The Mankato Garden Club was organized in February 1934, and was the first garden club in Mankato, Minnesota. Original membership included both men and women at the beginning, but after 1935 only women are listed on the membership lists. The organization has held monthly meetings since 1934, at which members and guests present programs related to horticulture. The organization is affiliated with the Minnesota Horticulture Society and the Mankato Council of Garden Clubs.

In 1944, the Mankato Garden Club originated and initiated the plan to name and beautify "Victory Highway", a nine mile stretch of Highway 22 south of Mankato, in honor of Mankato area men and women who served in World War n. Members of the club obtained signatures from eighty-five percent of the farmers along the route to ban billboards in the area. They sold trees to area individuals and businesses to honor those who had served. The Minnesota Highway Department agreed to plant and maintain the trees. The project included a recreational area one half mile south of the Le Sueur River crossing. A plaque containing the names of more than 2250 men and women for whom the trees were purchased was placed in the Blue Earth County Courthouse in Mankato.