Regular Monthly Meeting
Thursday, May 10, 2018 at 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM.

The LAVGC monthly meeting is at the Alisal Elementary School multipurpose room, 1454 Santa Rita Road, Pleasanton, CA 94566.

The Beautiful Edible Garden - Leslie Bennett, speaker

Leslie Bennett is a well -known landscape designer and author, who focuses on aesthetic edible garden designs. She works to bring together ecologically sound landscape design principles and small-scale urban agriculture, working with both ornamental and edible plants to create integrated landscapes. So join us to learn how you too can have a stylish outdoor space, using vegetables, fruits and herbs. The speaker is not able to join us for dinner so there will be no pre-meeting dinner this month.

Visitors Are Welcome!

Please join us at the monthly meeting or contact us at the Contacts link above. Please take a moment to fill out the Membership Application and Renewal Form for Fiscal Year July 2018 through June 2019. Membership dues for February 1, 2019 through June 30, 2019 are half the regular dues.

For more information about membership or dues, please email Dean Burnett.

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Members Only section

Check out the Members Only section. Click on the 'Members Only' menu selection on any page, enter the Id and password. The Members Only section contains the club Yearbook, speaker video links, club forms, newsletter archives, meeting minutes and more. Members may email the Co-Presidents to obtain the Id and password.

Thanks, thanks and more thanks

Thanks to all who participate in the club workshops, work parties and providing meeting refreshments. > > More

Talks on Video

If you missed our meeting speakers' informative talk, you can see the video of the talk on the club website Members Only section. Most of our recent club meeting talks are on view there.

Membership Dues- Accepted Now for LAVGC 2018/19 Program Year

Let's get those dues in early and save the membership chair a lot of work while making sure you will be in the 2018/19 LAVGC Yearbook. We print the Yearbook any time from mid-July on so if you have not paid your dues when we go to print, you will not be in the Yearbook.

You may pay your membership in person at either the May or June meeting cash or check (made out to LAVGC). We make it easy for you to be prompt with payment while helping the membership chair complete their task.

Current members, please complete the Membership Application and Renewal Form. Renewal dues are payable May 1 and delinquent August 1. To insure inclusion in the Yearbook, you must renew no later than July 30.

For more information about membership or dues, please email or call Dean Burnett. See the LAVGC Yearbook for Dean's phone number.

Day Tour - Iris Garden, Peony Garden and Plant and Pottery Outlet

Thursday, May 3, 2018. Leave Pleasanton Raleys parking lot at 10:30 AM

Bring a bag lunch. Signup at the meeting or by April 19 by contacting Linda Jenssen. See the LAVGC Yearbook for Linda's contact information.

The Chateau CharMarron Peony garden, 35335 Sierra Road, San Jose, CA 95132.

Chateau CharMarron Peony garden is located in San Jose, high above Milpitas overlooking the Calaveras Reservoir. They have more than 240 peony varieties under cultivation. The bloom season begins in late March with tree peonies and continues from mid-April through early June with herbaceous peonies. While enjoying the gardens, sample the wonderful Tuscan olive oils.

Nola's Iris Garden, 4195 Sierra Road San Jose, CA 9513.

Nola's Iris Garden has over 2100 varieties of Bearded Iris. Choices include Tall Bearded, Border Bearded, Intermediate Bearded, Dwarf Bearded and some of the best Reblooming Iris in the world. Nola's has picnic tables scattered around the Garden/Ranch or enjoy their new large deck overlooking the garden. Coffee and Tea are provided and sodas are available for purchase. Dogs are welcome on leashes.

The Plant and Pottery Outlet, 6467 Mission Rd, Sunol, CA 94586.

The Plant and Pottery Outlet is a clearance center for Tropical plants, Designer pottery, and Fountains and Statuaries. Choose from pottery and a large variety of indoor/ outdoor tropical plants at discount prices. They also carry organic soil and amendments. Pottery sizes vary from 4in to 40in in Height and Diameter. In addition, they sell chipped and damaged pots and plants at a huge discount!

LAVGC Slate of Officers for 2018/19

The nomination committee presented a slate of officers for membership consideration at the April meeting. The following slate was presented:

• Co-presidents: Lois Barber, Dolores Bengtson
• VP Meetings and Organization: Debra Caldwell
• VP Community Service: Jeri Stark
• VP Special Interests: Mary Davis
• Treasurer: Norma Foss
• Recording Secretary: Beth Clark
• Corresponding Secretary: Nora Kvale

The election of officers will be voted on at the May meeting. At that time, other nominations will be accepted from the floor.

Alameda County Fair Volunteer Opportunities

The Fair is June 15th - July 8th and there are volunteer opportunities in all areas of the fair. Our club makes $4 - $5 / hour for your volunteer time, and its lots of fun. As a volunteer, you get a T-shirt, hat, water bottle, parking & ticket entrance for each day you volunteer plus another ticket to the fair for another day when you're not working. Signups began April 1st, and you can use your same log-in from last year at www.myvolunteerpage.com. Karen can help retrieve your username if needed.

For signup help or more information, please contact Karen Abbruscato, ACF volunteer coordinator. See the LAVGC Yearbook for Karen's contact information.

2018 Members' Garden Tour Recap

Sunday, April 22 from 1:00-4:00

The 2018 Member Garden Tour of 5 Livermore gardens was a great success. At least 40 members viewed the gardens on Sunday and 16 of the 4th Monday Lunch Bunch gardeners viewed the gardens on Monday. Garden hosts answered questions and walked through their gardens with our members. Erika Dedon gave a short history of the long, long process to prepare hard packed clay soil for the beautiful drought tolerant plants at Master Gardener's demonstration garden at the Martinelli Event Center. Dana Boyd talked enthusiastically about how our members maintain the Hansen Rose Garden and let everyone know that the employees who work nearby enjoy it on their breaks.

Click Member Garden Tour to see Tour photos.

2018 Plant Sale Recap

The 2018 Plant Sale was a great success. Thank you all for your participation. Many hands and many hearts made the task easy and enjoyable. Despite over 2 1/2" of rain from Thursday to Saturday, we had over 65 club members working the sale. We gained 5 new club members and 10 others took home applications. We had a huge display of ornamentals, edibles, and boutique items for sale. We had over 250 customers make purchases. And the bottom line gross was over $8300. Well done everyone!

While the 2019 plant sale is nearly a year away, it is already time to begin thinking about plants to propagate by cutting or layering. As such plants require time for a new plant to strike roots and grow to a suitable size. At the April meeting, we heard about propagating lavender plants, and there are many other shrubby plants that can be propagated by these techniques.

Soil Knife/Soil Knife and Sheath Combo

Many of the club members enjoy the use of a soil knife, or soil knife with sheath, available from A.M. Leonard. A.M. Leonard provides a discount for our club if we place a group order. At the May meeting you may order either a Deluxe Stainless-Steel Soil Knife ($20.00) or a Deluxe Stainless-Steel Soil Knife with Sheath ($26.00).

Please have correct change or check made out to Dolores Bengtson) for your purchase if you plan on placing an order. Delivery will be prior to the June meeting where you may pick up your order. Please have someone available to pick up your order if you cannot attend the June meeting.

For more information contact Dolores Bengtson. See the LAVGC Yearbook for Dolores's contact information.

LAVGC Joint Board Meeting

Wednesday, June 6, 2018 6:45 PM. Livermore Library, Meeting Room B.

A joint meeting of the old and new board members is scheduled. The purpose of the meeting is to transfer information from the previous board members to the new and to conduct routine business.

The meeting is open to members. Should members wish to attend, please contact Dolores Bengtson so adequate seating can be assured.

LAVGC Annual Tomato Tasting - our 21st year!

Saturday, August 25 2-5 pm. Rustic barn at Eden Garden in Livermore (CrossWinds Church)

The LAVGC Tomato Tasting will be held Saturday, August 25th from 2-5 pm in the rustic barn at Eden Garden in Livermore (CrossWinds Church). This fun activity is a chance to taste many varieties of tomatoes and enter your tomatoes and tomato based dishes in a friendly competition. It is a great opportunity to socialize with your fellow club members. And, you will be able to see the many changes that have recently been made at Eden Garden. The weather is typically hot at the end of August, but remember, we need the heat to produce delicious tomatoes. We'll do our best to take advantage of the shade and hope for cooling breezes.

Event Guidelines

1. Any tomato is eligible for entry, from your garden, your neighbor's garden, the farmer's market or the grocery store.
2. Categories are cherry, slicer, or paste tomatoes, homemade savory tomato dishes and sweet tomato dishes. We will provide plates, labels and toothpicks.
3. For the tomato competition please bring enough for at least 25 or more tastings and an extra tomato for display if possible.
4. For the tomato dish competition please bring enough tastings for at least 25, a serving utensil and a copy of the recipe to share.
5. Everyone gets to vote and prizes awarded for the favorites!

If you have any questions please email Gayle Pawloski or Michelle Tallon at tomatotasting@lavgc.org. See the LAVGC Yearbook for their additional contact information. A reminder email with directions to Eden Garden will be sent 2 weeks prior to the event. Please come join us!