Southern California FUN Gardening Club Newsletter             

Orange County Edition

October 2003

Plant Exchange at Nina’s – September 28, 2003

I (Mikey) was the first to arrive and Nina introduced me to her beloved dogs that were secured in a side yard, Bagel the Beagle and Lucy, a foxhound mix. A couple of friendlier dogs you’ll never meet.

It was sunny and warm but Nina’s two-story home shaded much of the area and it was quite comfortable. Nina moved into her new home about three years ago and like many of us, she describes her yard as a work in progress. Nina describes her garden as “schizophrenic” with red, orange and yellow tropical cannas in the backyard and cooler color cottage type garden in the front yard. In the future she wants to increase her Canna collection and perhaps put in a water feature.

In attendance were our hostess Nina, Mary and John, Linda and Steve, Allison and her daughter, Nancy, Mike, and Nina’s neighbor Dorothy and her daughter Shaleen. I don’t know if Shaleen was a botany major at UCR, but she sure knew her plants! It was a good mix with both newbies and folks who have been gardening for some time. Nina was a great host and provided a spread of crackers, cheeses and deli meats, a tray of sliced fruit and she also served strawberry daiquiris to drink. Mmmmmm Good!

We scattered a wonderful assortment of plants on the grass for viewing. There were tropicals, succulents, desert plants, seeds, bulbs, cuttings, irises, vines, salvias, cannas, calla lilies, hoyas, pregnant onions and much more…... A neighbor of Nina’s wandered over and he was so impressed with the plants that he wanted to buy some.

Nina drew names to determine the order in which we would select plants. Nina said she missed Mike (Tracy’s husband) to keep us on track, but Nina did a good job keeping us in line. Ahhh, Christmas in September! I’ve wanted a Staghorn fern for some time and I was fortunate enough to get the one brought by Nancy. In addition, a couple of Allison’s Walking Irises walked right into my hands…. Should anyone have any questions about the proper care for plants that came from me, please feel free to e-mail me at Tildog@earthlink.net.

We had a great time of fellowship, snacking and exchanging plants. Life is good. Thanks Nina!

Don’t forget that Mary (Stella Blue) and John are hosting the first meeting of the Southern California Fun Gardening Club on Saturday, October 18, 2003 at 10:30am in Yorba Linda. E-mail Mary for more information. Oops, I just realized I haven’t yet e-mailed her to get directions…. I’m coming Mary. Please send directions…

Mike (Mikey)