2023 Past Events
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January 25: Our first workshop in 2023 was creating dried floral artwork. The class, seemed very intimidating to many at first, but instructor Lora Calcora provided a beautiful collection of dried florals and examples of artwork she had crafted. Everyone’s finished product was simply amazing and definitely deserved a prominent place in their homes.
February 6: With our January speaker presentation being cancelled due to weather, this was our first speaker event of the year. We heard from Lynn Beveridge, Master Gardener, on Staghorn Ferns and Easy to Grow Orchids. Lynn was a wealth of information, which our attendees appreciated very much.
March 6: With March being coined “Month of the Monarchs” by the Garden Club, we welcomed Ms. Susie Vanderlip as our keynote speaker on “Everything You Wanted to Know About Monarchs.” Ms. Vanderlip is a Monarch Butterfly “Guru” and provided attendees with detailed information on the life cycle of the Monarch, why their population is declining and what we can do to help save the Monarch Butterfly from extinction.
March 22: We had planned to distribute milkweed plants to members, but the plants weren’t ready to be shipped so we punted and went to the San Diego Botanic Garden instead and viewed their “World of Orchids” exhibit. It was an absolutely beautiful collection which was designed by international floral designer, Renee Van Rems.
April 5: “Making the Most of Your Beautiful Blooms“ was the topic of this speaker event. It was held at the home of member Andria Sullivan, who was also our keynote speaker. Andria has over 100 gorgeous rose bushes and she gave a “hands on” demonstration of what she does to increase the blooming time of her roses and what she uses to defend her roses against those pesky bugs and diseases.
April 20: A small group of members went on an all day charter bus trip to Huntington Gardens in San Marino. It was an absolutely beautiful day with perfect weather! We toured the various themed gardens, enjoyed a delicious lunch and stopped at the Huntington Store before we left for home. It was a great day all around!
May 10: A Plant and Artisan Market was held at the Secret Garden. Despite the weather prediction of a rainy day, it turned out we had sunshine, which was great for both vendors and shoppers. There were about 18 vendors ranging from one-of-a-kind glass blown art to candles, tabletop firepits and fresh baked artisan bread.
May 17: This was our big event of the year — the Celebration of Giving grant award ceremony. Members and guests gathered to honor this year’s grant recipients. The presentation was held inside with dinner, dessert and entertainment outside in the garden.
June 5: We had an entertaining and informative presentation by Debby Dunn, Master Gardener, on Water Wisdom, Plants and Rebates. Debby gave us some great “pearls” on how to conserve water, choosing water-wise plants for your garden and rebates available from various agencies supporting conservation. If you didn’t get the chance to attend this presentation, click here to view a few key slides from Debby’s presentation.
June 21: Unfortunately the Flower Arrangement Workshop was cancelled due to a family emergency affecting the workshop teacher. We hope to reschedule this in early 2024.
July 10: About 20 of us made the trek to the Sherman Library Garden and Roger’s Garden. The Sherman Garden was absolutely beautiful and we were lucky to have three docents who split us into groups and gave each group a very personalized tour. This history of the library and garden was fascinating and the exhibits were stunning. After our tour we had lunch at the Lighthouse Cafe which is located right on the harbor. The weather was gorgeous and perfect for sitting outside and enjoying a bit to eat with friends. Then we drove the short distance to Roger’s Garden. This nursery is legitimately off the chart! So many different varieties of plants available and a gift shop that boasts a variety of interesting and one-of-a-kind items. Needless to say, everyone had a wonderful time.
July 26: Lora Calcora, our floral artwork instructor, was back to teach us how to make dried floral resin jewelry. It was akin to making the dried floral artwork…but on a much, much smaller basis. Attendees chose the type of piece they wanted to make (earrings or a pendant) and began creating a personalized collage using dried mini florals with accents such as gold flakes, opalescent powder and gemstones. Lora assisted everyone in pouring the resin into each mold. After some curing, voila! Each piece was unique and beautiful.
August 17: Our 2nd Annual Farm-to-Table Dinner was, once again, a huge success. 66 members and their guest attended and enjoyed a chef curated menu consisting of grilled salmon, ricotta stuffed squash with marinara sauce, fingerling pesto potatoes, vegetable succotash and a decadent dessert of flourless chocolate cake with raspberry coulis. Chef Christina did an amazing job of creating this meal with farm fresh organic vegetables and fresh salmon.
September 11: “All About Fruit Trees” was a rousing presentation by local expert, Tyler Trimble. Tyler gave an informative, entertaining and energetic presentation that covered everything from planting and pruning your fruit trees to harvesting the rewards of your efforts.
October 16: Once again, members and guests gathered to create beautiful succulent pumpkins! Attendees chose from a selection of various sizes and colors of pumpkins and got busy creating their masterpieces. A good time was had by all, and everyone took home a lovely addition to their seasonal holiday decor!
November 15: The RSFGC Annual Holiday Brunch was enjoyed by 83 members! The tasty fare consisted of a selection of three different quiches, a variety of breakfast pastries, fresh fruit cups and bubbly mimosas. Our speaker was Kendal Sager of Sager Family Farm who gave an amazing presentation on bees. Kendal has been a bee-keeper for many years and provides educational programs on bees to schools. She brought one of her portable hives teeming with worker bees and the queen! Sager Family Farm is a RSFGC Grant Recipient and funds were provided for one of her hive installation projects during our 2022-23 grant cycle.
December 4: To close out the year, we hosted our Annual Wreath-Making Workshop. As in the past, the garden club provided all of the materials to create a beautiful, live wreath for each person to take home or give as a gift. 74 members and guests created wreaths while enjoying hot coffee, tea and cocoa. This year, we encouraged everyone to bring a plate of cookies to share which turned out to be a big hit! Everyone loved sampling the variety of baked goods!
Click Here for 2022 Events