Manakin-Sabot resident Nancy Hargroves grew up in Franklin, Va. where her father was a truck farmer and her grandmother owned a florist shop.

So it’s easy to understand how she developed an interest in horticulture that has propelled her into prominence in the National Garden Clubs Inc. (NGC) organization.

In May she was installed as the group’s fourth vice president at their annual convention in St. Louis.

Hargroves has been a member of the Westham Garden Club for more than 20 years and served as its president from 1987 to 1989.

She was a member of the Thomas Jefferson Garden Club from 1993 to 2007 and served as its president for one term.

On a state and regional level, she has held various positions, including president of the Virginia Federation of Garden Clubs and historian of the South Atlantic Region of National Garden Clubs Inc.

Hargroves is also a member of the American Horticultural Society and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.

‘I’ve been going to the annual convention for the last seven years,” said Hargroves, beginning with her stint as president of the Virginia Federation of Garden Clubs from 2002 to 2007.

Here at home Hargroves has her own special gardening interests.

“My long suit tends to be azaleas, day lilies and perennials,” she explained. She is also interested in container gardening and floral design.

The garden club movement has moved beyond just gardening activities and now works to introduce youth to nature with a variety of programs.

Hargroves said garden clubs are beginning to move toward the idea of “greener” communities, emphasizing plantings that require less water, maintenance and application of chemicals. This means more use of native plants as opposed to hybrids, she said.

She said that today’s NGC members pull together on a wide variety of key issues and take great pride in the fact that the organization has become a powerful voice for achieving “a healthier, more sustainable, more beautiful world.”

Most recently, NGC launched a highly publicized initiative called Plant It Pink, which raises funds for Susan G. Komen for the Cure and NGC’s own horticultural therapy programs.

As a fourth vice president, Hargroves will oversee the organization’s scholarship program, which distributes 35 $4,000 scholarships each year.

The NGC offers financial aid to students and promotes study in agriculture education, horticulture, floriculture, landscape design and a variety of other subject areas for students majoring in these fields.

More information on the scholarships and NGC is available at www.gardenclub.org.

“I’m looking forward to it,” said Hargroves of her job handling the scholarship program.

“It’s always encouraging to read the students scholarship applications.”