LAGC Meeting Notes July 22, 2025

Club members assembled outside prior to the meeting for a group photo taken by Bill Goff.

Vice President, Marlow Madeoy presided over this evening’s meeting instead of Nancy due to the passing of her mother. 

 

Mary Jo Benedetti addressed the group about the need for additional volunteers to help maintain the Chapel Garden. Please consider volunteering for a week in August. The sign-up sheet was circulated amongst members. Please contact Mary Jo with any questions.

 

Rosemary Highman is stepping down as the LAGC Blog Coordinator. We thank Rosemary for her many years of taking photos and managing the club’s blog.  We appreciate the excellent work she has done. Please let Nancy know if you are interested in assuming the role of blog coordinator.

 

We thank Mary Jo Clayton for hosting the LAGC annual picnic last month at her beautiful home. We had a lovely time touring her garden after a delicious potluck dinner.

 

Mary Anne Kurtz brought irises that she received from Larry Grundler to share with LAGC members.  We could choose from “Vibrations” and “Queen Dorothy” varieties.  Larry Grundler also approached Denny with an offer to sell some of his irises to LAGC for $1 per rhizome which members can pot up and sell at our annual plant sale. Members took a vote and agreed to purchase the rhizomes from Larry. A couple of members agreed to take on the project of potting up the rhizomes to bring to the plant sale.

 

Claudia talked about the September 23^rd "Honoring our Past" celebration at the McCandless/Northern Allegheny Heritage and Cultural Center. Members have to register for the event. Please look at your e-mail for more information and be sure to adhere to the deadline.

 

Claudia explained that all LAGC members are invited to enter the raffle to win a ticket to attend the Shining Star Gala 2025 at the Camelot Event Center on Saturday November 1^st where LAGC will receive the Shining Star award.  The club received 2 free seats for the event.  An anonymous donor gave 8 seats to the club to be raffled off.  Please complete a raffle ticket if you are interested.

 

The LAGC 75^th Anniversary Celebration will be held on October 28^th. Members need to sign up to attend the event which is being held at Northmont Church. The cost for members to attend is $22, which will cover some of the food costs and paper supplies. A signup sheet was circulated to sign up to help set up or bring an appetizer or dessert. Please contact Claudia if you want to sign up or have questions.

 

The refurbishment of the sign at the Chapel Garden is underway. There is no plan yet for the rededication of the garden. 

 

Marlow spoke about the November 15^th LAGC Holiday tour and luncheon. Please hold the date on your calendar. Plans are being made for the tour at Phipps Conservatory to start at 10:30 a.m. The luncheon will be held at Monte Cello’s restaurant on Babcock Blvd.  More information about the cost will be relayed in the next few months.

 

The Penn State Master Gardeners Garden in the Park takes place on July 26th, 9am–1pm, at North Park's Trial Gardens (Babcock & Ingomar Rd).

 

We were reminded that we will not meet at Northmont church in August.  We will have a tour of  Beechwood Farms.  Please watch your e-mail for details and let Mary Anne Kurtz know if you plan to attend.

 

Dues for 2026 remain at $15. Linda Brown will collect dues as cash or check in September and October. You can also mail your check to her.

 

Hostesses:  Thank you to Rose and Sue for being the hostesses for the evening. They brought delicious lemon bars, crackers and fresh fruit. The beautiful summery arrangement contained white hydrangeas, shasta daisies, rudbeckia, and coneflower. Thank you!

 Program – Lightning Bugs presented by Allegheny County Park Rangers

 

This evening the Allegheny County Park Rangers, Deaglan McManus and Ranger Zach returned to give another interesting talk to our club. Tonight, we learned about fireflies, also commonly referred to as lightning bugs. Despite their name, fireflies are neither true bugs nor flies; they are beetles. Globally, there are approximately 2,000 species of fireflies, with 170 found in the United States and 33 in Pennsylvania.

 

There are two common types of fireflies: Photinus: which is smaller, lighter in color, and glows at dusk and Photuris which is larger, darker, and typically appears after dark. The official state insect of Pennsylvania is the firefly, specifically Photuris Pennsylvanica. This designation occurred in 1974 because a 3^rd grade class campaigned to have a state insect. 

 

Fireflies have three main body parts: abdomen, head, and thorax. They possess compound eyes, six legs, and a structure known as a lantern. The lantern is the area where the chemical reaction of bioluminescence takes place. Approximately 25,000 fireflies would be needed to power a light bulb. Flash patterns vary among different species. Deaglan orchestrated a game with a few members and program guests to illustrate how fireflies find their partner by looking for another firefly with the same flash pattern.

 

Collecting and observing lightning bugs has always been a favorite activity for children.  The Rangers emphasized the importance of proper etiquette to keep the fireflies alive.  Handle them gently, avoid insecticides/bug spray on your hands when collecting, and use a large jar to contain the lightning bugs to allow an ample amount of oxygen. 

 

Although fireflies are considered to be in a vulnerable state there is an indication that their population is on the rise.  The key threats to the firefly population include artificial night lighting, habitat destruction, and the use of insecticides and herbicides. Deaglan said that to combat these threats we should use motion detection lighting in our gardens instead of leaving lights on all night, limit the use of insecticides, leave a small area of our gardens with taller grass, and don’t be too quick to clean up the leaves in the spring because it probably contains firefly grubs.

 

Our speaker mentioned that individuals interested in supporting firefly conservation can join efforts to track and monitor populations through initiatives like the Firefly Atlas. For more information, please visit www.fireflyatlas.org.  

North Park Rangers (left) Zach and Deaglan McManus

 

 

LAGC Meeting Notes April 22, 2025

 Vice President Marlow Madeoy presided over the April 2025 meeting because President Nancy was under the weather.  We started the meeting with what's growing in our gardens: Epimedium, Grape Hyacinths, Bleeding Heart, Iris, Pulmonaria, Tulips, Daffodils, Hyacinths

 Marlow wished members a Happy Earth Day!  Earth Day is an annual event celebrated on April 22^nd to demonstrate support for environmental protection.  It was first celebrated in 1970. Arbor Day will be held on April 25^th and celebrates the importance of trees.

Kudos to Mary Jo Clayton for organizing our tree planting project! It was a huge success where LAGC members, family and friends gathered to plant 75 trees at the Horse Arena in North Park. The North Park Rangers and Jess with the Allegheny Parks Foundation did a fantastic job to make it a fun project. 

 

Mary Anne Kurtz, Plant Sale Coordinator, spoke about our upcoming annual Perennial Plant Sale which will be held on Saturday, May 17^th.  Please check the e-mail that was sent from Mary Anne for all the details.  Please bring as many plants as you can bring.  If you need more pots to pot up your plants then, contact Mary Anne. Please wear your NEW BLUE club T-shirt to the plant sale.  There is an option to bring your plants to Northmont Church on Friday night at 7:30 PM. This is helpful if you don't think you'll have enough room in your car on Saturday morning. Contact Mary Anne with any questions by e-mail, phone or text.

 

Our May program is a tour of Larry Grundler’s Garden. Larry suggests arriving earlier in the month to ensure we can see the irises in bloom. Club members agreed to move the tour to Tuesday, May 20th at 6:30 PM. There will not be a carpool from the church.

 

Larry Grundler will celebrate his 90th birthday in November 2025. The LAGC is planning to get a card for members to sign for him.

 

Treasurer Denny gave a quick report to say that he paid the few expenses from last month and we now have a balance of $2850. 

 

Claudia gave an update about the 75th Anniversary Celebration. Arrangements have been made to hand out annual plants and seeds to customers at our May plant sale. There will be a new plaque displayed at the Chapel Garden which will be paid for by the Passavant Hospital Foundation. The base which holds the plaque will be refurbished. There’s a possibility of a rededication ceremony in the Fall.  Also, it was decided that the table arrangements for the Member dinner in October will be a live pumpkin arrangement.  LAGC will buy the pumpkins.  Seven members have volunteered to decorate one of the pumpkins and bring it for the tables. 

 

Mary Jo Benedetti gave an update about the Chapel Garden and stated that the garden looks good, but she thinks it could benefit from some annual flowers. She is seeking some suggestions so, please let her know if you have any ideas about which white flowers would suit the garden. There are still openings on the schedule to assist with maintaining the garden. Please consider volunteering to sign up for a week.

 

Bill Goff did a quick show and tell and circulated a spring blossom from the Korean Spice Viburnum which he retrieved from the Northmont Church landscape.  The light pink cluster of flowers has a beautiful floral scent. LAGC has one of these trees planted at the Chapel Garden. 

Bill also talked about the daffodils which he brought for tonight’s arrangement.  He bought the heavenly scented Sir Winston Churchhill daffodil bulbs after Doug Oster mentioned them in his talk that he gave to LAGC.  Bill agrees that the sweet-smelling daffodils are worth planting in the garden for being so heavily scented.

Diana Berendowski reminded LAGC members to attend the upcoming Earth Day Celebration sponsored by Bradford Woods Conservancy on Saturday, April 26th from 10:00am to 2:00pm at the Reserve in Bradford Woods.  Admission is free along with a free picnic lunch.  The highlight at 11:00am is a Birds of Prey Presentation. Enjoy the other programs and vendors. 

Hostesses:  The April table arrangement was another nod to Spring with Bill Goff’s sweet smelling Sir Winston Churchhill daffodils and purple hyacinths.  Chris Kerin’s delicious lemonpoppy seed scones, peanut butter cookies and pepperoni and cheese nibbles completed the lovely table. Thank you for presenting such a lovely table!

 

Program – The Importance of Native Plants in the Residential Garden by Kate Allen

Kate Allen is a Penn State Master Gardener with Butler County and a member of the Wild Ones, Western PA Area Chapter whose goal is to educate people on the importance of native plants. She came to our meeting tonight to explain the key benefits of native plants and why they should be included in our gardens. Native plants or those that naturally occur in a particular region and are well adapted to the local climate soil and wildlife native plants enhance both the environment and our suburban gardens.

 

Kate began her talk by explaining the definitions of 7 kinds of plants.

 

1.    Native – those that naturally occur within a specific geographic region

2.    Pollinator – a flowering plant that provides nectar and pollen for pollinators

3.    Cultivar – a plant that has been selected by humans for specific desirable traits; reproduced through cloning methods

4.    Nativar – a cultivar derived from native parents and bred for a particular trait

5.    Exotic – an introduced species; a plant that has been moved to an environment where it would not naturally occur; when people come to visit or settle, they bring seeds or cuttings with them

6.    Invasive – a non-native plant that establishes in a new area and can negatively affect the native ecosystem

7.    Noxious – a plant defined by a governing body or Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture that's injurious to public health, crops or livestock 

 

Kate spoke about the many benefits of why we should grow native plants:

 

·      Support native animals and insects

·      Water conservation

·      Reduced maintenance

·      Enhance biodiversity

·      Improve soil 

 

She encouraged the audience not to be afraid to plant native plants in our suburban gardens because they are beautiful, as well as beneficial to insects and the environment. 96% of young birds feed on insects. She said not to wait, but get started now.  It’s best to start small and consider the problem areas in your garden that would benefit from some assistance with new plants.

 

Native plants are more readily available in nurseries than ever before.  She recommended

Arcadia Nursery in Washington, PA, which specializes in natives and the Audubon Society at Beechwood Reserve.  The 2025 Wild Ones Native Plant Sale will be held on June 22, 2025, at the Allegheny River Trail Park in Aspinwall and will feature more than 45 species of plants. Lastly, she suggested prairiemoon.com as a good resource for native seeds.

Meeting Notes by Colleen Fingal, Pictures by Dianne Machesney