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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 24, 2024, Meeting Notes

Dues of $15 were collected by Linda Brown at the membership desk. Members reviewed their phone number and e-mail address in the directory and made corrections when necessary..

President Nancy Madeoy welcomed members. 

What's blooming in the garden – asters, sunflowers, Jerusalem artichokes, dahlias, zinnias 

Claudia gave an update on the plans for the 75th anniversary celebration

• Seed packets will be given to customers at the LAGC plant sale instead of annual plants 
• The theme will be the 1950’s.  Members can dress in 1950’s attire and the menu choices are being discussed to reflect the theme
• A sample of a logo was displayed for members to vote on
• Claudia thanked all the Anniversary Celebration committee members for all the work they’ve done on this event.  A huge THANK YOU to Claudia for leading the committee! 

  Claudia gave an update on the plans for the 75th anniversary celebration

  • Seed packets will be given to customers at the LAGC plant sale instead of annual plants 
  • The theme will be the 1950’s.  Members can dress in 1950’s attire and the menu choices are being discussed to reflect the theme
  • A sample of a logo was displayed for members to vote on
  • Claudia thanked all the Anniversary Celebration committee members for all the work they’ve done on this event.  A huge THANK YOU to Claudia for leading the committee! 
  
  
  

Jane, the Hostess Coordinator circulated the sign-up sheet for 2025 for members to bring the dessert or flower arrangement to our meetings.  She explained that there are special duties for the months of September and October which coincide with the anniversary celebrations.  Members who didn’t have the opportunity to sign up can sign up in October or contact Jane with any questions.

Dianne Machesney announced that Sandy Csikari is redesigning her garden and is giving away her unwanted plants to other gardeners.  LAGC has visited Sandy’s amazing garden a couple of times so members are thrilled to be offered some of her plants.  Please check your e-mail for a list of what plants she has to offer and how to arrange a pickup with Sandy.

Last month members voted on the color of a new t-shirt.  Blue is the winning color.  Next month members will sign up with their t-shirt size.  

Northland Library is being remodeled and is having a fundraiser.  Club members voted YES to spend $250.00 for the purchase of a paver to be installed in the library with the club’s name on it.

Vice President Marlow Madeoy talked about all the details of the November Holiday Luncheon and tour on Saturday, November 16 and distributed a flyer to sign up and give the meal choice. Please return the flyer and your check made out to Marlow Madeoy at the October meeting.

Our hostesses, Claudia Hickly and Cindy Stewart created a lovely table with an arrangement filled with hydrangeas.  Members thoroughly enjoyed the delicious pumpkin roll and carrot cake roll. Thank you!

Ouhostesses, Claudia Hickly and Cindy Stewart created a lovely table with an arrangement filled with hydrangeas.  Members thoroughly enjoyed the delicious pumpkin roll and carrot cake roll. Thank you!

Program Chris Kubiak, Audubon Director of Education

 “Climate Change and Impact on Specific Plants in Western PA”

Chris Kubiak is a returning speaker who spoke to us earlier this year about the Bald Eagle. His talk this evening about climate change is a topic which is frequently in the news and is talked about by everyone from meteorologists to historians to politicians. He explained that many do not understand that climate is different from weather.  Climate is how atmosphere behaves long term whereas, weather reflects short term conditions in a specific area.

Chris likened our ecosystem to a spiderweb.  It’s all connected and can be damaged in one area and still exist but, if one important part disintegrates then, the whole thing will unravel.

There is no question that global warming is occurring because there is actual data to prove that it is happening. Our speaker Chris showed before and after photos of where he’s traveled which showed that a glacier had melted away where there was once snow and ice.  He also said that higher sea level, humidity, ocean temperature and decreased sea ice and snow ice are indicators of the warming atmosphere.

Chris explained that spring in Western PA has been warming up earlier and that since 1970 the temperature has been 7 degrees higher than in the past. This warming temperature has shifted the amount of precipitation we receive and all of this effects our plants. Some of these effects are:

• Roses, grapevines and apple trees can get more fungal diseases such as apple scab, late blight and black spot downy mildew
• Insects may not die off in the winter
• Ticks are around 12 months of the year now
• There is an increased cost to fight the diseases and insect damage
• Our native plants such as white trout lily, great spurred violet, horned bladderwort and white fringed orchid are endangered

Naturally, agricultural crops are also being impacted by climate change.  Chris talked about the effect on strawberries and cherries.  The rate of pollination is affected because of the decrease in the number of insects and pollinators. Concord grapes, sweet corn and apple varieties will have lower yields as temperature rises and the pressure of pests rises.  Some plants need a longer time in cold temps to be productive.

Our forests are changing also.  Climate changes are projected to decrease the number of trees such as Black Cherry, Sugar Maple and American Beech.  This will cause birds to lose their habitat.  We have birds from the south moving into Pennsylvania who could not have survived our climate before.  Now they can.  A decrease in the number of Sugar Maple trees would also cause a decline in the products that are created in the maple sugar industry.

Chris said that it is predicted that Hemlock trees could be gone by 2100.  The pest, Hemlock Wooly Adelgid is running rampant and it’s not being killed off because our winters are not getting cold enough. 

We are encouraged to participate in Project BudBurst where we can monitor our plants and note when the first bud of the plant appears.  For more information go to http://budburst.org

Chris finished his presentation with a quote from Rachel Carson.  “Man’s attitude toward nature today is critically important.”  

 

October 24, 2023 Meeting Notes

What’s blooming in your garden?  Monkshood, dahlias, witch hazel, bearded iris and asters

President Nancy thanked Mary Ann for arranging last month’s dahlia tour at the home of Amy Krut in West View.  Thanks also to Bill and Dianne for taking the beautiful photos.

Vice President, Marlow talked about the plans he is working on for this year’s holiday lunch and tour. The idea is to tour Old Economy Village in Ambridge and eat at a restaurant in the area.  PLEASE NOTE – THE DATE HAS BEEN CHANGED TO Saturday, December 2^nd.  Please watch your e-mail for details.

The 2024 LAGC Board will consist of the same board members as this year.

Evan Fingal decided not to be the Community Service Coordinator in 2024.  Lynn Betz and Mary Jo have volunteered to be co-chairs.  Claudia Hickley volunteered to assume the role of Online Communicator in place of Lynn.  Thank you to everyone for your years of service and to those stepping up to assume the vacant positions!

Treasurer Denny, spoke about the donations we give to the 4 organizations that are listed in the handbook.  Members voted and approved to give $250 to each of those organizations.  This was already in the 2023 budget.  If you have a suggestion for another worthy cause that you think we should support then, please bring your suggestion to the January 2024 meeting so that we can plan for it in the 2024 budget.  One suggestion is to donate to the Latodomi Nature Center.

Program Coordinator, Mary Ann reviewed the schedule she has planned for next year.  Here is a list of what we can look forward to:

January   ---  The North Park Rangers will talk about Winter Birds

May ---  Tour of North Park Wetlands

June 4^th --- Annual Picnic at Bill Goff’s house to see his peonies in bloom

June 25^th --- Tour of a local garden 

Please mark your calendars with the date of the 2024 LAGC plant sale: May 18^th  

Members were reminded to make notes now about what plants can be divided in the spring to pot up and bring to the plant sale.

The hostess sign up list was circulated by Jane.  Thank you to those who signed up to bring dessert or an arrangement to our meetings.

We had a variety of delicious autumn goodies from Mary Ann Kurtz:  pumpkin bars, popcorn and cookies.  Linda Brown’s beautiful end of the season arrangement of flowers and grasses complemented the table.  Thank you for sharing!

 

Mary Ann

Linda B's Halloween arrangement

Mary Ann's desserts

Final touches, Jane, Claudia, Mary Ann

 Program:  Historic Structures of North Park by Ranger Deaglan McManus

This evening’s program was very popular.  We had 12 guests!  Allegheny County Park Ranger Deaglan McManus and 2 fellow rangers came well-prepared to talk about the historical structures in North Park that we drive past and may not pay attention to.  They setup a display table with old photographs of the parks and handouts of information about programs in the Allegheny County park system and were on hand to answer questions.

Ranger Deaglan talked about many of the wood and stone structures in North Park.  Some are still in use but, have a different purpose today. Here are some of the facts that I found especially interesting.

·   **North Park is the first Allegheny County park; it was started 4 hours earlier than South Park

·     ** Police headquarters:  the policemen for North Park lived in houses specifically built for them in the park

·      **The Eisenbach barn from 1927 is still standing today; it’s used for electrical equipment

·      **In 1927 the bison and 50 deer were brought to the park from a farm in Allentown, PA.  As the animals were being transported to North Park, they paraded them thru downtown Pittsburgh for the citizens to see

·      **South Park still keeps 9 to 11 bison today and there are usually a few babies born in the spring; visitors to the park can participate in public feedings at the game preserve; look for details about dates and times on the Allegheny County Parks website

·      **An American Indian from Montana, Chief Big Beaver, and his family were brought to North Park to take care of the bison; they were given a house and a salary; the children went to Ingomar Elementary School

  **The Grotto along Kummer Road known as the Fountain of Youth was built in 1938

 **The boathouse was built before the man-made lake was created; a garage was constructed at one end of the boathouse for the police boats

**The gatehouse is one of the most photographed structures but, it was never constructed to be strong enough to be walked on by visitors

**The swimming pool was once thought to be the largest public pool ever built and holds 2 ½ million gallons of water

 

There are many more structures in North Park which have been there since the early years of the park such as the firehouse, observation tower, log cabin, schoolhouse shelter among others.  Ranger Deaglan and his colleagues continue to discover and unearth old structures throughout North Park by studying old photos and maintaining the vegetation in the park.  Please visit the following website for more information History of North Park | Allegheny County Parks.

See more online: AlleghenyCounty.US/NPhistory

 

 

September 28, 2021 Tour of North Park Trial Gardens

 On a lovely September evening, club members were treated to a tour of the trial gardens at North Park, with our very own Dianne Machesney as the tour guide.

Dianne explaining the trial gardens.

 

This year, there were 15 new master gardeners.  They were divided into groups of 3, and their project was to create container gardens that encompassed the 5 senses.  These containers were situated behind the cannon wall.

Touch – fuzzy leaved and succulent plants of the can

Taste – herbs and tomato plants

Eyesight – colorful plants

Hearing – wind chimes & ornamental grasses in the wind

Smell – plants that smell good, like mint, lavender and roses.

 

Evan with a sensory container garden.

Another small container garden but Do Not Eat as edible plants are sprayed with deer repellant.

A pollinator garden was put in several years ago, and consists of several pollinator gardens.  One contains all natives.  Another is where the number and types of pollinators are counted and tracked.  This a project of the Penn State Extension Intern.

    

 

The meadow garden that was put in behind the trial / pollinator gardens was put in without consulting the Master Gardeners.  A Western meadow mix was used, and this year, very few plants from the mix survived.  The Master Gardeners will be taking over the meadow, and are currently starting with a small meadow garden right behind the pollinator garden.

Compost bins with meadow garden in background.

 

In front of the cannon are the trial flower beds.  The North Park trial gardens are a satellite testing site for Penn State’s Southeast Agricultural Research and Extension Center (SEAREC).  Their main facility is in Landisville, PA, where they trial 900 annual cultivars.  This became a trial garden 4 years ago.  Prior to that, it was a demonstration garden, where plants were donated by local nurseries in the area.

 

The trial garden beds are used for trialing new varieties.  There are 11 trial beds and this year, there were 181 cultivars, consisting of 40 different genera.  The plants being trialed are for 17 different growers from California, Illinois, Germany, Czech Republic, Israel, Ohio, Massachusetts, Japan and the Netherlands.  These growers submit plugs or seeds for growing, along with sun, water and other plant requirements.  Usually, the cuttings / plugs arrive 3 days prior to the planting date, which doesn’t allow a lot of time for planning on where to plant, spacing … The plants are photographed and graded, using a scale from 1 – 5 on things like growing conditions, bug resistance, disease resistance … etc.  This information is sent to SEAREC, who shares it with the growers.  The trialing for the plants is for patent purposes, therefore, no seed saving is allowed from these plants.  Penn State receives payment for the trialing of the plants.

 

The publics favorite was Salvia farinacea  SALLYFUN , Deep Ocean.  Created by Danziger, a floriculture company based in Israel.

 

Directly behind the cannon, in front of the wall is a permanent planting of an herb garden which is maintained by one Master Gardener.  There is beautiful specimen of Eucalyptus, which is overwintered by the Master Gardener (Dianne checked).

 

To the right of the herb garden, is a perennial garden, which has been there for at least 10 years.

 

All fall maintenance for the garden is done on the same day, i.e. tearing out trial garden plants, cutting back herbs/perennials … etc.

Dianne checked with the team captain about what the plant is in the bicycle garden that looks like bear britches.  She said it is cardoon artichoke.

 _________

Colleen thanked Dianne for being our tour guide and giving us a lot of information about the trial gardens, as well as the permanent gardens that have been put in place.  It is truly a great resource for those interested in gardening.

 

Peggy made a motion, seconded by Denny that we make a donation to North Hills Community Outreach for their campaign to build a bioshelter.  The amount to be donated is $1,0000.  Approval was unanimous.  For more information, or if you want to personally donate, the link is:

 https://www.nhco.org/bioshelter

 

A program coordinator is still needed for next year.  PLEASE consider taking on this important role for our club.

 

We will be collecting member dues of $15 at our October meeting.

 

Mary Anne reminded everyone to take note of perennials that need dividing while you are doing your fall cleanup.  You can either try potting them up now and overwintering them, dividing and replanting now for potting up in the spring, or simply dividing and potting up in the spring.  As the plant sale is our only fundraiser, it is very important that we have healthy plants for the sale, and we want to make it as easy on ourselves as possible.