Green Thumbs Display Talents at Leisure World
Armed with a plastic jar of killer snails and a fistful of needlepointed plant stakes that read, “Grow, Damnit,” Anne and Les Johnston were ready for a little Leisure World gardening, Rambo style.
“See these little things?” asked Les, poking at the tiny snails with a finger. “You let these loose in your garden, and they eat the young of the other snails. They’re terrific if you don’t want to spray. They’re killers.”
Anne grins beatifically at her plant stakes. “You know,” she said, “you talk nicely to plants and, dang it, they don’t grow. But if you say, ‘Grow, damnit!’ then it works.”
Gardening is no spectator sport at Leisure World in Laguna Hills, where the green thumbs gather each year at the community’s Clubhouse One to show off the fruits of their year’s labor at the annual Leisure World Flower and Vegetable Show.
Nearly 1,000 local gardening fans were expected last Wednesday at the one-day show, which featured displays of fresh fruits and vegetables, flower arrangements, miniatures and other flora, edible and otherwise.
The displays aren’t judged, but great care and selection goes into each, said Dave Rupert, garden coordinator for the retirement community.
Rupert oversees the two pieces of land at Leisure World, totaling 16.5 acres, that the residents rent by the plot and use for their outdoor gardening. Of the 1,100 10-by-20-foot plots available at $15 per year, 950 currently are being farmed, he said. Of the 22,000 residents in the community, 768 are active gardeners, Rupert said.
Most of the gardens--about 70%, Rupert estimated--sprout strictly with vegetables, and the most popular crops are zucchini and tomatoes.
“That’s what I grow,” said Mary Hyde, a resident gardener who says she “spends all day at it,” cultivating vegetables. “Tomatoes so I’ll have juice for my Bloody Marys.”
One resident, Jim Ito, displayed small baskets of plump raspberries and blueberries, while at the other end of the hall his wife, Toshi, showed off her display of miniature flower arrangements.
“I just keep my eye open for small things,” she said, “and if they hold water, I put them in a cupboard and use them later for the flowers.”
She pointed proudly to three tiny arrangements, one in a pill bottle, another in the bottle’s cap, and a third in a miniature thimble.
When he’s in his garden, Ivan Wolfson said, he feels “a little like a shoemaker going barefoot.”
“My wife will ask me what I’ve been doing out there in the garden for two hours,” Wolfson said, smiling.
“Actually, I spend about 10 minutes gardening and the rest of the time answering questions.
“Really, if you want advice on a lot of things, that garden is the best place to go. We’ve got a psychiatrist working out there, and a dentist, a dermatologist and even a proctologist.
“They’re all professional people who’ve never had a chance to work in a garden before, and they love it. They grow just about anything out there.”
