LAGC May 2024 Plant Sale

Thank you to all who made this a successful sale! Extra thanks to Mary Ann who chaired the event for another year. The pictures below from Dianne M and Bill G show the good weather, the numerous plants, the set up, and the customer interaction. 

Colleen F showing the "Free Items."

Ready for the sale: L to R, Linda B, Stephanie D, Mary Jo, Jane M, Mary Ann, Denny B, Colleen F

.

Bill G relaxing before the sale opens.

Customers and members during the sale.

Amy and Claudia H.

L to Rt: Chris, Diana, Sue, Dianne, Lynn B.

Nancy M, Cindy S

Club Photo with banner.

Mary Ann, right, confirming with members. 

Check out crew: Jeanne, Linda, Denny, Amy, Jane, and Martin.

During sale photo.

During sale photo.

April 23, 2024 Meeting Notes

President Nancy Madeoy welcomed members to the April meeting which was held in the sanctuary of Northmont Church because Fellowship Hall was occupied for election day.

Upcoming program:  The May 28^th program will be a tour of the North Park Wetlands by the Latodomi Nature Staff. Details about where to meet will be sent via e-mail. Our annual picnic will take place on June 4^th at 6:30pm at the home of Bill Goff. The club photo which will be used for the 75^th celebration publicity will be taken at the annual picnic in June. We hope all members can attend to be a part of the photo.
 
Community Coordinator, Lynn Betts reminded members that they can volunteer to help maintain our Chapel Garden at Passavant Hospital. The sign-up sheet was circulated amongst members.
 
Plant Sale Coordinator, Mary Anne addressed the club about our annual perennial plant sale on May 18th. Please bring your 10 to 20 plants to the church by 7:30am. The 4 inch or larger pot should have a plant tag which contains information about the plant such as size, growth habit and flower color. When you arrive, please place your plants in the appropriate row with similar plants. Please wear your green t-shirt and be sure to bring your gently used garden items for the “Free” table. 
 
Claudia has been working on publicity for the plant sale. LAGC members can help promote the plant sale by forwarding the plant sale flyer that you receive in your e-mail or via text. Please share the post on your Facebook page if you are able to do so.
 
Update on the plans for LAGC’s 75th anniversary celebration: Mary Jo said that details are being developed to plant 75 trees at a cost of $1300.  The type of tree or trees has yet to be determined. The 2025 directory will feature fun facts and photos of the club’s history. There will be a reception, drinks and cake type event in September 2025 at the Heritage Center in North Park. Tonight, the club unanimously voted to have a dinner in October 2025. Watch for more details. Sounds like a fun time!  
 
Our hostesses did a beautiful job this month.  Rosemary’s delectable desserts of Apple Blueberry Pear tart, Chocolate Shortbread, Banana Pineapple Cake and pretzels were devoured by members and our guests.  Helen’s Lily of the Valley and ceramic frogs completed the lovely tablescape. Thank you ladies!
 

Helen Dean

 Program Notes
 
The Spectacular Gardens of New Zealand by Martin Karl, LAGC Member
 
Club members and guests were delighted to have our fellow club member introduce us to the many fascinating gardens in New Zealand. Martin has enjoyed visiting this country 6 times for a total of 7 months.  The reason for his travels is to see his son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren while exploring the beautiful gardens and enjoying the fantastic views is a bonus.
 

Martin Karl

He began his talk by giving us a few interesting facts about New Zealand:  the country has 4.5 million citizens; the citizens speak English and Maori; the country is about the same size as Colorado; sheep farming and tourism are the primary industries; it’s the last territory settled by humans.
 
Taking care of the land and environment is very important to the people of New Zealand.  There is a rigorous recycling program and toilet habits to conserve water. Most importantly, New Zealanders started a national campaign in 2016 called Predator Free 2050 with the goal of completely removing rats, stoats and possums from the country in order to let the native plants and birds thrive again. They are already seeing progress of birds multiplying and plants and trees growing in the barren land that was destroyed by non-native mammals.
 
Martin explained that every city has a free public garden. His photos show that both public and private spaces are filled with flowers and trees. Roses are a spectacular favorite flower among all the gardens.
 
Of the many gardens that Martin has visited, Hamilton Gardens is his favorite. He likes this garden the best because it has many different themed garden rooms such as, Chinese, English, Indian and Japanese where each one features the plants, trees and structures unique to that country.
 
Wellington Gardens is special because it has a cable car which gives visitors a terrific view of the plants and trees nestled within the terrain.
 
Otari Native Botanic Garden is the only public botanic garden in New Zealand which is dedicated solely to native plants.
 

Dunedin Scottish Garden features some of the oldest trees in New Zealand. One of the trees is 800 years old.
 Otepuni Garden was developed out of what was called the Queens Park and features a stream which draws in many native birds.
Martin gave a very informative talk and it was a pleasure to see Martin’s photos of the beautiful gardens he enjoyed visiting in New Zealand.  
 
 Meeting Notes by Colleen Fingal

Pictures by RoseMary Highman