The presence of the South Valley Fleurs garden club can be seen
throughout San Benito and southern Santa Clara counties in the
community gardens that the members maintain.
The presence of the South Valley Fleurs garden club can be seen throughout San Benito and southern Santa Clara counties in the community gardens that the members maintain.
On a recent morning, a few members from San Benito County gathered at the Fire Safe Garden at Fire Station No. 2, to work in the garden, started in 2005 as a way to instruct residents on the types of plants that do well in drought conditions and are fire resistant.
“We just come in, weed and fertilize,” said Sally Biersdorff, a longtime club member.
The club is hosting an upcoming plant sale from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 16, in the BookSmart parking lot, at East Second and Depot streets, in Morgan Hill. It will include plants for sale such as heirloom tomatoes and flowers, all hand-planted by members of the club. It is the biggest fundraiser of the year for them.
The club has about 70 members, and the group has community gardens set up in each region. They maintain a butterfly garden at Nordstrom Park in Morgan Hill and a community garden at the Gilroy Senior Center. They also organize volunteers to replant flowers in the planter boxes in downtown Morgan Hill four times a year.
“We are just getting all our inventory ready and labeling everything, and making sure that are plants are in tip-top shape,” said Ginny Rhodas, the membership and plant sale chairwoman.
The plant sale supports the Edu-grow fund, which helps with school gardens.
“We’ve given well over $1,000 to three schools,” Biersdorff said. “We are trying to get money for Southside School (in Hollister). We are looking for schools that already have a garden, and enough parents and teachers to maintain it.”
The money also supports any supplies needed to maintain the community garden and some administrative costs for the club.
Biersdorff said residents who come to the sale can expect high-quality plants ready to be transplanted into the garden.
“We grow them all ourselves,” she said. “We found vegetables grow well if you start them from seeds. For the heirloom tomatoes, we give out flats, with seeds. We provide the soil and the members nurture them until they get large enough for plastic cups.”
Irene Mort, a founding member, started the group in 2001 after moving to Morgan Hill from Sunnyvale. She connected with Biersdorff and they decided to start a club that would be affiliated with the California Garden Club, which has 22,000 members statewide.
“When we started out, I think we had a dozen people,” Mort recalled. She said the group was encouraged to enter a floral arrangement at the San Francisco Flower Show. “We said OK, we will enter and we had no idea what we were doing, which might have been a good thing. We got an honorable mention prize and that was fun for us in our first year.”
The club started meeting in the Gilroy Library, then moved to Garden Accents, a business off Masten Avenue. Now they have so many members, and it’s hard to find a place to meet.
Julie Young is a member from San Benito and one of the volunteers who showed up to help at the Fire Safe Garden recently.
“I got a new tool,” she said, showing off a spade that has a cutting edge to get out tough roots. “It’s like having a new toy.”
She said she enjoys the club because of the guest speakers who come to all the meetings.
“I learn new things all the time,” she said, adding that she also likes to help with the garden. “It makes you feel like you are part of the community.”
The members all agreed that the focus lately has been on sustainable gardening and organic gardening. They often take the tips home to use in their own gardens.
Also:
– Rotary Flower Fest at Syngenta Flowers
The Gilroy Rotary Club will hold its annual Flower Fest from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Syngenta Flowers, 2280 Hecker Pass Highway. There will be annuals, hanging baskets and more. Proceeds support local charities.
-FFA Boosters hold flower sale
The Gilroy FFA Boosters is holding a flower sale from 8 to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Gilroy High School staff parking lot, 750 W. 10th. St. There will be beautiful flowers perfect for your spring gardens or great for gifts. All proceeds benefit the Gilroy FFA. Prices start as low as $1. Details: Kendra at 781-4186 or kk*****@*sn.com.
