Garden experts set for autumn
By Denise Stewart
The Scripps-Mesa Garden Club will host gardening expert speakers at its monthly meetings this fall, according to program director Alva Rivera. After the club’s August outdoor harvest celebration potluck, members will be returning to their meeting place at the Scripps Ranch Community Center. The club meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday evening of each month at 6 p.m.
September’s topic will be Shade Loving Plants. The guest speaker, Michael Ludwig, has been involved with plant societies since 1977. They include Begonia, Camellia, Fuchsia, Gesneriads, Ferns, Plumeria, houseplants and exotics. He is also dedicated to landscaping and vegetable gardening.
Ludwig is a Begonia, fern, gesneriad judge and has judged at the San Diego Fair and numerous federated garden club shows. He was landscaper at the Academy of Our Lady of Peace for 45 years and has done garden consultations as part of his life’s work.
In October, Kathryn Blankinship, a UC Master Gardener, will address the topic of Plant Timing.
Garden tours were the focus of the club’s summer schedule. In July, Tom and Ann Massey hosted the gardeners in their expansive backyard full of a wide variety of flowering plants and trees. Among the highlights of the tour was a secret garden the Masseys have constructed that shelters a small ornamental table and chairs. It’s a favorite spot where their grandchildren enjoy sharing tea and treats, according to the hosts.
In August, Lynnell Hallock, once again, shared her gardening experiences with her backyard collection of lavish plantings. The yard is bursting with color from the hanging potted plants near her home to the blooming shrubs surrounding the lawn area, and to the trees growing up the hill behind her yard.
Scripps-Mesa Garden Club has been growing with Scripps Ranch since 1993. Their membership is open to anyone with an interest in gardening and greenery.