United We Plant

What I remember most about my first garden club meeting more than a decade ago was how it made me an even more enthusiastic gardener. After the night’s presentation, I bought a package of rare daffodils and planted the bulbs immediately, despite the chilly night air.

Since that first meeting, the allure of garden clubs hasn’t faded for me. I still experience that same sense of excitement when I share my passion for plants with other like-minded individuals.

This is the mission of a good garden club meeting: It lets you dream about how to improve your garden and gives you the tools to make that dream garden a reality.

These clubs provide gardeners the opportunity to share ideas and gather information and resources. There are some general clubs, but most tend to specialize in particular plant types, such as roses, or in a general philosophy, such as organic gardening.

Most clubs share a similar format. There are monthly meetings that last about two hours. They include general announcements and a program on a particular topic of interest to members. There is a question-and-answer period, followed by “social time,” when plants and seeds are exchanged, and refreshments--usually culled from the garden--are served.

The annual dues--usually from $6 to $15 a year--are a bargain, since they include access to meetings, a newsletter, discounts on gardening supplies, field trips to growing grounds and gardens, and instruction from other members.

A big benefit of belonging to a garden club is access to unusual plants, which members often can buy at a discount or receive free as cuttings and seeds.

Plant-sharing helps build a garden with a variety of plants, says Nola Skyler of Huntington Beach, who has been a member of the Horticultural Society of Orange County for a dozen years. “Members will bring cuttings and plants for sharing, and if you want a specific plant, all you usually have to do is make an announcement and the next meeting someone will bring you a plant or a cutting.”

“The opportunities you have as a member of a garden club or society aren’t generally available to individual gardeners,” says Newport Beach gardener Lillian Biesiadecki, a member of the Orange County Rose Society since the mid-1980s. “Not only do we learn about new and different rose varieties before they are released to the public, we have an entree into places we wouldn’t otherwise be able to visit.”

In 1996, Biesiadecki organized a tour for Rose Society members to visit gardens and nurseries in England and Paris. They also were given a private tour of the Royal National Rose Society’s headquarters.

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All clubs may not take members overseas, but most feed a gardener’s constant thirst for knowledge.

“I’ve found it helpful to hear about the experiences of members who live in the area, because they have the same micro-climate as I,” says Anaheim gardener Dennis Glowniak, a 10-year member of the California Organic Gardening Club. “Finding out which plants do well here and which are more challenging to grow is not something you’re going to find in books.”

Many of the gardening secrets shared are cutting-edge, says Skyler of the Horticultural Society.

“I’ve noticed that many of the helpful tips shared in meetings end up in gardening books,” she says. “A couple of years ago I told the group about how I had been cutting up old Venetian blinds and using them as plant markers, and I just read about doing that recently.”

The expertise found among members is unmatched, says Betty Torrey, an Orange gardener who has belonged to the Orange County Rare Fruit Growers since the early 1970s. “We have a pool of experts on just about any subject regarding rare fruit, and if they don’t know the answer, they’ll direct you to someone who does,” she says.

While members are initially attracted to clubs because of a prior interest in gardening, over time many find themselves getting more deeply involved.

“There are people who have three rosebushes when they join, and 100 bushes within a year,” says Biesiadecki, who has become a rose exhibitor, judge and consulting rosarian as a result of her involvement with the Orange County Rose Society and its national counterpart, the American Rose Society.

Huntington Beach gardener Herb Wilkinson was a hobbyist before joining the begonia and fern societies several years ago but has since become an expert on the two plant groups. He lectures at least once a month.

“I had been growing begonias and ferns, but not to the extent I now grow them,” says Wilkinson, who specializes in a little-known type of trailing begonia and donates rare ferns he has grown to public gardens.

Even if you don’t become an expert, being a member opens doors, says Geri Cibellis of Villa Park, a 10-year member and past president of the Orange County Organic Gardening Club.

“If I hadn’t joined the club, I doubt that I would have had the pleasure of trying things like bok choy, daikon radishes and Chinese broccoli,” says Cibellis.

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Many groups raise funds for their clubs through plant sales. They grow a variety of fruits and vegetables that gardeners wouldn’t have the time or money to grow on their own.

“Our club grows 80 types of tomatoes” for a spring sale, says Glowniak of the California Organic Gardening Club. “As an individual, it would cost me a couple of hundred of dollars to try all of the vegetables we grow, but as a member, it costs me nothing.”

Members of the Orange County Organic Gardening Club grow plants for each other twice a year, says Cibellis, who gathers her entire spring and winter vegetable crops this way.

Because of their numbers, garden clubs can also buy hard-to-find garden supplies in bulk and pass on savings to the members.

Perhaps one of the most priceless gifts many club members receive is friendship. “The camaraderie is wonderful,” says Cibellis. “The nicest people I know belong to garden clubs.”

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Keeping a garden club afloat is not without its challenges.

“A club is only as good as its participating members,” says Glowniak. “The more members who participate, the more likely you’ll have a club involved in interesting activities.”

Member participation is a key element of a garden club’s success. “We encourage more than casual involvement,” says Glowniak. “You get a lot more from the group if you’re active, and the group also benefits.”

Many clubs have unwritten rules regarding participation; if a member is around long enough, he or she will end up filling a position of leadership.

“A lot of work goes into having a good club,” says Skyler, who was president of the Horticultural Society and wrote the monthly newsletter. “Even booking the speakers is a time-consuming job.”

At times, there are personality clashes. Skyler left a group years ago because of the infighting. “I couldn’t look past it and found that the atmosphere had soured for me,” she says.

“Sometimes you get people who are very critical of what goes on,” says Biesiadecki. “In the rose society, we sometimes get criticism from a new member, and it can be a strain. When it becomes disruptive, we’ve told people that we felt they weren’t comfortable and have offered to return their yearly dues.”

Veteran club-goers suggest visiting at least two club activities before making a decision.

“Try a few meetings and talk to people to see if it’s the best fit for you,” says Glowniak.

Where to Join

* Interested in joining a garden club? A list of Orange County organizations appears on N4.

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ORANGE COUNTY GARDEN CLUBS

* The Home Design section runs a list of local gardening clubs every Saturday.

American Begonia Society, Orange County branch. Second Thursday. 7:30 p.m. Fullerton Community Bank, 1805 W. Orangethorpe Ave. (714) 847-1889.

Anaheim Garden Club. Third Friday. 10 a.m. Anaheim United Methodist Church, 1000 S. State College Blvd. (714) 971-2194.

Cactus and Succulent Society. Fourth Thursday. 7:30 p.m. First Presbyterian Church, 11832 Euclid St., Garden Grove. (714) 966-3057.

California Native Plant Society, Orange County Chapter. Third Thursday. 7 p.m. Irvine Ranch Water District, 15600 Sand Canyon Ave., Irvine. (714) 278-4795.

California Organic Gardening Club. Second Thursday. 7 p.m. Christian Church, 9621 Bixby Ave., Garden Grove. (714) 761-8130.

Cymbidium Society of America, Orange County branch. Second Wednesday. 7 p.m. Garden Grove Community Meeting Center, 11300 Stanford Ave. (714) 637-5873.

Doug Frost Branch of the Begonia Society. First Wednesday. 7:30 p.m. Community Bank, 12860 Euclid St., Garden Grove. (714) 898-2362.

Fern and Shade Plant Study Group. Second Saturday. 1 to 3 p.m. UCI Arboretum, one block south on Campus Drive from Jamboree Road, on UC Irvine’s north campus. Sponsored by the L.A. International Fern Society and the arboretum. Free. (714) 840-8217.

Fuchsia Society. First Tuesday. 7:30 p.m. Orange County branch of the National Fuchsia Society. Women’s Civic Club, 9501 Chapman Ave., Garden Grove. (562) 865-1806.

Fullerton Garden Club. Second Tuesday. 10 a.m. Fullerton Arboretum, Oak Room, 1900 Associated Road. (714) 524-6888. Mr. Fertilizer will be speaking.

Gardening Club. Tuesday and Thursday. 9 to 10 a.m. Santa Ana Recreation and Community Services Agency. Southwest Senior Center, 2201 W. McFadden Ave. Carolyn Jimerson, (714) 647-5306.

Herb Society. First Sunday. 1 p.m. Irvine Ranch Water District building, 15600 Sand Canyon Ave., Irvine. (714) 960-8572.

The Horticultural Society of Orange County. Third Tuesday. 7:30 p.m. East Anaheim Christian Church, 2216 E. South St.

Huntington Beach Tree Society. Third Wednesday. 7 p.m. Room B6, Huntington Beach City Hall, 2000 Main St. (714) 564-1396.

Huntington View Garden Club. Fourth Monday. 7 p.m. Sea-Aira Mobile Home Estates, West Clubhouse, No. 4201, 6241 Warner Ave., Huntington Beach. (714) 894-4858.

Irvine Garden Club. First Monday. 6:30 p.m. Irvine Ranch Water District, 15600 Sand Canyon Road, Irvine. (949) 854-0680.

Laguna Beach Garden Club. Second Friday. 10 a.m. Neighborhood Congregational Church Hall, 340 St. Ann’s Drive. (949) 497-9051.

Newport Harbor Orchid Society. Third Tuesday. 7 p.m. Neighborhood Community Center, 1845 Park Ave., Costa Mesa. (714) 647-7702 or (949) 642-4148.

Newport Hills Garden Club. Third Thursday. 9:15 a.m. Harbor View Club House, 1900 Port Carlow, Newport Beach. (949) 830-7130.

Orange County Floral Arts Guild. Second Monday. 10 a.m., October through May. Woman’s Club of Santa Ana, 601 N. Baker St. $5. (714) 846-3771.

Orange County Rare Fruit Growers. Third Thursday. 7:30 p.m. Orange County Fairgrounds, Centennial Farm silo building, Costa Mesa. Use main entrance on Fair Drive.

Orange County Geranium Society. Second Saturday. 10 a.m. to noon. East Anaheim Christian Church, 2216 E. South St. (714) 998-1985.

Orange County Iris and Day Lily Club. Second Tuesday. 7 p.m. Garden Grove First Presbyterian Church, 11832 Euclid St. (310) 984-8490.

Orange County Organic Gardening Club. Second Tuesday. 7:30 p.m. Orange County Fairgrounds, Centennial Farm silo building, Costa Mesa. Use main entrance on Fair Drive. (949) 733-2489.

Orange County Orchid Society. Third Wednesday. 7 p.m. Yorba Linda Library community room, 18181 Imperial Highway. (714) 997-1535 or (949) 376-9898.

Orange County Rose Society. First Tuesday. 7:30 p.m. Shepherd of Peace Lutheran Church, 18182 Culver Drive, Irvine. (949) 650-0946.

Orange Empire Bonsai Society. Third Sunday. 1 p.m. La Habra Community Services building, 101 W. La Habra Blvd. (714) 995-2762 or (714) 827-6661.

Rose Society of Saddleback Mountain. Second Thursday. 7 p.m. Santa Margarita Water District building, 26111 Antonio Parkway. (949) 830-3478 or (949) 496-3425.

Saddleback Bromeliad Society. First Thursday. 7 p.m. Norman Murray Community Center, 24932 Veterans Way, Mission Viejo. Cristy, (949) 837-3722.

San Clemente Garden Club. First Wednesday. 1 p.m. September through June. San Clemente Community Center, Ole Hanson Room. (949) 492-2914 or (949) 492-4867.

Santa Ana Garden Club. Second Thursday. 9:30 a.m. Recreation hall of the Church of the Foothills, 19211 Dodge Ave., North Tustin. (714) 557-9191.

Tustana African Violet Society. Third Tuesday. 7 p.m. Zion Christian Center, 710 S. Cambridge St., Orange. (714) 544-2349.