LAGC Meeting Notes - September 22, 2026

 

LAGC President Nancy Madeoy welcomed members to the September meeting with a joke about the difference between a cat and a comma.

Membership Coordinator Linda Brown collected the 2027 membership dues. Dues will also be collected in October. Dues will remain at $15 per year. Cash and check will be accepted. Make the check payable to LAGC.

LAGC is a winner of the Remarkable Tree Challenge. We won the Community Favorite award for the Tulip Poplar tree that we planted at Northland Library. The plaque will be displayed at Northland Library. Great job to the committee for submitting the entry! Thank you to Claudia, Helen, Bill and Nancy.

Claudia gave a report about LAGC’s participation at the McCandless Community Day. Overall, it was a great success. Visitors to the LAGC booth enjoyed the giveaways of seed and bulb packets, drawstring nature bags and removable tattoos. We also raffled off perennials and Best Feed gift cards, as well as guess the number of peanuts in the jar game. Members passed out information about our upcoming programs and answered gardening questions of booth visitors.  Thank you to all the members that donated seeds or who worked at the booth. A special thanks to the planning committee of Claudia, Helen, Mary Anne and Nancy for creating such an engaging booth, donating supplies and organizing the activities.

Jane, Hostess Coordinator circulated the signup sheet for 2027 for members to bring the dessert or flower arrangement to our meetings. Members who didn’t have the opportunity to sign up can sign up in October or contact Jane with any questions.

After much discussion LAGC members took a vote and approved that we will donate $250 to the four organizations which we usually support: Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Botanic Gardens of Western PA, Tree Pittsburgh and Pine Creek Watershed Council in place of the North Area Environmental Council. This year we will also donate $250 each to two additional organizations: Allegheny County Parks Foundation and Allegheny Land Trust.

LAGC members voted to give a one-time donation of $500 to the Rosalinda Sauro Sirianni Community Garden for their 2027 project of building a new fence. We voted this year so that the community garden can plan their fundraising for the project but, the funds will be distributed in 2027.

The Ingomar Garden Club invited LAGC members to their 80^th Anniversary Celebration on October 19^th. Tickets are $25 with an October 5^th reservation deadline.

 

Hostesses

Chris Kerin and Mary Jo Clayton created a glorious dessert table with mini lemon scones, almond puffs, brownies, cheese and meat tray, olives, grapes.  The delicious food was complemented by a beautiful arrangement of pink/white and coral dahlias from Mary Jo’s garden. Thank you!

Program: “Supporting Wildlife in Winter” 

                by Chris Kubiak of the Audubon Society

A Praying Mantis visiting Chris Kerin's garden this fall! ☺

LAGC Meeting Notes - July 28, 2026

 Vice President Marlow Madeoy presided over the meeting because President Nancy Madeoy was not feeling well.  Marlow welcomed members to the July 2026 meeting and asked members what’s growing in our gardens? Although we all have many beautiful annuals and perennial flowers in full bloom, there was a resounding response that we have WEEDS growing vigorously. Marlow also posed the question to the group of what woodland sounds are we hearing? The response was cicadas and Great Horned Owl.

Thank you to Chris Kerin and her husband Dave for hosting the June LAGC picnic. Members enjoyed the tour of the beautiful garden on such a lovely evening. Thank you!

 

New Officers and Committee Chairs for 2027

President – Mary Anne Kurtz

Vice President – Amy Foreman

Treasurer – Mary Jo Benedetti

Recording Secretary – Karen Barczak and Cathy Rose

Programs – Andrea Maire and Diana Berendowski

Community Service – Colleen Fingal

 

It was noted that the Penn State Master Garden in the Park event on Saturday, July 25 in North Park was a nice event. There were tours of the gardens and free Penn State ice cream.

 

LAGC received a thank you note for volunteering for the planting project on July 8 at Hartwood Acres. Claudia, Helen, Peggy, Rosemary, Colleen and Evan weeded and planted native plants in the new Suffragist Grove. Additional info on the project can be found in a separate Blog post.

 

Claudia Hickly presented an update of LAGC’s participation in the 2026 McCandless Remarkable Tree Challenge

• Committee Members: Bill Goff, Helen Dean, Nancy Madeoy, and Claudia Hickly completed the nomination form for the Tulip Poplar which the club gifted to Northland Public Library in 1999 for twenty years of hosting monthly meetings and plant sales. The nomination form was a five-page document requiring the tree’s circumference, condition, location, photos, and an explanation of why the tree is remarkable.
• A copy of the nomination form was sent to the Northland Public Library executive director, Amanda DeKnight. She was delighted with the nomination and will promote voting for the Tulip Poplar on all the library’s social media platforms. LAGC will benefit from the publicity.
• Judging and Voting will take place September 1-15. A local panel will review all the submissions and select finalists. Residents will vote online for the People’s Choice Award.
• LAGC social media chair, Anita Wagner, will promote voting for the Tulip Poplar on our Facebook page.
• All nominated trees will be featured in a public photo exhibit.
• Winners will be announced at McCandless Community Day on September 19, 2026

Claudia Hickly posed the question about members participating in the 2026 McCandless Community Day Booth on September 19, 2026. Ten LAGC members have volunteered to work at the booth for 2-hour increments. A committee was created to decide what activities will take place at the booth such as pot a perennial plant. Members voted and approved to budget $275 for the event which includes $125 for the booth application fee and estimated $150 for supplies.

 

LAGC Social Media Chair, Anita Wagner reminded members to “like” the LAGC Facebook page when you receive notifications in order to increase our online presence.

 

The duties of the recording secretary have changed. The secretary will only write the meeting minutes. Members will need to take their own notes for the program as the secretary will no longer provide a synopsis of the program.

 

Hostesses

Jane MacCredie delighted us with fudgy brownies and peanut butter/chocolate bar cookies.

Victoria Zeiger brought a beautiful arrangement of bouganvilla, spike plant and asparagus fern.

 

Program  - All About Hummingbirds

 presented by Sara Klingensmith, Allegheny Land Trust Education Associate