Phipps Conservatory Tour & Holiday Luncheon, Nov. 15, 2025

Meeting Notes by Colleen Fingal, pictures by Dianne Machesney

President Nancy Madeoy welcomed members to our holiday luncheon at Monte Cello’s.  Vice President Marlow was thanked for organizing the tour of Phipps Conservatory and the holiday luncheon.

Marlow Madeoy at Phipps.

Linda, Amy, Cindy, Chris, Nancy, Marlow, Jane, new member Maureen

Vickie, Denny, Colleen, Laurie (Jeanne's daughter), Claudia, Jeanne, Linda

Bill, Rose Mary, Linda, Diana, Martin, Mary Jo

Marlow summarized the activities of LAGC over the last year and recognized members for their special contributions.  Mary Jo Clayton organized the planting of trees in North Park; Claudia Hickly for leading her group of volunteers in planning the 75^thAnniversary Celebration and potluck dinner, Amy Foreman for getting a new plaque at the Chapel Garden.

Treasurer, Denny, spoke about the donations we routinely give to the 4 organizations that are listed in the handbook: Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Botanic Gardens of Western PA, North Area Environmental Council and Tree Pittsburgh.  Members voted and approved to give $250 to each of those organizations. In addition to those organizations, members voted and approved to donate $250 to the Latodami Nature Center and $100 to Northmont United Presbyterian Church.

The hostess sign up list was circulated to fill in 2 empty slots for hostess duty for 2026.  Thank you to all the members who volunteered to bring a dessert or an arrangement to our meetings. 

Rose Mary Highman is stepping down as the Blog Coordinator.  Chris Kerin volunteered to assume the position starting in January 2026. We thank Rose Mary for the excellent work she has done for the blog since 2015.  We appreciate your hard work and time! 

Claudia gave a quick update about 10 LAGC members attending the Shining Star Gala on November 1, 2025.  Besides for some audiovisual issues, it was a beautiful evening.  Members enjoyed a delicious meal.  It’s a great honor that LAGC was recognized by the McCandless/Northern Allegheny Heritage and Cultural Center as a Shining Star.

 

 

Program – Holiday Tour at Phipps Conservatory

The LAGC holiday tour this year was held at Phipps Conservatory for the Phipps Holiday Magic Tour. The theme for 2025 is “Wild Winter” and the display was a tribute to wildlife in the winter season. In addition to the usual plants, we think of during the holiday season such as amaryllis and poinsettias, Phipps had topiaries of winter animals such as reindeer, polar bears and overwintering birds.

Members began the tour in the Palm Court which featured beautifully decorated bird houses and naturally decorated trees with pinecones and winter greens. The Serpentine room theme is Under the Sea and features an octopus, turtles, and jellyfish swimming above visitors and a motorized clamshell which opens and closes. The colors of the plants and decorations are blue and green to give a feeling of being underwater.  The Gallery room has scenes of a cozy home decorated for the holidays. There’s a dining room table scene and a living room scene and features topiary dogs and cats throughout the displays. It’s amazing what the staff of Phipps can do with plants to make items look realistic!

The Garden Railroad features the “Age of Dinosaurs”.  The display has miniature dinosaurs; a waterfall and steam rising from lava rocks.  The succulent and rock garden plants complete the display which is enjoyed by children and children at heart. It was a very enjoyable time as we strolled through the Phipps Garden rooms and played along with the game of finding the hidden bird in each room dressed in holiday decorations. The special holiday displays were fantastic!  The glassrooms that did not receive the holiday touch such as the cactus room, Japanese garden and tropical forest did not disappoint.  These plant collections are still a wonderful part of the tour of Phipps Conservatory, and we enjoyed seeing them. We concluded the tour back where we started and took a group photo.

After the tour of Phipps Conservatory about 22 members met at Monte Cello’s Restaurant on Babcock Boulevard for our holiday luncheon.  We were seated in a separate dining room especially for our party. Members were able to select their meal choice from the menu. We all enjoyed our time spent with fellow members and talked about gardening or our upcoming holiday plans with family and friends.

It was a very enjoyable day.  Happy Holidays to all LAGC members.  We’ll see you next year for more educational programs and our annual plant sale.

The Dogs' Table.

Each room had a decorated chicken.

A tropical paradise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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's 75th Anniversary: Planted 75 Native Trees in North Park, April 11, 2025

Congratulations to our membership for successfully planting 75 trees this past Friday. As you may remember, we collaborated with Allegheny County Parks Foundation and Tree Pittsburgh on this special project. Their representatives were thereas well as a reporter from the Tribune and several of our family members and neighbors. All participants agreed that it was a wonderful experience.

Mary Jo Clayton did a marvelous job initiating this project and organizing every detail. She inspired us with her comments and the "tree poem" she read just before we had our tree planting tutorial from Ranger Braeden Meiter. Kudos to Mary Jo for her

dedication and leadership.

Anita Wagner posted the tree planting photos to our Facebook page and Rose Mary Highman will post them to our blog. 

From Claudia Hickly

Cages or tubes protect from deer.

Ranger Braedin Meiter gives planting instructions.

North Park Rangers assisted (note that each pot contains a tree).

Linda Ferguson & Dianne Machesney dressed for the weather.

Wearing new blue LAGC shirts.

All done, 75 native trees planted. Longvue Acres Garden Club thanks our members over the years, North Park Rangers, Tree Pittsburgh, & the Allegheny County Parks Foundation. 

Chair of the 75th anniversary tree planting is Mary Jo Clayton, middle row, 3rd from left. 

Claudia Hickly & Mary Jo Benedetti with newly planted, staked, and tubed tree.

Jane MacCredie & Amy Foreman clearing the grass from the tree hole.

Mary Jo Clayton, chair of the tree planting, reads a poem about trees.

Linda Ferguson, Kate Powell, Mary Jo Clayton, & Chris Kerin are ready to return the shovel.

March 2025 Meeting Notes

 President Nancy Madeoy welcomed members to the March 2025 meeting of the LAGC. 

Nancy had a joke for the group.  What kind of pickles do gardeners like?  Daffodils!

 We have a new LACG member: Mark Donatelli.  He did not attend the March meeting. We hope to welcome him at the April meeting.

 We were reminded about the upcoming Tree Planting Service Project which is scheduled for Friday, April 11^th at the Horse Arena in North Park.  We’ll begin at 3:00pm and work until we’re done.  We anticipate completing the project by about 6:00pm but, if we have great participation then we could be done even earlier. Parking is available at the location. All the tools will be provided. It’s suggested that you bring your own gloves. Please wear your new LAGC T-shirt. The event will occur regardless of the weather so please be sure to dress appropriately.  The North Park Rangers will provide a tutorial to show how to plant the trees.  Members are encouraged to bring kids and grandkids to participate in the planting process. Drinking water will be available for participants.  

 The Penn State Master Garden Symposium will be held on Saturday, April 26th at the Hampton Community Center. Last month LAGC members voted to be a “Friend” of PSMG and will have our club name printed in the program brochure. The symposium is a great opportunity to do some shopping for plants even if you don’t want to attend the symposium.

 Mary Ann Kurtz, Plant Sale Coordinator, was unable to attend this evening's meeting so Claudia stepped in to talk about the preparations for our annual Perennial Plant Sale which will be held on Saturday, May 18^th. Please check your e-mail for a message from Mary Ann with many details but, here are some of the highlights.

·      Publicity is important for a successful sale.  Paper reminders were distributed to all members to hand to family and friends.  When you see the post on Facebook, please share it with your friends.

·      The sign up sheet was circulated for members to volunteer for specific jobs at the plant sale. 

·      Plant sale tags were available for members to take.  Please be sure to mark the top of the tag with the symbol of the light requirements for your plants. Draw a sun for “full sun”, a solid circle is “shade” and a circle that is half-shaded signifies “part sun/part shade”.

·      Please bring as many plants as you can. The more plants we have then the more we have available to sell. 

WWear your new blue T-shirt.  

·      Bring your gently used plant and garden items for the free table.  Shoppers love to look at the treasures and get something for free.

·      If you have extra plastic pots to share with members, please bring them to the April meeting or the Tree Planting Project on April 11^th.  

·      Marlow Madeoy, Vice President announced that our holiday tour and luncheon have been confirmed for Saturday, November 15, 2025.  We will be visiting Phipps Conservatory and having lunch at Monte Cello’s Restaurant on Babcock Blvd.  More details will be given when they become available.  Please mark the date on your calendar.  

·      Diana Berendowski invited LAGC members to the 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. 

 Hostess and Arrangement:  Linda Brown’s table arrangement represented Spring with the bright yellow daffodils, purple Siberian Iris and adorable ceramic bunnies.  Rosemary Highman delighted everyone’s taste buds with a selection of apple cake, cashews, grapes and maple cream cookies.  Thank you, Ladies!

 

Program – “Backyard Invasive Species - Don't let them bug ya!” by Dawn Shaffer

Our March speaker, Dawn Shaffer was very informative and engaging as she presented her talk about some common backyard invasive species.  She focused mainly on the praying mantis.  We learned that there are 2,400 species of praying mantises in the world and 20 species in the USA.  In Pennsylvania we have 3 species: Asian or Chinese mantis, European mantis and the Carolina mantis which is our native mantis.

Praying mantises are indiscriminate eaters and will eat all varieties of bugs, bees, butterflies, mosquitoes, Spotted Lanternflies and even hummingbirds if the praying mantis is a large species.  Mantises hatch from an egg sac which can contain between 70 to 200 nymphs.  All mantis nymphs are bright green and look alike, which makes it difficult to determine what species of mantis you are observing.  Adults can vary in shades of green and brown.

There are some common misconceptions about praying mantises that we may have learned as children.  Many people think that the praying mantis is a protected species but, this is not true.  They are not classified as a protected species.  The second misconception is that all mantises are green but, mantises can be green or brown.  The last misconception that Dawn discussed is that all females eat their male partner after mating.  Studies have shown that mantises may eat their male partner, but not always.

Since mantises eat everything in our gardens from pollinators to our plants we should try to remove them from our gardens.  The best way to deal with praying mantis is through integrated pest management rather than pesticides.  Dawn suggests destroying the egg sacs by putting them in water or feeding them to your chickens. You can keep the native sacs. 

Our speaker presented us with a few cautions when dealing with praying mantis: don’t take the egg sacs inside your house because the egg sac will think it's spring and the nymphs will hatch and disburse everywhere; Don't buy praying mantises or nymph sacs online because you can't guarantee what kind of praying mantis you're going to receive; Don’t interact with the praying mantises – just leave them alone and they won’t bother you.

We also talked about the Spotted Lanternfly and the fact that it is still expected to be a problem in our area again this year.  Our speaker is concerned that the invasive insect is moving towards Erie County and will affect the grape vineyards and in turn affect wine production.  This could be a major issue for the Erie economy because grapes are such an important money-making crop in that area.

Now is the time to be looking for the egg masses of the Spotted Lanternfly on flat surfaces of your car, trees, outdoor furniture, etc.  The best way to remove them is by using an old credit card and discarding the egg masses in your municipal trash.  Dawn brought along a variety of handouts with her display and members could pick up a scraper to remove the egg masses.

Our speaker, Dawn also spoke about the decline of butterflies and that the plant we know as the Butterfly Bush is now on the invasive species list and we should be removing this non-native from our yards.  Instead, we should be planting milkweed for Monarch butterflies, spice bush for Swallowtails and plants from the parsley family for Black Swallowtails.

Members really enjoyed Dawn’s informative presentation and asked many interesting questions. The handouts that we could pick up and the egg mass scraper are very beneficial takeaways. We enjoyed another interesting lecture from a Penn State Master Gardener speaker.

 

 

Visits to Phipps Conservatory for Winter Shows December 2024 & January 2025

 Martin Karl visited Phipps for their winter show as did RoseMary. Below are Martin's with a couple  of RM's showing Phipps at night time. 

Tour of John & Gail's Garden in Fox Chapel

Thank you to John & Gail for allowing us into your gardens. Notes by Colleen Fingal, photos by Dianne Machesney and RoseMary Highman.

John talking about the trellises which he constructed

                                                   Gail said that John spends 6-8 hours a day in the garden since he retired. According to John, they don't use much fertilizer but, they do compost. They get used coffee grounds from St. Margaret's Hospital to add to the compost pile.

 

                                             We started and ended our tour in front of the house.

The photo shows a small section of the garden path behind the house.  The logs that line the path were trees that were cut down on the yard.

The gardens contain many tall trees so they
provide shade for a variety of hostas 

The Greenhouse features many tropical
and cactus plants

The garden is lush with a variety of perennials such as daylilies, coneflowers,
malva, coreopsis, phlox, baptisia, beebalm, and foam flowers and many more!

Jumbo leaves of Petasites (Butterbur)

The bridge across the pond leads to a garden of trees:  Almond, Sour Cherry,
Oriental Chestnut, and Black Willow.

                                         

The pond is 20 feet deep and is stocked with fish. Snakes and turtles have also made a home in this natural habitat.

One of the many whimsical pieces of artwork that John and Gail have collected in their travels.