Commemorative Tree Program          

Please join us on April 14, 2026 for our annual Dedication Ceremony at the beautiful home of Elaine Butz.

In order to be included in the program, donations need to be made before March 1.

And a very special thanks to the donors who honored others by contributing to the Commemorative Tree Program between December 1, 2025 and January 28, 2026.  You make our Club and our community a better place!  Just as you recognize and appreciate others, we recognize and appreciate all of you! 

Susan Alleshouse and Ana Canto; Co-Chairs   
                  

Wreaths Across America

Thanks to you, together with sponsorship groups across the U.S., more than 3.1 million wreaths were sponsored in 2025.  Here’s an email that was sent to us by an executive director of the organization. You can read it here.

Kate Engler

The Village Grapevine 

Favorite Books

We asked some members what books they have particularly enjoyed. Maybe there's something here that will inspire or interest you.

My favorite book on gardening is Pat Welsh'sSouthern California Organic Gardening. It's organized month-by-month so I can look at the month and see what I need to be doing.  Pat's writing is entertaining and informative and she has a wonderful sense of humor.  I've heard Pat speak many times and each time I learned something new.  I also loveScott Schrader Exterior Designfor inspiration.--Devonna Hall

My favorite book is very dear to my heart and I refer to it often.  Sargent by Carter Ratcliff is a wonderfully illustrated account of the life and art of John Singer Sargent. Primarily a portrait painter, he is my favorite artist and I study his methods assiduously.—Jean Collins

I enjoyed The Wild Trees by Richard Preston. It’s a great story about the giant sequoias, their ecosystem at the top of the tree and how the old growth sequoia groves are being protected. Preston and Childs have written several thriller mysteries known as the Pendergast series. They are a quick read for a plane trip!—Susan Alleshouse

I choose The Wild Trees by Richard Preston. It’s a real life, non-fiction recount of how a group of passionate naturalists and freestyle climbers went about locating and documenting the largest coastal redwoods in California. Beautifully written and fascinating.—Moya Gollaher

The Handmaid’s Tale is a futuristic dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood, written in 1985. It’s set in a patriarchal, totalitarian country known as the Republic of Gilead, which has overthrown the United Sates. Women are forcibly required to produce children for the Commanders, who are the ruling class in Gilead. The Church is aligned with the government. There was a worldwide drop in fertility due to a polluted environment. Men’s sperm counts crashed. I have always been stunned that Atwood was so prescient in reading the tea leaves.—Olga Fabrick

One of my favorites is The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan. He makes history come alive especially as he relates this true story of a Ukrainian family’s incredible escape from their homeland as war breaks out between Russia and Germany. Their faith, love, courage and will to live are truly inspiring!--Lynne Engh

I love One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle. The book explores themes of mother-daughter relationships and self-discovery set against the beautiful backdrop of the Amalfi Coast.  Wonderful!--Amy Hober

This book made me appreciate historical fiction. It's The Passion of Artemisia by local author, Susan Vreeland. I read it 20+ years ago.  It's the story of the Italian painter, Artemisia Gentileschi, as she lives quite a life in 17th century Italy. You’ll recognize other famous artists and personalities from Rome to Florence including Galileo and Michelangelo.  I need to read it again!--Kate Engler

Master Gardeners

Growing up in Brooklyn, the famous proverb that “March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb” was used to teach both art and science.  And almost every year the truth of it was clear: the daffodils in parks, the putting away of heavy winter coats, the beginning of baseball. In New England, during my middle ages, March was still another cold and gray month.  The only gardening I did was indoors and on paper.  But out here, March is the true beginning of spring bringing joy and gardening tasks

With February's rain and wind, now is the time to check for weakened tree and shrub branches, mulch that has migrated from its intended location (especially on slopes), and structural damage to trellises and fences. Climbing plants may need to be retied.

Weeds are happy.  Need I say more?  Slugs too.  They may be hiding under your strawberries and in the strappy leaf crevices of agapanthus, amaryllis and the like. You can go on search and destroy missions with a flashlight at night or after a foggy morning. Beat them to death and bury them deep as a fertilizer.  Yucky but effective.  Or bait them realizing you are actually drawing them to your plants.  They die slowly so you can collect them in jars, wish them adieu.  If you use bait, always wear a protective glove and sprinkle the product twice, 10-14 days apart to get parent and offspring.

Remember Audrey and “Feed Me” in Little Shop of Horrors?  We can avoid local murders by using organic fertilizers now.  That presumes they are needed, but if you laid compost last fall or used granular fertilizers before the rains, it is probably unnecessary.  Natives and succulents need no feeding this month, but citrus and avocado do.

If you haven’t used your design eye in a while, this is the time.  Begin by looking out your windows and sitting on patio furniture.  Like what you see?  If you want to make changes, big or small, spring is a great time for planting.  The nurseries have lots of trees, shrubs, and plants available.  (But beware of rootless containers.  When you upend the pot – and you should, there may be more soil and fewer roots than you’d want.)  The weather is still cool so plants are not stressed and watering is not a dire issue.  This is also a good time to check your irrigation system to be sure it’s functioning perfectly.

Containers need a new look? If you are pulling everything out, scrub the planter inside and out with a mild detergent and a swipe of alcohol.  If you are refreshing the pot, cut back older growth, switch from cold to warm season annuals, check for pests, and begin a feeding schedule. Keep deadheading young plants.  That’s the key for multi-branching and loads of flowers. Some sacrifice now means an abundant  container later.

It is still a bit too cool to bring your houseplants out permanently, but a day-by-day vacation in the shade would be a treat.  And those tropicals you’ve been protecting can now move into their summer spots.

Tomatoes are being sold earlier each year.  If you have favorite varieties, look for them now but be sure to protect them from the occasional cold night.  Did you know you can grow healthier and more productive tomatoes by using a trellis rather than a cage? 

Warm season vegetable crops such as artichokes and green beans can be planted now and if the weather is warm, add cucumbers and squash to your plot.  And another crop of beets, carrots, chard, and radishes can go in.  Edible herbs too. And the list goes on.  

Stop by the Ask-A-Master Gardener Table.  Karen White and I will be happy to answer questions about roses, perennials, spring bulbs, hydrangeas, and prepping for dahlias.

BJ Boland