We had a great turnout for the annual club picnic this year even though we had to adjust the date due to the weather. A huge thank you to our host Andrea Maire and her husband, Gene for making us feel so welcome at their home. Andrea provided the paper products, iced tea and adult beverages which members really enjoyed. Club members brought a variety of delicious salads, shrimp cocktail, cheeseburger sliders and decadent desserts. Thank you to the members for bringing such delicious food. It’s always such a glorious spread!
We had a short meeting after dinner. President Nancy announced that so far this year we have 7 new members. That’s fantastic! A warm welcome to all of them. We’re glad you joined LAGC.
Evan Fingal will be stepping down as the club’s Service Coordinator at the end of the year. This position is responsible for coordinating the maintenance of the White Garden at Passavant Hospital. You don’t have to do all the maintenance yourself, but are responsible for organizing members to volunteer to help out. Please let Nancy know if you are interested in the position. Consider teaming up with another member to co-coordinate.
We will not be meeting at the church on July 25th because we will be touring the garden of Sandy Csikari. No carpooling – meet at Sandy’s house.
The August 22nd program will be Edible Landscaping with Pat Morgan.
The North Park and Penn State Master Gardeners will host Garden in the Park on July 29th from 9am to 1pm. The event will be held at the demonstration gardens at the corner of Babcock and Wildwood in North Park.
Mary Anne Kurtz, Program Coordinator reviewed the programs that she already has planned for 2024 and the schedule is filling up nicely. She asked members for program ideas by way of a survey that was distributed and collected at the picnic. If you have any additional ideas for tours or programs, then please e-mail Mary Anne. We can never have too many suggestions!
Next year’s club member picnic will be held at the home of Bill Goff. Since members are very interested in seeing Bill’s peonies, we have to change the date for the best show in the garden. The 2024 club member picnic will be held on June 4th.
Our 2024 plant sale will be held on Saturday, May 18th. Please mark your calendars.
Just a reminder that the Shaler Great Gardens Tour will be held on Sunday, July 9th and the Wexford Garden and Pond Tour will be held on Saturday, July 8th.
Tour of Andrea (and Gene’s) Gardens
Andrea gave us a tour of their gardens after we ate dinner. Andrea generously offered members a piece of her plants. Please e-mail her if you would like something.
Our tour of Andrea’s garden started along her driveway where she grows tomatoes behind tall netting to keep out the deer. Deer are a concern in her yard and a couple of deer were bold enough to run thru as we enjoyed our dinner. The front garden near the street is a beautiful mix of delphiniums, evening primrose, crocosmia, cherry bells, zinnias, dahlia, black eyed susans, and both rose campion and white lychnis — just to name a few. Spigelia, indian pink with tubular red and yellow flowers was of particular interest to many members who were not familiar with the plant.
Andrea grows vegetables behind the house in raised beds which are covered to protect the plants from deer and rabbits. The veggie beds have garlic, onions, kale, nasturtiums, lettuce and cabbage. All of the plants looked healthy and happy.
As we strolled thru the property from garden to garden we couldn’t help but comment on the beautiful, lush emerald green lawn. The lawn is diligently maintained by Andrea’s husband, Gene. We crossed the bridge to the back of the yard to see poppies, daisies, hostas, ferns and other shade loving plants.
After the tour, Gene delighted members with a fireworks display while we enjoyed dessert. It was a very pleasurable evening being able to enjoy good food while we talked gardening with friends.
Meeting notes by Colleen Fingel Pictures by Dianne Machesney
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