"Festivities For All" Flower Show Pictures

Here are some pictures from the Flower Show that was held December 6th & 7th. Enjoy!

First stop for everyone displaying, The Check In Table.

Gerry getting ready to make her arrangement.

Lillian working with horticulture.

Chairperson Bev making sure everything is perfect!

Kathy talking to ?

We took the judges down the Greenhouse Cafe for a very nice lunch.

Ron and Pam working on the Horticulture Tables.

Pam playing peek-a-boo?

Lillian and Marjo Gardner providing beautiful music.

Jean and Bob marking the prices on the Plant Market plants.

All the plants for sale at the Plant Market.

Beautiful Horticulture

Horticulture

Chrysanthemum

Horticulture

Horticulture Tables

Horticulture Tables

Horticulture Tables.

Horticulture Tables. You have to love Southern California! Here it is the first of December and this is what we are getting out of our gardens!! Beats three feet of snow any day!

Educational Display by Bob. He had a computer with a looped slide show of local birds and plants.

Kids Growing Strong Educational Display by Nancy Gorman. Look at the cute "flower bed"!

Lillian's Educational Display on the National and State and Local Garden Clubs.

"Holiday Festivities" - Exhibiton Type 1 Place Setting in a Frame

Rita De Silets (SC GC) 1st

Lovita Vandenberg 2nd (W)

"Hung With Care" Wreath etc.

Jan Bull (C) 1st & Artistic Craft Award

Wreath

Jo Maturo (W) 2nd

Decorated Ball

Camille Van Ast (C) 3rd

"Putting on the Ritz"

Necklace Arrangement Camille Van Ast (C) 1st

Hat Bev Switzer (C & WHFD) 2nd

Apron Design

Lillian Trevisan (C) 3rd

Hat

Pat Taylor (C) H.M.

"Four Footed or Feathered Festivites"

Kathy Dustman (O) 1st

Rita DeSilets (SC & WHFD) H.M.

Lillian Tresivan (C) 2nd

Bev Switzer (C & WHFD) 3rd

"Petite Surprise" 18"x18" Design Table

Left to right....Becky Hartlage, Dreena Tierney and Janet Switzer

Janet Switzer 3rd

Becky Hartlage 2nd

"By the Fire" a Tray

Janet Switzer (WHFD) 1st & Table Artistry Award

Lilly Klink (W) H.M.

18"x18" Camille Van Ast (C) 1st

"Bountiful Harvest" 6 foot table

Bev Switzer (C & WHFD) 3rd

Becky Hartlage (C) 2nd

Janet Switzer (WHFD) 1st & Table Artistry Award & Holiday Excellence Award

Close up of Janet's buffet table

"Boxing Day" Card Table

Bev Switzer (C & WHFD) 2nd

"Celebrate the Day" single place setting

Barbara Hearne (W) 1st.

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(This is NOT all the designs and winners. When I get more pictures figured out I will put more up. If you find any mistakes please let me know! Thanks. )

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Just a brief wrap-up to a very busy weekend. Remember we only do this twice a year so be ready in Spring of 2012 to put your best flowers out for the world to see!!

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"Festivities For All" CVGC Flower Show

The Conejo Valley Garden Club's Flower Show is all set for

December 5, 2009 from 1 - 5 pm

and

December 6, 2009 from 1 - 4pm.

It will be held at the Thousand Oaks Library, 1401 E. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks, California.

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It is Table Settings......

It is a Plant Sale.......

It is a Flower Show......

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And you are all welcome to come!!

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Come and enjoy the beautiful flower arrangements and horticulture displays. Before you leave stop by the Plant Mart and pick up a couple new plants for yourself and for gifts.

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You can't have a bad day looking at and smelling the flowers and it is Free!!

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October General Meeting

Our October General Meeting started out with a short and busy business meeting. Old and new business was handled in a timely manner. After the business meeting Beverly discussed the upcoming Flower Show and explained a lot of the different classes that we could enter. The schedule for the show was passed out to everyone.

Beverly explaining the platform place setting. She then talked about all the beautiful Horticulture that was brought in.

Our speaker for the day was Mike Tardif of Plant Picasso. His talk on succulents was fun and very informative. He discussed the use of succulents in water wise and fire wise landscaping. Also discussed his deep interest in getting kids interested in nature and plants. He talked about something most of us have experienced also, how good a therapy it is to work in the garden.

He made up several pots of succulents that he donated to the raffle. Some very lucky people went home with some great plants!


After the meeting a dozen of us walked over to my house, which happens to be very close, for our first "Lunch in the Garden".

Everyone brought their sack lunch and sat around in the garden and talked and had a great time.

We will be doing this a few more times this year so please join us. It was lots of fun!

Next month, November will be in Jan Bull's garden. Watch the newsletter for more information.

Conejo Valley Botanic Garden News

Planting Fruit Trees

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Come Join Us in

The Kid's Adventure Garden

Conejo Valley Botanic Garden

On December 5th from 9am to 11am for a talk on planting and caring for fruit and citrus trees.

The talk will be conducted by Jon Freeman-Wood. Jon is a licensed landscape contractor and owner of Jon's Nursery of Somis. He is an expert on Fruit trees for our area with over 29 years experience.

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If you have and questions about our talk or need directions please visit http://www.conejogarden.org/ or email Tom1374@verizon.net or call Jean at 374-8255

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Conejo Valley Botanic Garden News

Here are some Updates from the CVBG that I thought you might be interested in.

WATER WISE GARDEN DESIGN
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Come join us in the

Kids’ Adventure Garden
Conejo Valley Botanic Garden

Saturday Nov. 7 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

for a talk on "Designing a Water Wise Garden."

*The talk will be conducted by Emily Habib.
Emily is a Ventura County Master Gardener and owner of Waterwise Landscape Design. Her talk will cover the basics of good landscape design, plant selection, irrigation and many other aspects of garden design.
Space is limited so come early and enjoy a great talk in a wonderful garden setting.
If you have questions about our "Talk in the Garden" program or need directions, please visit http://www.conejogarden.org/ or e-mail Tom1374@verizon.net.

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MACY'S COMMUNITY SHOPPING DAY
Saturday November 14, 2009

Conejo Valley Botanic Garden has been selected as one of the non-profit organizations during this event to be given the opportunity to raise funds for our programs. Our volunteers will be at a booth at Macy's to promote the garden on Nov. 14.

Donate $10 to Conejo Valley Botanic Garden and receive ticket for $10 discount at Macy's on November 14 plus you can enter to win a $500 Macy's Gift Card!
CVBG will keep 100% of the $10 from the ticket sales.

HOW TO PURCHASE TICKETS

1. Purchase on Sundays 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Kid's Adventure Garden, CVBG, 350 Gainsborough Rd. (no mailbox)
2. Make check to & mail to Conejo Valley Botanic Garden, P.O. Box 6614, Thousand Oaks, CA 91359 before Nov. 10, 2009.
3. Purchase from CVBG volunteers or phone 818-889-2835.

FOR DIRECTIONS TO THE GARDEN, GO TO http://www.conejogarden.org/

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September Potluck

Our first meeting of the new year was held in the lovely backyard of one of our newest members, Becky. It was a perfect setting and a perfect day. The meeting started off with a short business meeting.

All the members and guests sitting around enjoying themselves.




Lillian passed out certificates for years of service that were awarded to 5 our members.

Kathy for 30 Years!

Bev for 30 Years!!

Pam for 10 Years

Jackie for 10 Years and Lillian for 10 Years.

Congratulations and Thank You to all of you for your dedication to the club.

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I couldn't stay for the rest of the meeting but I hear it was a wonderful potluck with lots of delicious food and deserts.

Becky provided door prizes that many people won. We also passed the hat for donations for a brick at the Conejo Valley Botanic Garden in memory of Jeannie.

Thanks to Becky for welcoming us into her beautiful yard and home. Everyone had a great time.

October Tree of the Month from CLU

From the Barbara Collins Arboretum on the campus of California Lutheran University.

Yes we do have fall colors!!! One of the favorites is sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua), native to eastern United States. Look around the campus and you will see quite a few of these trees with the foliage just beginning to turn red. You may also note the little spiny balls hanging on the tree. Another tree with beautiful fall colors is the Chinese pistache (Pistacia chinensis). There are a few young Chinese pistache west of the Gilbert Sports Facility, but better examples can be found northwest of Mogen Hall. The trees here are quite tall, and the leaves are just now beginning to turn red.

Barbara Collins, California Lutheran University

Native Plants

Second in a Series
Getting to Know Native Plants

Penstemon heterophylla Margarita BOP
Family: Scrophulariaceae (Figworts)
California Native

Penstemon ‘Margarita BOP’ is a tidy perennial which looks like candy tuft when not in flower and stays attractive year round. Penstemon Margarita BOP is a hybrid between Penstemon heterophyllus and Penstemon Laetus, and was a seedling which appeared in the early 1980’s. The ‘BOP’ stands for ‘Bottom of Porch’ which is where it was first discovered and later introduced by La Pilatas Nursery.
It is an evergreen with smooth linear deep green leaves and grows 1-3 feet high and 1-2 wide. It likes full sun and is drought tolerant. It is hardy to 10 F. in CA.
Flowering commences in late spring and early summer with yellow tinged buds opening to bright blue flowers fading to purple.
The seeds are fertile and will come back as Penstemon heterophyllus.

Propagate from cuttings. I have grown multiple cuttings from Margarita BOP taken during a cutting workshop last March at Theodore Payne Native Plant Nursery in Sun Valley. They have all grown well and I am about to pot them up to 1 gallon.

Penstemon ‘Margarita BOP’ is an L.A. Arboretum All-Star plant currently being trialed at Theodore Payne who call it one of their best sellers.
This plant attracts birds, butterflies and bees and is also suitable for growing in containers.

Fall is the time to begin planting native plants, they respond in a much better fashion to planting at this time of year.

Margaret Strachan, CGCI chairman for Backyard Habitat.

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Sunflower in Carolyn's garden

Here is a photo of the beautiful sunflower that a kind and cooperative bird "planted" in my front garden. Now I wish a flock of birds would fly over and plant my entire garden. Hahahaha

Carolyn

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Native Plants

The first of a series:

Getting to know Native Plants

Conejo Buckwheat - Saffron Buckwheat
Eriogonum crocatum

This plant is one of the seventy-six species in the genus Eriogonum in California. I have chosen it as the first one to write about in our newsletter because you can see from its name that its distribution is in Ventura County. It is our very own native plant; it is rare, a perennial, and it grows on the rocky slopes of the Camarillo grade, in only a small part of the northern Santa Monica Mountains.

This is a small shrub, generally round to mounding in form. It will grow up to eighteen inches tall and two to three feet wide. The stems and broad inch-long leaves are covered in white hairs and the flowers are tight heads of sulphur yellow blossoms which turn to cinnamon brown as they age. It flowers from April to July. Because its natural habitat is a rocky slope a garden planting on a sunny bank which would provide good drainage is best, especially with some afternoon shade. A raised border or a rock garden will also be a good home, and this plant does have tolerance for our clay soils.

Buckwheats are among the most drought tolerant of native plants, with moderate watering needed until well established. Conejo Buckwheat does not have a dormant season.

Before the fires in Santa Barbara this year I saw several Conejo Buckwheat plants in the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, and you will also see it in both the Kids Adventure Garden and the main area of the Conejo Valley Botanic Garden. It is propagated from seed, and that is being done currently at the Conejo Valley Botanic Garden with a view to having it available for their weekly Sunday sales in the future, maybe by next year. Theodore Payne Native Plant Nursery in Sun Valley tells me that they carry it in their inventory, but it is best to check the inventory online before purchase.

This plant is great for butterflies in your backyard habitat.

Margaret Strachan
CGCI Chairman for Backyard Habitat.

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August and Zucchini

Did you know that August is national

"Leave zucchini on your neighbor's porch and run" month?

How are your gardens doing?

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Afternoon Tea

On May 9, 2009 the Conejo Valley Garden Club served

Afternoon Tea!

The menu was as elegant as the table settings:

A Sip of Sherry

Salmon Sandwich

Egg Salad Sandwich

Tarragon Chicken Sandwich

Cucumber Sandwich

Sausage Roll

Scone, Jam, Cream

Peach Tarts

Cookies

Many of the club members made the Beautiful Table Settings





Look at all these flower arrangements! They truly set the stage for the Tea.




All kinds of China settings too.




The tables were spread out in the backyard beside the pool, in the front yard under the trees and inside of Lisa's home so everyone had a choice of a beautiful setting.


Many thanks to all those that pulled this Tea together!!
Lisa for hosting the Tea at her home.
Beverly for arranging for the people to set the tables.
Camille for selling the tickets and arranging for all the Door Prizes and Raffle tickets. For all her helpers during the Raffle.
To everyone that supplied the Chinese Auction and Raffle prizes.
All the members that made the sandwiches.
The servers that helped out and made everything run so smoothly.
To Joyce who supervised and organized so much with the food and the serving.
(and to anyone that I have forgotten!!)
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No club could do without the members that volunteer and we thank you for all you do!



Some of the pictures of people enjoying the wonderful afternoon.

This is our major fund raiser of the year and we are happy to say it was a huge success!!

"Butterflies Alive" at the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum

I wanted to make sure everyone knew about the "Butterflies Alive" program that is going on now at the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum.

http://www.sbnature.org/exhibits/butterflies/

(I can't seem to find an ending date but I think it goes through the first of September.)

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It is a fun exhibit with or without your camera. They have great examples of plants for butterfly gardening and some of the hanging baskets are breathtaking!
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"Experience the magic of Butterflies Alive!as you walk through a beautiful garden filled with flowers, luscious greenery, and more than 1,000 free-flying butterflies.

Watch as the butterflies flutter past you, and see them as they drink nectar from nearby flowers.

Butterflies Alive! will offer many memorable opportunities, so bring your family, friends and cameras."

As you can tell from this picture the pavillion is very large. They limit the number of people that can go in at any one time so it is never very crowded. That being said I would suggest going up on a week day or early in the day on the weekends. You will have to wait in line at the very busy times.

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It is well worth the trip up to Santa Barbara.

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Jeannie Simpson

Jeannie Simpson

1926-2009

It is with great sadness we say good-by to one of our own Garden Club members. Jeannie joined the Conejo Valley Garden Club in 2000 and was always ready with a smile and a very helping hand. She served on many committees and helped out any way she could. We have missed her greatly the last year as she tried to recover from a fall. She had been set to help us have the best plant sale ever.

She was a wonder with her gardening. I remember her saying that she had been blessed with the ability to grow anything. She took great joy in everything she did. She went to a geranium sale and when she came back she was talking about all the new plants she had bought. Along the lines of: "Well, I shouldn't have, didn't need them but I kept thinking about all the new starts I could make with them so I went ahead and bought them. Figured I could get 4 plants for the price of one! Just had to do it. "

I was thinking about Jeannie a few days ago when I was transplanting some of the geranium plants I have that came from starts she had brought into one of our meetings. She pushed me and gave me the courage to try and grow them when I had never done that before. Now I'm just a cutting fool, all because of her!

We all will miss her!

A few messages from the group:

I just wanted to say that Jeannie was one of the nicest and friendliest people I have ever met. I never saw her without a smile. What a great asset she was to our club. Carolyn

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Jeannie was a lovely person. She was especially supportive to me in my time as club president when I very much appreciated her kindest and great sense of humor. I will miss her. Margaret

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The Botanic Garden will surely miss Jeannie. She was a wonderful help for many years in the propagation group and at our plant sales. She really knew how to handle the money! We will miss her greatly. Jean Reiley, Pres. CVBG

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How I remember Jeannie: It was on the day of my very first Garden Club visit. Jeannie was trying to carry more plants than she had hands from the car to Lisa's house. I offered to help her and she never forgot. Just a little deed turned into a very warm welcome to the club and into the heart of a very warm and genuine person that Jeannie was to me. I'll miss you Jeannie!! Ursula.

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Installation Luncheon

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Thousand Oaks Inn

75 W. Thousand Oaks Blvd.

Library Room

$16.00 per person

Buffet Luncheon

Sliced Tri Tip

Chicken Marsalis

Glazed Carrots & Summer Squash

New Potatoes with Butter & Parsley

Caesar Salad

Pasta Primavera

Rolls

Chocolate Mousse

Reservation: Sherry Molinari 805-498-2778

or

Camille Van Ast 805-498-7421

Due no later than Friday, May 22, 2009

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Join us for a fun wrap-up of our Garden Club year. We will have the installation of the new officers, great food and lots of good cheer. This the the last activity for our 2008 - 2009 year so don't miss it!

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Poem: Plant A Garden by Edgar Guest

Plant A Garden

"If your purse no longer bulges

and you've lost your golden treasure,

If times you think you're lonely

and have hungry grown for pleasure,

Don't sit by your hearth and grumble,

don't let mind and spirit harden.

If it's thrills of joy you wish for

get to work and plant a garden!

If it's drama that you sigh for,

plant a garden and you'll get it

You will know the thrill of battle

fighting foes that will beset it

If you long for entertainment and

for pageantry most glowing,

Plant a garden and this summer spend

your time with green things growing."

- Edgar Guest, 1881-1959

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Afternoon Tea

(Click the picture to enlarge the flyer.)

Hope to see everyone there!!!

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Conejo Valley Botanic Garden

Sunday May 3, 2009 1 - 5 pm

Matilija Poppy Festival

The spectacular display of the Matilija poppies will

provide a backdrop for an afternoon of garden fun.

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Children’s Activities

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Harp music by Judy Reiter

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Matilija Poppy Watercolors,

Artist Elizabeth J. Miller

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Plant sale

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Starter plants for children

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Popcorn

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AND IT’S FREE!

PROGRAMS 1:45 Growing Rare Fruit

Edgar Valdivia of the California Rare Fruit Growers

2:45 Birds in the Garden

by David Person of the Conejo Valley Audubon Society

3:45 The Master Gardener Program &

Composting Tips

by Bill Dobner, Master Gardener & Volunteer

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To Reach the Garden:

Exit 101 Freeway at Lynn Road & go north 0.7 miles.

Turn right at Gainsborough Rd.

and continue for 0.5 miles to Jeaunine Dr. on right.

Website: http://www.conejogarden.org/

Sponsored in cooperation with

Conejo Recreation & Park District and The City of Thousand Oaks - Community Events Endowment Fund

Garage Sale 2009

Bright and early on March 28th the Garden Club had their annual Garage Sale. The work had already started months ago though, thanks to Sherry. She offered her driveway for the sale and her garage to store the goodies in until the sale! Several people came over on Friday evening to unload the boxes and put things out on the tables so they would be ready in the morning. As everyone knows that has had or gone to a garage sale: they start early!! The early bird gets the worm or the prized treasure!!

I got over there at 0 dark 30 (6:30am, with my coffee in hand!!) and Sherry and her husband, Bill had most of the stuff already out and set up and they had already made a sale!!

It kept up pretty busy for the first few hours.

Bargin Hunters everywhere. Even some from our own club! I told myself that I wasn't going home with anything but little did that help!! I came home with several "great deals"!!

I thought about bringing this home to my husband but didn't think he would find the humor in it!! Oh well.

Lovely things

It is a garden club sale so there were lots of vases. We do love our flowers!!

A very successful sale this year. Thank you Sherry for all your hard work setting this up. Thank you for all the volunteers that helped work it. I don't have the names now but I'm sure they will be in the newsletter!!

Our Members are So Busy!!

Japanese Pagoda at The Gardens of the World

A few months ago, fifty-three local residents received George W. Bush's President's Volunteer Service Awards for volunteering at least 100 hours with the Hogan Family Foundation.


Among these volunteers was our own Nan Moors!! She put in more than 100 hours of work at The Gardens of the World on Thousand Oaks Blvd. Way to go Nan!!


If you haven't been to the Garden's of the World stop by and check it out. It is a beautiful garden full of wonderful things. It is gorgeous all year long but this time of year it will be outstanding!! http://www.gardensoftheworld.info/index.htm