We're the Livermore Amador Valley Garden Club (LAVGC) in the San Francisco Bay Area. Most of our members live in Dublin, Pleasanton, or Livermore. Our club's mission is to encourage interest in all phases of home gardening; promote better horticultural practices; promote civic beauty; and promote conservation of natural resources.
On this site you'll find information about LAVGC activities, events, and community service projects. You'll also find helpful information about gardening, program videos, suggestions about gardening-related places to go, and more. You don't need to know anything about gardening to join our Club. We're an enthusiastic group, always eager to share our knowledge.
Our Members meetings are the second Thursday of the month, September through June. In January 2023, the club is returning to in-person meetings after Zoom-only meetings during the pandemic. Visitors are welcome to attend a club meeting once before joining. Special interest groups and community service work parties meet regularly throughout the year.
Carol Garberson will talk about how increasing native plant biodiversity in gardens and other landscapes will provide food and nectar resources for a variety of native pollinators. She will describe how she created her own “caterpillar garden.” She will also address the importance of ensuring that such native plant diversity is not limited to isolated pockets, but rather becomes part of larger corridors. She will talk about how that can be accomplished.
Garden Symphony Flyer
Planning for the Garden Symphony Tour fundraiser is progressing.
This fundraiser will be taking place on one day only.
We are partnering with the Livermore-Amador Symphony Guild to provide a multi-sensory experience of five beautiful gardens, with lovely music and
perhaps even some sweet fragrances!
The Livermore-Amador Symphony Guild will be providing some wonderful musicians,
and will handle publicity and ticket sales.
The tour will take place rain or shine;
but in the event of inclement weather musicians will be unable to perform.
Thank you in advance for your help in making this fundraiser a success!
Judy Matthew is an amazing contributor to LAVGC and our community. She grew up in Patterson, California, not far from Pleasanton where she currently resides. In 1972, Judy and her husband moved into a home just a few blocks from Clare’s Garden. Judy has always been into vegetable and fruit gardening. Her favorite plants are tomatoes and potatoes because they are fun to grow. Her favorite fruits are apricots and peaches, and she has a 40-year-old apricot tree growing in her yard.
In 2010 Judy became an Alameda County Master Gardener and helped to start the Fertile Ground Works garden, working with Bruce Campbell. In 2014 she joined LAVGC and volunteered at Eden Garden working with Karen Abbruscato and Barbara Stott. Judy became interested in Clare’s Fare Garden when Bruce and Ann Daggy, friends of Jenny Whitehouse, were discussing how Pleasanton needed a garden to produce vegetables for families in need. Jenny spoke to the church to see if the Club could use the church’s vacant lot and the rest is history. Judy stepped in to lead the Clare’s Fare Garden program with Shirley Eastman and the two of them are doing a fabulous job bringing thousands of pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables to the Culinary Angels and La Familia in the area.
Judy is an amazing leader of Clare’s Fare Garden, and very active at Eden Garden, SeedShare, the Master Garden Program, and the Pleasanton Library.
Judy wants to give the message to others to get involved in the Club and community. LAVGC has many wonderful activities you can do in a non-stressful environment and members can answer many questions and help solve issues and concerns.
For more information, please see the Newsletter (Members section).
Membership Application Form
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