The story of how America’s garden clubs became an unexpected and formidable force for social, political, and environmental change—powered by an unforgettable, diverse cast of extraordinary women with big personalities, fabulous hats, and dirt under their fingernails.

During World War I, while the troops were away, garden club women trained a Woman’s Land Army to harvest the nation’s crops. It was an early effort, but far from their last. Over the next several decades, they shaped what motorists see along millions of miles of American roadways. They demanded leaders address urban blight, restoring value and elevating the reputation of municipally neglected, segregated neighborhoods. They muscled their way onto state and national legislative advisory boards and testified on behalf of environmental legislation that protected thousands of acres of endangered land, from California to Florida. Members included women conservationists like Lady Bird Johnson and Harlem Renaissance poet Anne Spencer, alongside countless cafeteria workers, teachers, naturalists, journalists, and organizers whose names history has forgotten, until now. For over a century, garden club women have worked to make America not just a more beautiful place, but a better one.

It’s past time these women were recognized for their incredible achievements.

Sweeping in its scope, intimate in its telling, and brimming with unforgettable characters, this is the revelatory history of women’s garden clubs and their overlooked role in environmental activism, community improvement, and land conservation across America. The spirited, resilient advocacy of these pioneers offers a timely and powerful reminder of the ways grassroots movements can take root and flourish. Garden Club Women is an inspiring and irresistible account of the women who changed America from the ground up.