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www.dagc.us Newsletter of the Danville-Alamo Garden Club June 2015

Programs

Heidi Abramson, graduate in Agriculture, Master in Architecture, and co-founder of the

Bounty Garden at Hap Magee Ranch Park in Danville, will be our speaker at the Installation Luncheon on June 11th.

Heidi's father was born in Zurich, Germany. From him she and her sisters learned to work

and love the soil and gardening. Her mother enjoyed cooking and preserving from the har-

vest.

The family summered in Switzerland, where Heidi's favorite place was the Schwebber Gartens, small beautifully-tended vegetable and fruit community plots.

When Heidi's daughter Amelia was a sophomore at Athenian High School, she visited the Contra Costa Food Bank and learned that food insecurity exists in every community. Amelia

wanted to do something about it.

Come listen to how Schwebber Gartens and one family’s desire to help their daughter feed the hungry have now become part of Danville's history.

Nancy Peterson, Program Vice President

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Volume XLVI, Issue 6

President’s Message First of all I want to let you all know how

much I have enjoyed being your President for the past 3 years. I have truly appreci-

ated the experience and getting to know all of our wonderful members. Thank you for all

your kind words of support. It made the job

very enjoyable for me. I am looking forward to supporting our new President, Rebecca

Byrom.

Our Program Vice President, Nancy Peterson, did another great job booking our May Gen-

eral Meeting Speaker, Shawna Anderson. She had a great personality and was very

knowledgeable about the plants she uses in her containers. I will try out her suggestion

of planting the “thriller” to one side instead of the center. I am looking forward to seeing

her out at Orchard Nursery in Lafayette. They were very generous in offering some of

their beautiful plants to our members.

I hope you will all be able to attend our June

Installation Luncheon. We will be installing next year’s officers. Our guest speaker will

be Heidi Abramson founder of the Bounty Garden. It will be a Potluck. Everyone is

asked to bring either your favorite salad or dessert. Coffee, tea, iced tea, and water will

be provided. Our meeting will start at our usual time.

A reminder to our members, do NOT park in

the club house driveway. Some members have to leave early and are blocked and can-

not get out. Parking is available across the street at the Creekside Church.

I Look forward to seeing you at our Installa-

tion Luncheon on June 11th.

Sharon Williams President

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June

“You can please some of the people all of the

time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of

the time.” I start out this missive using this statement, because I was advised through

the grapevine that some of you do not like my talking about water, and want me to talk

about horticulture. I reread what I wrote last month, and I was talking about horticulture.

Water is a very big part of horticulture. Many

of us who live here have had many years of good fortune to have had sufficient water to

grow Rhododendrons, Azaleas and Hydran-

geas to name just a few plants. Oh, and then there is the lawn. Right now we are in a dif-

ferent period, where everyone has to cut back on their water usage. What do you do, speak-

ing horticulturally, to save your plants?

Many people are telling me that they are let-ting their lawns die. That is sad, and perhaps

not even necessary. Watering your lawn two days a week will more or less make it survive.

It won’t be that emerald that you are used to, but next year you can get it back if we get

the El Nino which is now being discussed in meteorological circles.

If you do decide to let it die, I have a wonder-ful story to relate to you. I just went out to

visit Delta Blue Grass for a field trip to see their NATIVE SOD. I wrote that last in capital

letters in case you misread it. When you hear blue grass you always assume that it is that

beautiful but very difficult-to-grow grass here in California without a lot of water. These na-

tive sods are a whole new ball game.

This grass is made up of native grasses in a mix developed by a woman named Jodie

Sheffield. You can make it look like a meadow. You can even not water it at all, and

although it will turn brown in the late sum-

mer, as soon as it starts raining again, the grass comes back. You can also continue to

water it, although only once every two

weeks or so, and it will stay green.

If the meadow look is not your cup of tea, you can keep it cut 4 inches high. The wa-

tering regimen is the same. The drawbacks are that you need a new lawn mower since

most lawn mowers can only cut 3 inches high. Also you will mow it quite a lot in the

spring, but come summer, you might mow it once a month. Although you can walk on

this lawn, you cannot play sports on it since it will not hold up to that much traffic. But

an occasional croquet game or party is per-fectly fine. This kind of lawn is ideal for the

front yard, if your homeowner’s association

still wants lawn as part of your landscape. Go to

www.deltabluegrass.com to find out more.

Kristin Yanker-Hansen Horticulture Chair

This arbor entrance to the organic garden

at Forest Home Farms was funded by the donations from the Danville-Alamo and

Diablo Garden Clubs.

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Louise Wiggins, Calendar

Dates & Times Events Details

June 6, Sat, 8 am June 7, Sun, 9 am

Class: Summer Rose Care Armstrong Garden Center

Keep those blooms coming all summer long.

We’ll cover deadheading, feeding, and gen-eral care for healthy roses.

June 7, Sun 10:30

Workshop: Plant an Edible

Container Sloat Garden Center

Edibles in containers make great use of

small spaces, are nice for centerpieces, and are a perfect gift. Dustin will show you how

to create beautiful containers with edible plants, and you’ll leave with a container you’ve planted! Call to register. $40/$35 for

Rewards Members.

June 10, Wed You will be notified of the meeting time and place.

DAGC Tour: Hike the Red-

wood Trail Marin Co.

This hike through the Second Growth Red-

wood Forest will end at Stinson Beach, where we will have lunch. Contact: Laurel

Harken at aldmtharken@gmail.com.

June 11, Thurs 9:15 Social 9:45 Meeting

DAGC General Meeting: Pot-

luck Luncheon Alamo Women’s Club

Speaker: Heidi Abramson of The Bounty

Garden. Installation of new officers. Bring your choice of favorite salad or dessert.

June 13, Sat 9 am – 1 pm

Plant Sale Markham Arboretum

Good prices on plants, 4” to gallon-size.

Come early for best selection.

June 20, Sat 2 pm

Class: Water & Watering

During a Drought Navlet’s Garden Center

Learn tips for saving water while keeping

your landscape green.

June 20, Sat 8 am June 21, Sun 9 am

Class: Attracting Humming-

birds and Butterflies Armstrong Garden Center

Learn which flowering plants to grow to at-

tract these beautiful garden guests. We’ll cover tips and techniques for success.

June 25, Thurs 9:30 am

DAGC Joint Board Meeting Home of Kristin Yanker-Hansen

Newly-elected and former board members

will exchange ideas and notebooks. RSVP at

yankerhansen@sbcglobal.net.

June 27, Sat 10 am

DAGC: Community Outreach Bounty Gardens

Closing Day for Cool Crop 2 volunteers. Par-

ticipants will clear their beds and ready them for the next season.

June 27, Sat 10 am

Class: Citrus Navlet’s Garden Center

You don’t have to live in Florida to grow

sweet, nutritious citrus, including Meyer lemons, oranges, grapefruit, and more. Find

out which varieties are best-suited to the area where you live; plus learn how to keep your citrus pest-free, healthy, and happy.

June 27, Sat 8 am June 28, Sun 9 am

Class: Growing Plumerias Armstrong Garden Center

It’s so easy to grow the Hawaiian lei flower

here in California. Learn basic care and techniques to keep your plumerias healthy

and blooming all summer.

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New 2015-2016 Board of Directors

President:

Rebecca Byrom

Programs Vice Presi-

dent: Nancy Peterson

Membership

Vice President: Susan Polk and

Veronica Knaack

Social committee:

Linda Scotting and Ellen Frost

Recording Secretary:

Louise Wiggins

Corresponding Secre-

tary: Tena Gallagher

Treasurer and

Budget Committee Chair:

Penny Adams

Club Advisor:

Sharon Williams

Parliamentarian and

Bylaws Committee Chairs: Jan Hamby and

Shelia Truschke

Web Site Administra-

tor: Roseann Krane

Artistic Arranger:

Rose Towery

Community Out-

reach: Nancy Norland

Email Coordinator:

Caroline Bonny

Historian:

Kayrene Braden

Inspiration:

Karlene Paufler

Newsletter Editor:

Sharon Townsend

Penny Pines:

Holly Sauer

Plant Exchange:

Angie Anastasion and Jan Anderson

Sponsor Representa-

tives: Janice Fasciotto,

Lynn Hoaglin, and Jenny Offringa

Tour Chairs:

Joann Blackburn, Charlotte Graham,

and Rhonda Raphel

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D.A.G.C. JUNE 10, Wednesday Excursion, 2015 HIKE THE SECOND GROWTH REDWOOD PANTOLL TRAIL

The June “tour” is actually a hike along the Second Growth Redwood Pantoll Trail on Wednes-day, June 10th.

Many of you asked for a trip to the redwoods. However, a trip to Muir Woods is a perfect trip for out of town visitors, but lacks parking spaces, is costly and really provides only short hikes on crowded

paths. We opted to drive the Panoramic Highway Trail to Stinson Beach, leave a car for the return, and park at the Pantoll Trail parking lot. We will hike the Steep Ravine Trail (not all that steep) to

connect with the Dipsea Trail, and then take a meadow walk into Stinson Beach for lunch and perhaps a walk on the lovely beach. The trail is 2.9 miles.

When we arrive in Stinson Beach, there are three good restaurants for lunch: The Sand Dollar (seafood), Parkside Inn (American), Beaches Café (American/Mexican), and a market if you prefer a

beachside picnic. None are very large, so depending on the size of our group, we may do well to di-vide up, especially if some are faster hikers than others. We will agree on a meeting time to return to the East Bay and a meeting time for the drivers to drive a few miles to retrieve their cars. Any group

that wants to retrace the hike back to the cars may do so. Note that no dogs will be allowed to ac-company us. We will try to return to 101 by 3:00 to avoid a crowded rush hour.

If you signed up at the meeting, you are on the list. If you wish to be added, RSVP to aldmtharken@gmail.com or 925-788-6793. We already have 12 signed up, so we will need at least 4

drivers. I will provide directions. It will take 1¼ to 1¾ hours to get there and return, depending on traffic. Layer clothes, wear good shoes, bring water and sunscreen, please. Let me

know if you can drive. Drivers should receive $8 per person which includes the $8 park-ing fee per car. Details of the meeting time and place will be sent to all attendees.

Happy summer!

Laurel Harken, Tours

Master Gardener Garden Topics on Wednesdays in June

3: Backyard Chickens 10: Saving Water in the Landscape

17: Gardening for Butterflies & Bees J24: Growing & Propagating Succulents

Our Garden is a public demonstration garden

of the Contra Costa Master Gardeners. It is

open each Wednesday from 9 am until noon,

April through October. A help table is available

during those hours, with an expert speaker

from 10 – 11 am. Bring your problems and

questions.

The garden is located at North Wiget Lane

and Shadelands Drive (off Ygnacio Valley

Road), Walnut Creek.

(AAUW) The Danville-Alamo-Walnut Creek Branch

of the American Association of University Women

is looking for gardens for our 2016 Garden Tour to

be held on Friday and Saturday, May 6th and

7th. If you're interested in showcasing your gar-

den, we’d like to visit it now.

Also if you know someone who has a beautiful gar-

den, please have then contact us. The proceeds

from the tour are donated to AAUW Funds, one of

the world’s largest sources of funding for graduate

women. AAUW is providing more than $3.7 million

in funding for more than 244 fellowships and

grants to outstanding women and nonprofit organi-

zations in the 2014–15 academic year through this

501©3 non-profit.

To learn about our branch and holiday home tour,

visit our web site at http://daw-ca.aauw.net/.

To learn about AAUW Funds, visit: www.aauw.org/

what-we-do/educational-funding-and-awards/.

If you have a suggestion, please email to

daw.aauwmembership@gmail.com.

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Newsletter of the Danville-Alamo Garden Club

Roseann Krane ~ Editor

Danville–Alamo Garden Club, P.O. Box 920

Danville, CA 94526

Our Sponsors

Ace Hardware

3211 Danville Blvd., Alamo,CA,94507

(925) 837-2420

Annie’s Annuals 740 Market Ave,,

Richmond, CA 94801 510-215-3301 or 888-266-4370

Armstrong Garden Centers 7360 San Ramon Road, Dublin

925-551-0231

Lucky Garden Hydroponics

7071 Village Pkwy, Dublin, CA 94568 (925) 828-4769

Navlet’s

800 Camino Ramon, Danville

925-837-9144

Orchard 4010 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Lafayette, CA

94549

(925) 284-4474.

Regan Nursery 4268 Decoto Road, Fremont

510-797-3222

Sloat Garden Center

828 Diablo Road, Danville 925-743-0288

www.dagc.us

Please support our sponsors!

Remember, our commercial sponsors donate the door prizes, and they support us with speakers for

our general meetings. Please support them!

Janice Fassiotto, Lynn

Hoaglin, Sponsor Reps

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Master Gardener Hotline

If you have gardening questions, Master Gardeners can help!

9 am – 12 noon M-Th Telephone: 925-646-6586

Drop in at office (closed state holidays) or…

Email: ccmg@ucanr.edu

Website: http://ccmg.ucanr.edu Facebook: www.facebook.com/

CoCoMasterGardeners

Contra Costa Master Gardeners University of California Cooperative Extension

75 Santa Barbara Rd., Second Floor Pleasant Hill, CA 94532-4215

June Happy Birthdays Angie Anastasion

Grace Ayers Karen Larkin Linda Scotting

Ann Smith Gillian Steele

Simin Stel Kathy Till Louise Wiggins