A New Season and A New President
Welcome back to our 94th year of operation! After the privations of CoVid, we have come roaring back with our most successful Gate and Garden Tour ever. We have made donations to multiple organizations in town, some of which include the replanting and maintenance of The Presbyterian Church rose garden, a vegetable garden for the residents of Glenwood House, and a pollinator garden in Bluebird Canyon Park.
And now to our upcoming year. My theme is “Responsible Gardening in a Changing World” and there is no denying the reality of climate change. I am writing this from my little house in Burgundy, France where we have had record breaking heat and are in a drought. Fires still rage along the West coast of Europe and in the South, and glaciers are melting at record speeds.
Meanwhile at home, the West coast is in a record mega drought and a 3rd successive La Niña is forecast for this winter. There is no more fire season: it is now a year round problem. Laguna is high risk especially because of limited ingress and egress. So, what can we do? Our panel of speakers this year have been selected to address some of these issues. In October we are going to hear about the fire mitigation plan for the city and how we might decrease fire risk in our own gardens. Subsequently Nan Sterman is coming to speak about water wise irrigation. Our world is changing and we must adapt accordingly.
Does this mean we have to give up on beautiful blooming gardens? Of course not, but we must plant and maintain more realistically. I grew up gardening in Ireland where you could put a stick in the ground and it would bloom in a week. However, from my first day at med school in 1967 until I retired in 2019, there was no time. Over the past 3 years I have been learning a Presidentʼs Message completely different method. I had my steep slope terraced and I replanted with California natives, put in a drip irrigation system, and am trying to set up a smart timer for it. Natives are not limited to spring blooming: with care, you can find plants that will have bloom or foliage throughout the year. I am almost to the point where in summer I will need to water once a month at most! However, in the interest of full disclosure I must confess that I still have a small rose garden: I just have 6 bushes in a narrow curving bed and they are well mulched!
I can’t wait for our new club season and to seeing you all again! I promise I will do my best to say tomaato and not tomahto……
Janet Chance
2022-2024 President