled a weed and planted a bulb at Canterbury.”

In addition to their dedication to Canterbury Place, the Seeders and Weeders Garden Club volunteers also initiated and maintained gardens at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Forbes Avenue Parklet, Homewood Parklet, Lenore and Orphan Parklet, UPMC St. Margaret, the Squirrel Hill Post Office, Vintage House, the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children, Westinghouse Pond, and other locations.

This year, we commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Seeders and Weeders Garden Club's partnership with the residents of Canterbury Place, and celebrate the club's tradition of planting seeds of friendship, and brightening the days of residents, families, and staff. Through these tireless efforts, the beauty of nature and the blessings of kindness are enjoyed by all.