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 Monday morning, a few members from San Benito County gathered at the Fire Safe Garden at Fire Station No. 2, on Union Road, to do some work in the garden.
The garden was 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 member of the garden club.
The club is hosting an upcoming plant sale on April 16, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., 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 close to 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 senior center in Gilroy. 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 chairperson and plant sale chairperson.
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.
“It funds all of our community projects that we do throughout the year,” Rhodas said.
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.”
The flowers and tomato plants available at the sale will go for $2 to $6 a piece, Rhodas said, with some smaller plants available for $1 and some more exotic plants going for a higher price.
“These are plants we’ve been nurturing through the winter,” Rhodas said.
See the full story in the Pinnacle on Friday.
