It is a joy to reminisce about the years of my presidency, from 2009-11. As I look through the Yearbooks and a few saved Spindrifters, I am flooded with memories of some truly remarkable lectures, field trips and special events. Beyond that, I am warmed by the memory of so many people who pulled together to make each meeting and event happen. I will never forget the sense of joy I had as I looked out at the sea of smiling, happy, expectant faces, an audience who always made guests and speakers feel so welcome. Our meetings had the festive feel of a country fair. I am eternally grateful to Ann Craig, who was my mentor and guide as I learned the traditions of how things were done in the club. She had a wonderful shoulder to lean on. The theme of my presidency was “In the love of gardens, friendships bloom”. I especially loved it when a lecture led to an opportunity to put to practice as a group what we had learned. One of our first speakers was Heather Lenkin, a noted landscape designed from Pasadena. After being inspired by her words, we were invited to visit her home and garden to see firsthand the masterpiece she had sculpted and painted with plants. Later in the year, noted photographer Allan Mandell’s lecture was followed by an all-day workshop on landscape photography in a beautiful Fallbrook garden, where all the participants had a chance to learn from each other’s efforts.
We were honored to celebrate our founding member, Adrienne Greene’s 90th Birthday at our November 2009 meeting. In honor of Adrienne, the club raised over $1600, which was donated to the San Diego Botanic Garden. Julian Duval gave a lovely tribute to Adrienne and we all celebrated with chocolate truffles.
The Garden Club highlighted the artistry of floral design with many noted speakers, from Rene van Rems to James Nieh, Ron Morgan and Suzy Bales. Suzy linked flower gardening to floral design. We undertook a series of floral design workshops taught by Beverly Ireland to provide an ongoing course over 2 years. The eighth and ninth Expressions in Art and Flowers, chaired by Ann Crag and Bonnie Sipe were joyful events showcasing the talents of so many of our members. These were some of our happiest meetings as we mingled, chatted and enjoyed the artistry and the delicious goodies.
Perhaps my fondest memories are of the two Meet the Masters Teas. The first was with Nancy Clarke who was the chief floral designer for the White House for 25 years. She delighted us with her imaginative floral demonstrations and her stories of the 6 Presidents and First Ladies she worked with and the events she organized over the years, from the White House Holidays to State Dinners. The second was with Paula Pryke of the Flower School in London. These events were inspired by Adrienne Greene as a gift to our greater community as well as our members. We added a lovely evening reception for underwriters. These greatly loved events raised money for our School Yard Gardens Program.
Over the two years, considerable attention was given to conservation and sustainability, with lectures by Bill Toone from the Ecolife Fondation on the migration of the Monarch Butterfly and by James Nieh from UCSD on the Secret Life of Bees. We had workshops on Backyard Orchards, Beekeeping, Growing Mushrooms and Building Owl Boxes. We had a tour of the demonstration garden at Olivewood, complete with a lunch of foods harvested from the garden. The Horticulture Committee treated us to beautiful displays of fruits, vegetables and flowers from members’ gardens, as well as special presentations on growing Hellebores, Salvias, Clematis and winter vegetables. Arthur Dawson’s monthly essays on Growing Edibles on the Coast were always beautifully researched and packed with practical hints. Finally, our Members’ Garden Tours and field trips to Filoli and the Barona Rose Garden were truly special and memorable.
One of my most rewarding tasks as President was writing a monthly note, something I grew to enjoy immensely. I will close with something I ran across in my notes. The garden is where we rejoice, we restore, we seek solace, we create beauty and remind ourselves of the spirit of creation, renewal and connection to something greater than ourselves, remembering that we are all stewards.
The Garden Club was like a garden to me. It was beautiful when I inherited it and I was grateful to be its steward for two years.