President Nancy Madeoy welcomed LACG members to the first meeting of 2026. The January meeting was canceled due to bad winter weather.
The 2026 handbooks were distributed. Anyone who becomes a new member this year
will receive an electronic copy. A huge thank you to Andrea Maire for doing a
great job compiling the handbook.
Rosemary Highman will no longer manage the LAGC blog. We appreciate your 10+ years of excellent
work on the blog. Chris Kerin will take
on the role of managing the blog this month.
We thank both of you for keeping our blog going.
Mary Jo Beneditti will chair the Community Service Committee
by herself in 2026 because Lynn Betz stepped down from the role. If you are
interested in becoming a Co-chair contact Nancy or Mary Jo. Some members have
agreed to help with the spring and fall clean-up of the garden so Mary Jo will
send an e-mail when she is ready to do the work. A sign up sheet was circulated for members to
sign up for the weekly maintenance in 2026.
Denny gave the Treasurer’s Report and spoke about last
year’s expenses. In 2025 we had the best plant sale ever and we gave $650 in
donations. The 2026 budget remains about the same with an exception that the
cost of speaker programs is higher than last year. A vote was taken and the budget was approved.
Mary Anne Kurtz, Plant Sale Coordinator reminded members
that the annual LAGC Perennial Plant Sale will take place on Saturday, May 16,
2026. Please mark your calendars and
start thinking about what plants you can divide and pot up to bring to the
plant sale.
We have many interesting programs scheduled for 2026 thanks
to Mary Anne Kurtz, Program Coordinator.
We appreciate the hard work you do to organize the programs! Not on the
schedule is a potential tour of the Waste Management Plant on Neville
Island. The tour can only be arranged
for a weekday. Mary Ann will inquire
about available tour dates and send the options to members to gauge interest
and availability. Watch your e-mail for
more information.
Thank you so much to the 75th Anniversary
Celebration Committee for all the items that they donated to make the
celebration such a memorable event. Your
generosity is much appreciated!
Thank you to Bill Goff for capturing the 75th
Anniversary Celebration with his photography.
Mary Anne Kurtz created a slideshow with all the photos which we enjoyed
watching at the meeting. Great job!
Nancy shared a thank you card from Bev Steiger. We also
received a thank you card from Northmont Presbyterian Church for donating the
tablecloths that we purchased for our celebration.
Jane MacCredie spoke to members about the hostess duties.
The arrival time has been changed to 6:30pm. Before our snack members took a
tour of the kitchen and closet where the hostess supplies are kept. Jane and Claudia answered members questions
so that they can be confident in knowing what to do when it’s their turn for
hostess duty. Please remember that it is a team effort of the person bringing
the dessert and the person bringing the arrangement to work together to set up
and clean up the table. Thank you!
Nancy informed members that LAGC will require four new board
members and a Publicity Chair in 2027. If you are interested in taking on one of
these roles, please contact the current board members, Nancy, Marlow, Denny and
Colleen or Claudia with questions about the Publicity Chair duties.
Hostesses:
The beautiful pink tulips provided by Jeanne were a welcome reminder that spring is right around the corner. We enjoyed delicious pound cake, banana bread and pretzel treats from Claudia. What a beautiful table to start 2026. Thank you! The recipe for Claudia's delicious banana bread can be found above by clicking "Recipes", then "Best Ever Banana Bread".
Program: Nature’s Early Risers presented by Sara Klingensmith, Education Associate from Allegheny Land Trust
Sara Klingensmith gave a very informative and interesting
talk about which animals and plants come out of hibernation the earliest in
Western Pennsylvania. She explained the definition of hibernation as a deep,
energy-saving survival mechanism where animals drastically reduce their
metabolism, body temperature, heart rate, and breathing to survive winter's
cold and food scarcity. Early risers may wake up to capitalize on early-spring
food availability, to find a mate, or because their energy reserves are
depleted.
Some of the early risers that we may see in our gardens at
this time of year are: bears, coyotes, wood frogs, Great Horned Owl, Spotted salamanders
and some plants.
·
Female bears emerge in April so that they can
feed their cubs.
·
Coyotes are a generalist species which means
they eat whatever food is seasonally abundant; they are known to feed on mice,
squirrels, rabbits, small pets, amphibians, insects and fruit.
· Spring Peepers and wood frogs – they are completely frozen in the winter as “frogcicles” and thaw as the weather warms; they are about the size of a quarter, and the call of the male can be heard in late winter/early spring.
·
Spotted salamanders – can live for 22 years;
they are unique because they make a trek to a vernal pond to lay their eggs. There
is an organized effort to make sure that the trek of the salamanders is not
interrupted as they cross the road. Volunteers act as crossing guards so that
the salamanders can safely make it to a pond.
·
The Great Horned Owl is one of the earliest
nesting birds in North America and lays eggs in February and March.
·
Bees emerge early with warm weather and may be
seen in backyard bird feeders consuming the pollen from bird seed.
Sara also spoke about the following plants that we may find
in late winter/early spring. They may not be in our gardens, but they can
usually be found in parks or wooded areas.
·
Skunk Cabbage – a unique thermogenic plant that
generates its own heat to melt snow in early spring and allows for early
blooming and attracts pollinators and insects.
·
Eregenia bulbosa – the Harbinger of Spring or salt
and pepper plant is a late February early March, spring blooming perennial with
white flowers, 3 to 10 inches tall. Grows well with hostas and ferns.
·
Spring beauty, Claytonia virginica – called the
fairy potato is a narrowleaf herbaceous perennial.
·
Canadian Ginger – a woodland perennial which spreads
via rhizomes to form dense mats; grows 4 to 8 inches high.
· Dutchman's Breeches - a true spring
woodland ephemeral species; It flowers early in the spring when sunlight hits
the woodland floor.
·
Invasive shrubs species in Pennsylvania –
privet, honeysuckle and multiflora rose.
These aggressive non-native shrubs leaf out
early in spring before native species; they takeover woodlands and fields in
dense thickets.
