Since its dedication on June 10, 2007, ladies of the Dominion Valley Garden Club have maintained a colorful, patriotic garden in front of the Fairfax Station Railroad Museum. The garden encircles a Blue Star Memorial, a marker that’s part of a program from the National Garden Clubs of America to honor men and women in the military.

“It’s something in our backyard that we could enjoy,” said former Dominion Valley Garden Club president and Fairfax Station resident Pat Stephenson.

Current president Claire Rolince said each year, a team from the club comes out in the spring to clean and update planting in the garden, then maintains it at regular intervals through November. At that point they trim it down for the winter.

Before meeting on April 28, some of the trimming and weeding had already been done in preparation for a regional garden tour on April 21. Tuesday’s update included a more trimming, replacing purple-and-yellow pansies with red begonias and a few others for a patriotic theme, and adding fresh mulch and water to the site.

The Dominion Valley Garden Club is part of the National Capital Area Garden Clubs. For more information or to become involved, contact past president and current membership chair Cindy Loughran via email at vacindy@cox.net.