“I like to say I came for the plants and stayed for the people,” says Sandra Gilpatrick, president of Beacon Hill Garden Club, an organization with roots nearly a century old and an ever-flourishing reputation.

Gilpatrick, a full-time financial advisor with her own business and a penchant for lush floral print dresses, has an extensive knowledge of, and passion for, the club’s mission and its 60 members—all Beacon Hill residents and gardening enthusiasts like herself.