Blackridge Garden Club 2017-2018 Program
September 14: Welcome meeting and 90th birthday celebration for EJ, 6:30 pm
October 10: SUPER. NATURAL. Glass Art by Jason Gamrath
BGC will take a field trip to the fabulous glass exhibit at the Phipps on Tuesday, October 10th. It will be even more mesmerizing with dramatic evening lighting. We will leave the BCA parking lot at 6:30 PM using a carpool system. Admission is free to Phipps members and $18 for nonmembers. Anyone interested in joining us, please email Nancy Del Presto at [email protected] by Saturday, October 7th, so car transportation can be organized. More info on the exhibit here. Photos of our trip and birthday celebration for Sonny Bobula are here.
October 21: EJ's Army Cleanup
BGC Members and Blackridge Community Neighbors:
Please note that this fall's twice yearly EJ's Army Beulah Rd and BCA cleanup is on Saturday, October 21st. The BGC and Blackridge neighbors have been picking up the litter on Beulah Rd and BCA surrounds for 15 plus years. Please consider joining us. We meet at 8:30 am in the BCA parking lot and if we get enough helping hands then it will take only about an hour of your time and the rest of Saturday is yours. Coffee and homemade treats by EJ and a job well done will be your rewards!!!! EJ also supplies bags, work gloves, bright orange vests and construction cones. Please come and help out. Our large group of elderly members, including EJ herself, have a hard time picking up litter so please donate an hour of your time if you are more agile to help the BGC out. This event benefits and beautifies the entire Blackridge community! (There is a rain date of Saturday October 28th but it usually has to be pouring rain to jump to this date.)
November 13: Christmas Ornament Crafting and Light Lunch
BCA at 11:30 am
This program is a crafting class where we make ornaments to put on a Christmas tree that will be displayed at the Eastridge Library. Vicki Rodia will be leading the class. Please email her [email protected] or [email protected] or call her at 412-241-2829 to RSVP so she knows how much crafting material to bring.
Monday, December 4, 2017: Third Annual BGC Holiday Tea
Where: BCA
When: 11:30 AM for Christmas cookies and punch; 12;15 for tea and finger sandwiches.
What: Wear your favorite hat (no pressure, of course, but we reserve the right to silently judge you if you don't). Prize for hat that receives the most votes. Surprise gift to all members. Guests welcome, but please give that info to Ceil.
Who: RSVP to Ceil Greber at 412-247-5828 or [email protected]
This is a lovely way to jump-start this most wonderful season. Hope you all can make it!
Friday, March 23, 5:00 PM: Raffle Drawing, Live on FB!
Bloomin’ Corners 2018
As we have since 1939, Blackridge Garden Club volunteers beautify our signature Blackridge entrance corners and the grounds surrounding the Blackridge Civic Association clubhouse. Neighbors who use the Forest Drive entrance to our wonderful community have long witnessed how especially difficult and challenging it is to maintain a corner that has been a bullseye for frequent car accidents.
As our only fundraiser, typically the BGC holds the Bloomin’ Corners Benefit, a themed cocktail party, dinner, and auction at Longue Vue Club in March, but this year we are unable to host the event. This crowd-pleasing tradition will be back next year, so no tears! We won’t completely disappoint our community in 2018; we are enclosing our popular raffle tickets which are included in every Bloomin’ Corners Benefit invitation.
Your patronage of the Bloomin’ Corners Raffle fundraiser entirely finances our corners maintenance, which has seen increasing use of non-volunteer (aka paid) labor due to our aging membership. We are depending even more on the support of long-time benefactors and our new neighbors to make our raffle a success. Everyone’s participation is essential to keeping our corners beautiful.
Please help us by purchasing the raffle tickets which will be mailed to you in February, or, if you prefer, making a donation of any amount to the BGC. Completed tickets must be received by March 22, 2018. Mail your tickets and checks, payable to Blackridge Garden Club, to Judy Diorio, 2386 Hollywood Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15235, in the envelope provided.
We will broadcast the prize drawing live on the Blackridge Garden Club Facebook page at 5:00 pm Eastern Time on Friday, March 23, 2018.
Prizes: You can choose which raffle prize drawing you would like to enter. Please indicate on each ticket which prize you would like to win—one choice per ticket. Tickets are one for $6.00 or six for $30.00.
- Drink and Dine— $50 gift card for wine/spirits, $50 dollar gift card for beer, $100 gift card to Legume, $100 gift card to Superior Motors, $50 gift card to Vandal, $50 dollar gift card to Girasole (Value $400) WON BY JODY KOTUN
- Shop-- $400 gift certificate for Nordstrom WON BY MARILYN SOLOMON
- Plan and Plant-- One hour on-site discussion of garden issues, ideas, planting and hardscape suggestions, and a plant list for installation from Kendall O’Brien Landscape Architects, plus a $500 gift card for Penn Hills Lawn and Garden (Value $600) WON BY DONNA FROST
- Golf for four at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, Farmington, PA— 18 holes of golf on their Mystic Rock Golf Course any Sunday through Thursday, including cart, green fees and caddie fees plus lunch for 4 at the Sunset Terrace (Value $800) WON BY AMY FARRELL
THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED FROM ITS ORIGINAL DATE:
Tuesday, April 17, 2018, 7 PM, BCA:
Beautiful Orchids Every Day
The Blackridge Garden Club will present a free lecture by Phipps Conservatory’s Georgia Wahl. Shelley Grotzinger has organized this spring event, to be held at the BCA at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, April 17, 2018. Ms Wahl will discuss orchid care, including feeding, watering, repotting, and positioning, and will answer your questions. Please contact Shelley at 412-244-8616 or at [email protected] for more details or to let her know you will attend. It will be a fun educational evening with light refreshments to follow, as well as a $5 raffle for a zygopetalum orchid with a few orchid related items!
UPDATE: Winner of the orchid basket was BGC member Amy Bluedorn!
Photos of the event are here.
Links to the handouts from the American Orchid Society distributed at the meeting are here (Phalaenopsis culture sheet) and here (Growing Orchids in Your Home). While I was looking up the links, I saw that the AOS website is both well-organized and full of information. If you have an interest, I recommend that you check it out!
THIS SERVICE PROJECT HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED FROM ITS ORIGINAL DATE:
Saturday, April 28, 2018, 8:30 AM, BCA:
EJ's Army Spring Cleanup
Blackridge neighbors, twice yearly, for over 15 years, garden club member E,J Foster has led a group of volunteers in picking up litter on the BCA grounds and nearby Beulah Road. Please consider joining us. We will meet at 8:30 am in the BCA parking lot on Saturday, April 28. 2018. If we have enough helping hands, it will take only about an hour of your time, and the rest of Saturday is yours. Water, coffee and homemade treats, courtesy of EJ, and the satisfaction of a job well done will be your rewards! EJ will also supply us with bags, work gloves, orange vests, and construction cones. Our group of older members have a difficult time picking up litter, so we appreciate the help of agile neighbors. This event benefits our entire Blackridge community. Please give EJ a call at 412-241-5955 if you are able to volunteer. Thank you!
UPDATE: The Blackridge Garden Club, in the form of EJ’s Army, was wonderfully and ably assisted in litter pickup along Beulah Road at 8:30 am on Saturday, April 28th. It is early to ask folks to come out to a busy road and collect refuse of all sorts but SO MANY did so, and we are very grateful! A record turnout of EIGHTEEN PEOPLE made quick work (a record 45 minutes!!!) of the job. So, many, many thanks to: Denny & Penny Bossick, David Kissell, David Gates, Anne Messner, Barb Trusilo, Vicki and her son, Andy, Rodia, Cathy Gazeo, Kathy Powers, Nancy Bonga, Nancy Carpenter, Carl Roehlich, Peg Parsons, Todd Hoover & Alan Livengood, Barb & Gary Liberati. And, of course, our very own energizer bunny and general of the Army: EJ Foster! More than half of the volunteers were not BGC members and we won’t soon forget your help.
Photos may be viewed here.
Tuesday, April 10, 2018, 8:45 AM, Churchill Borough Bldg:
Gardening for Monarchs
The Churchill Garden Club has invited our members to attend this free lecture, presented by the Audubon Society. The morning will begin in the Yagle Room at the Borough Building (2300 William Penn Highway) with a 30-minute social and meeting, followed by the presentation. Please respond to Nancy Del Presto at 412-247-4129 or [email protected], if you plan to attend. Deadline for responses is Monday, April 2.
Wednesday, May 16, 2018, 6:30 PM, BCA:
Annual, Not-To-Be-Missed, Plant Auction
On Wednesday, May 16, 2018 at 6:30 pm, this wild and wooly Blackridge event rolls around again with neighbors sharing wealth with neighbors. Spreading perennials, rooted clippings, shrub sprouts, and seedlings are auctioned off in a gleeful spree. Bring your friends and relatives, and of course, donations from your garden, if you can. Come with dimes and dollars—or a check if you prefer to keep a running talk of your purchases and pay only once. We also suggest that you bring a basket, box, or empty flat in which to carry your purchases. If you have any questions, please give auctioneer Ceil Greber a call at 412-247-5828.
Ceil will be collection plant donations at the BCA at 5:30, or you may drop off contributions to Ceil in advance of the date, if that is more convenient for you. All contributions are appreciated. When possible, please identify plant material and indicate cultural requirements such as sun or shade, and the approximate height and spread.
Wednesday, June 13, 2018, 11:00 AM, Longue Vue Club:
End of Year Luncheon
Our end of program year/early summer luncheon will be at Longue Vue Club on Wednesday, June 13th at 11am and will be styled as a high tea with several types of finger sandwiches, desserts, and tea or coffee. It will be held in the newly redecorated cocktail room and should be a fun, relaxing get-together. The best part is that it is FREE of cost.
So please consider attending and let either EJ Foster know 412-241-5955 or Vicki Rodia at [email protected], or 412-241-2829. If you have any dietary restrictions please let EJ or Vicki know.
Please remember, no denim is allowed at LVC and if you need a ride to attend please call EJ or Vicki.
We try to collect dues for renewing members at this meeting. The Garden Club board has decided to increase the dues to $35, a $5 increase from the past many years. Please bring a check to renew your membership, and it will save us having to send you a mailer. Nancy Carpenter, our membership chair, plans to be there to collect you renewal checks.
Photos of the event may be found here.
AND A TEASER!
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26, 2019: A MIDSUMMER'S TOUR
Our beloved garden tour returns. Please contact Judy Diorio if you are interested in having your garden on the tour, if you have any suggestions for gardens, or if you'd like to help.
