The Cooper Young Garden Club
We’re Doers, Not Just Gardeners
The Cooper-Young Garden Club is more than a garden club — we’re a project-powered, shovel-in-hand, make-it-happen kind of group. We believe in planting ideas and watching them bloom. Every valued member plays a part in turning community dreams into reality.
From One Garden, a Movement Blossomed
In 2015, a handful of neighbors in Cooper-Young looked around and saw more than cracked sidewalks and scruffy medians — they saw possibility. With shovels, mulch, and a shared vision, they formed the Cooper-Young Garden Club to turn their beloved historic neighborhood into a living garden gallery.
What started small — tidying tree wells, adding color to forgotten corners, planting native flowers — quickly took root. The energy was contagious. Within a year, the club launched the first Cooper-Young Garden Walk, showcasing 23 front-yard gardens and attracting hundreds of curious visitors.
That first step grew into something far bigger. The Garden Walk became an annual tradition and a catalyst for a citywide movement. In time, it inspired Experience Memphis Gardens, a 21-day celebration that now includes over 250+ gardens across 30 neighborhoods.
Today, the Cooper-Young Garden Club is proof that passion and teamwork can transform a community — one coneflower, one bench, and one friendship at a time.
CYGC Growth & Impact
Beautification Grants
helped neighbors turn neglected spaces into thriving green spots.
Creative Collaborations
with neighborhood groups, artists, and schools brought murals, pollinator habitats, and educational gardens to life.
Civic Partnerships
with Memphis Travel Bureau, Memphis Chamber of Commerce, and Memphis City Beautiful enticed international garden communicators from all over the US and Australia to tour Memphis gardens for five days in June 2025.
Arboretum Designations
native plant signage, and street art have transformed public spaces into living classrooms.