The Village Garden Club of La Jolla
Our Club
Calendar
Of Interest
February
When last I wrote to you, I was planning to get back to my garden after the Holidays. Happily, I have made good progress with all roses pruned, new roses planted, perennials trimmed back, sweet peas climbing nice and high, and all plants receiving both water and nourishment. I hope you too have enjoyed some quality time in your garden. I do find that “digging in the dirt” provides me some of my most favorite and therapeutic time. So now with my garden under control for the moment, I can turn my attention to February's article.
In January we faced a challenge when our speaker, Nancy Goslee Power, became ill the afternoon before our meeting and was forced to cancel her engagement. Fortunately, Program Chair, Devonna Hall rose to the occasion and found a wonderful replacement speaker, Mo Price, who gave an excellent presentation on Australian natives. Although we were so sorry that Nancy was unable to speak to our club, we adapted and all worked out-thanks again to Devonna!
Around that same time, I found myself facing a different sort of challenge in my garden. Due to a recent home repair, I had to dig up all my plants in a flowerbed and also remove all the dirt. I was most unhappy at the prospect of the work and what might happen to some of my beloved plants. But as I look back, happily this project turned into a blessing in disguise. I can now admit that some of the plants were overgrown and crowding the patio and were also root bound. After digging them out I gave them a good thinning and some fresh new soil. I am happy to report that they are now much happier and look much better.
I know that ordinarily I would not have undertaken this project, as I was comfortable with how the plants and patio looked. I needed the impetus to make the change and move out of my comfort zone. When we are challenged to adapt to unexpected situations we often find that we grow and then are happy that we made the change. Although these changes seem upsetting and difficult at the time, they allow us to grow and expand ourselves. This is all well and good as long as the challenges don't happen too often. Of course, everything looks better with time as we look back and ponder what happened. Fortunately, time does have a way of healing and smoothing over the rough spots!
As I turn the page to see what the future holds for us, I am looking forward to Meet the Masters 2012 with Shane Connolly on March 8th . Shane was the artistic director of flowers for the wedding of TRH the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge last year. He will present a floral lecture and demonstration at MCASD Sherwood Auditorium followed by an afternoon Tea Reception at the La Jolla Women's Club. It should be a simply “loverly” afternoon and I encourage you to purchase your tickets soon as I am sure it will be another sellout. If you would like to know more, there is a beautiful page about this event on our website,
www.villagegardencluboflajolla.com
President