The Village Garden Club of La Jolla
Our Club
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Of Interest
Summer 2010
What a year we have had! The speakers have been great-witty, serious, contemplative, intelligent, creative and inspiring. Each one of them had a message that left me more knowledgeable about an aspect of gardening, floral design or conservation. At least one of them just made me laugh and that was a good thing, too! While the speakers are the highlight of our meetings, there is no doubt in my mind
that the social hour is the very heart of our club. There is such palpable joy in the mingling, chatting and enjoyment of seeing each other, especially in the presence of the gorgeous array of “snacks”, as Helen Fox so unceremoniously refers to them. One of the hardest parts of my job is to call an end to the festivities to start the business meeting. From the podium, I am continually touched by the spirit of friendship rising from the happy clusters of you around the room. It's been fun to see how quickly the new members have been so warmly incorporated into the group and how truly welcome our guests and speakers feel. There is something special about the chemistry of this group. May that never change.
While the joy of friendship combined with the good food, the beautiful floral displays and colorful array of goods for sale at Ways and Means do much to create the atmosphere of a country faire, there is a carefully thought out and beautifully displayed educational component as well. The committees have done an excellent job providing us with garden items to trade, beautiful horticultural displays, advice from Master Gardeners, videos to check out and informative demonstrations, such as Donna Koziol's most memorable display of all the things that go into compost-dead mouse and all. Each of the committees involved in a community activity has been active and productive. The Jacaranda Committee created beautiful new note cards, the sale of which supports the planting of trees around the city. The Schoolyard Gardens Committee awarded $11,900 to schools throughout the city. The Torrey Pines Restoration group has continued to remove non-native plants from the State Reserve and Penny Pines continues to support reforestation projects in burned areas of the state. We had inspiring new workshops, weaving in arts, crafts and culinary skills along with gardening topics. The field trips have taken us to beautiful places, from the gardens of Heather Lenkin to the gardens of our own members.
One of the sweetest moments of the year occurred at the November meeting when we celebrated Adrienne Green's 90th birthday and honored her with a donation of $1700 to the San Diego Botanic Garden. Adrienne has been the creative force behind our club and an inspiration to so many of us. We
miss her as she continues to recover from her winter illness and hope she will join us for the May meeting.
In thinking of Adrienne, I can't help but think of Meet the Masters, which was created to honor her wish to bring a world class floral designer to San Diego to present a lecture and demonstration as a gift to the community. This year's event featured Nancy Clarke, the White House Chief Floral Designer for 25 years. It was an extraordinary success, attracting over 400 guests who were treated to a very personal
inside glimpse at the floral designs created for world-stage events. There was such a happy mingling of members and guests from the community at the lecture and the receptions before and after. In only its third year, Meet the Masters is well on its way to becoming the exceptional event that Adrienne imagined it would be.
Following close on the heels of the Meet the Masters was the club's own Expressions of Art and Flowers, showcasing the artistic and floral design creativity of our members. The pieces of art revealed the exceptional range of artistic talents of the members, from painting and sculpture to weaving, knitting and jewelry design. Each piece of art inspired a floral interpretation that revealed yet another level of talent in the club. Many of the floral designers benefited from the floral design course taught by Beverly Ireland. The entire show was beautifully organized and enjoyed by 201 members and 94
guests. I think that may set a record for attendance!
As the year comes to an end we can look forward to Linda Chisari's lecture on the Edible Garden, followed by the Annual Member's Luncheon featuring locally grown products. In closing, I want you to know that I have only touched on the many activities and successes of the club this past year. My
theme for the year was “In the love of gardens, friendships bloom” and I thank each and every one of you for the hand you had in making this a loving year of growth and a joyful time for all of us. May summer be for you that special mix of rest, restoration and inspiration. Have an adventure. Try something
new. Be good to yourself.
Nan Kaufman, President