Garden Club members from around the region came to Demopolis on Monday, as the Southside Garden Club of Demopolis hosted the District IV meeting. District IV extends as far north as Lamar, Fayette and Walker counties and as far south as Marengo County.

There are eight districts in the Garden Clubs of Alabama, each with their own district meeting in the fall.

“The Southside Garden Club meets on the fourth Thursday of each month at 3 p.m. at local homes,” said club president Imogene Eddins. “We do the herb garden at Bluff Hall, we do Christmas on the River — giving prizes for yard decorations and home decorations and we also decorate Gaineswood for Christmas.”

Those interested in joining the Southside Garden Club should contact any of the members.

District IV consists of nine garden clubs from west-central Alabama, including Greensboro and Fayette.

“We are always trying to recruit new, younger members,” said District IV director Bernice Epperson. “We are getting some, including in my home club in Marion. They are a great asset.”

Among those in attendance at the district meeting were Ann Daniels, the president of the Garden Clubs of Alabama, and Demopolis mayor Mike Grayson.

“We have six scholarships,” said Daniels, a resident of Samson in southeastern Alabama. “If you graduated before 1970, then 80 percent of your education was paid by the state, but if you graduated after 1970, those students would have to pay 80 percent of their graduation themselves. We try to help those students with our scholarships.

“The Garden Clubs of Alabama Inc. is a networking for those who enjoy gardening. We are involved with other organizations like the Master Gardens and Gardens of America. We are one of six states in the Deep South region, one of eight regions across the country. One of the national projects that we do is bringing daffodils to assisted-living facilities to former members of Garden Clubs. We want to teach people about gardening, the learning and the fellowship.

“I am just fascinated with the soil from here in the Black Belt region, compared to where I’m from in the Wiregrass,” she said. “For example, azaleas just don’t grow as well here in the black soil, so it’s just an educational trip for me.”

Southside’s District IV will host the state Garden Clubs of Alabama convention on April 5-7 at the Jack Warner Lodge at the North River Yacht Club in Tuscaloosa.

You don’t have to have a green thumb to join a Garden Club — just an interest in gardening, flowers or horticulture with a mind to beautifying your area. For more information, contact any Southside Garden Club member or go to the Web site www.gardenclubofalabama.org.