Los Osos Valley Garden Club Board members display recently won awards for the club – (left to right) Wendy McKeown, president, Haydee Pampel, vice president, and Dave Keitel, member-at-large.
The Los Osos Valley Garden Club (LOVGC), the oldest garden club in San Luis Obispo County, is celebrating its 90th Birthday during its 2022/2023 fiscal year. Founded in 1933, it has remained true to its mission of promoting “gardening appreciation, civic beautification, environmental responsibility and horticultural education.”
Not surprisingly, membership is booming. The club has grown from 13 members in 2020 to 47 currently. Club members say the success has been driven by its “dynamic president, Wendy McKeown, a tireless board of directors and the generous contributions of its members, individuals and businesses in the community that have supported us.”
Over the past year, the LOVGC has organized educational programs, tours and community service events that are the focus of the club’s activities. Recent local community outreach has included: planting a new garden at the South Bay Community Center, maintenance and upgrades to the club created Los Osos Library Pollinator Garden, trees and understory plantings at St. Benedict’s Church, donations to schools to for garden improvements, and plant and tree giveaways.
Many of the club’s new members joined to learn more about plants and their care. For example, there is a lot of interest in how to attract beneficial insects, birds and pollinators to gardens among other topics. Members are welcomed by an amiable group with a wide range of knowledge and interests in all types of plants and gardening. Wonderful friendships have been formed.
In addition to celebrating 90 years and helping to make the community a better place to live, the club has received numerous awards in the past year from California Garden Clubs Inc. (CGCI). This umbrella organization includes 350 gardening-related clubs with 21,000 members, so winning these awards is a big achievement.
Awards received this year included:
• First Place for Civic Development (for the South Bay Community Center Project)
• First Place for Pollinator Education (for the South Bay Community Center Project)
• Second Place for Club Programs
• Third Place for Social Media facebook.com/LOVGardenClub
• First Place for a Class II Garden Club (20 to 29 members) for being recognized with the most awards for 2021
The Club welcomes green thumbs and brown thumbs alike. Annual membership dues are $25 for an individual and $35 for a family. The club invites folks to learn more at lovgardenclub.org, and questions can be directed to info@lovgardenclub.org.
