Welcome to the MiraCosta Horticulture Club. What began in 1989 as a small group of garden lovers has grown to 60 plus members, from passionate beginners to advanced gardeners.
Our activities range from workshops, programs, plant sales at our friendly monthly meetings. We share knowledge on gardening and learn from guest speakers.
June 2009 Growing Pains Newsletter - Click here
Plant of the Month - Geranium maderense - Click here
President’s Notes June 2009
We have come to the end of the club year and will be celebrating our achievements. Our June 20th meeting at 12:45 will be at the Alta Vista Garden House. As usual, we’ll have our potluck luncheon. The club will provide the meats and we’ll all bring things to go with it. With all of the new plantings and improvements in the garden, I know you’ll enjoy the experience. We have invited our scholarship recipients and their families to attend and let us know what plans they have for their careers in horticulture. It will be nice to meet them. We will have our new officers installed by our new Palomar District Director, Jane McKee. I know you will find her as energetic and enthusiastic as the other clubs have. All in all, it should be a memorable occasion.
Our propagation efforts are starting again. Earlier this month I ended up with a whole bucket of buddleia cuttings from a friend. Those are in pots hoping to sprout along with a few other cuttings that happened while I was weeding my beds. Shelley Grossman has offered us the opportunity to harvest alstromeria starts and other cuttings from her yard at 9:30 on June 8th. We’ll be potting them up on the 9th in the greenhouse at 10AM. Please let me know if you’ll be joining the group. By starting extra early, we hope to have larger plants for the coming year’s sale. At the AVG earth day plant sale, they used pictures of the plants in bloom to sell various plants. It seemed like a great idea; they laminated the little cards so they can be re-used from year to year. If you have plants you plan to propagate for the sale that are in bloom, please take a picture of the flowers. If you don’t have a camera, give me a call and I’ll come over to take the pictures. That should increase our sales by letting our customers know what to expect.
The Palomar District is hosting the CGCI Winter Board meeting Jan 7 to 10th, 2010. It will be held at the Dana Resort on Mission Bay in San Diego. They are looking for volunteers to man registration tables, sales and raffle tables and to act as hostesses, or hosts for the meal tables and other exciting opportunities. There will be speakers and workshops that you might want to attend. This is an excellent opportunity to meet gardeners from the rest of the state. If you would like to become involved; email Joan Blankenship or telephone Joan at 858-488-5618 .
At last, my two years as president are about to end. They have been filled with events and gardening. I have enjoyed much of the experience; but I am glad to hand off the responsibility to our capable Louise Ortega. I will continue to be active in the club. Thanks so much to all of you for your support over the last two years. It has made what we’ve achieved possible. Our propagation program has taken off and we have all learned how to make plants from almost nothing!
Thanks to Ed Fitzgerald, we have continued to have excellent programs. Kathy Mason has been a powerhouse as membership chair. Without her phoning, much wouldn’t have been done. Louise Ortega has shown her leadership an organizational ability with wonderful tours. Edie Sahlin, Mary Nelson and Kathy Mason have helped with preparation of our yearbooks. Kim Cyr has not only continued her wonderful efforts in our newsletter, but also helped a great deal in the greenhouse. In addition, she’s been the procuress of TURTLES! If you didn’t know, Kim is a marathon level shopper. Rusty Sathrum has continued to provide world class mulch to members. Don Nelson has helped in the greenhouse, procured perlite and potting soil by the ton, and generally been supportive of club activities. Shirley Borden has been a greenhouse helper, and has taken over the coffee duties for our meetings. Bunny Moore has not only kept our financial records and paid our bills, but also hosted many board meetings. Ted Matter’s continuing work in our AV department has made sure that speakers are heard and seen when needed. Geri Matter has continued to publicize our meetings and plant sale in style. Without Edie Sahlin, we wouldn’t have our red tablecloths clean and wrinkle free. Dottie Logan has not only been there for our opportunity table drawings, but she also provided valuable advice. Dottie Fischer has been energetic in rattling the Penny Pines Jar and encouraged record contributions to the reforestation efforts. These aren’t all of the members who have helped to make our club successful. This club has a wealth of active and involved members. Thank you one and all for your involvement and assistance.
