Healdsburg Garden Club awards 'Good Gardener' certificates, scholarships

On Monday, June 20, the Healdsburg Garden Club held its annual potluck picnic and hat parade at the Villa Chanticleer.  In addition, the HGC awarded this year’s scholarships and Good Gardener Awards.

Each year the recognizes residential and commercial properties in the city limits for efforts in beautifying Healdsburg. 

The criteria for the award include: the property must be within the Healdsburg city limits, the yard must be visible from the street, it must offer a good variety of plants that are well-maintained and the recipient cannot be a member of the Garden Club.

 “The primary reason [we give the awards] is to recognize and appreciate what the gardeners have done,” said Tanya Enders Beach, a Good Gardener Awards committee member. “We keep our eyes open all year long.”

“We get serious about it in the spring,” continued Enders Beach. There are three members on the committee.

“I think Tanya and her committee did a great job,” said long-time club member . “The Good Gardeners were so excited.”

Enders Beach said they try to represent various areas of the city, as well as to choose properties that are very different from each other.

This year, the property on North Street was, “intimate with a charming use of plants, said Enders Beach.

“The other is a corner lot that you can see without getting out of the car. It’s a larger yard,” she continued. “We want to have the club members say ‘wow—look at that!’”

The 2011 commercial award went to Foss Creek Villas.  Landscape architect Mark Perine of Nature’s Tailor created the design.  Owners Michael Houlihan and Bonnie M. Harvey and secretary of the homeowners’ association, Linda Hantman, as well as Perine, were on hand to receive the award.

Pam Volante, a home and garden designer, received the award for her home on North Street.  Ronie Reiley’s home is on Rosewood Drive.

The “Good Gardeners” are awarded certificates and receive recognition at the annual picnic.

In addition to these awards, HGC awarded three $1000 scholarships to students continuing their education in the area of horticulture or a related field.  There are three members of the scholarship committee, Maryl Lindahl, Theresa Wistrom and  Pam Vana-Paxia.

The 2011 scholarship recipients were Healdsburg High School graduate, Taylor Berry, who plans to continue his education in biology and two SRJC continuing students, Krista Shewmaker and Rosalie Alarcon.

In addition to the awards, members of the Healdsburg Garden Club also show their skills in an annual hat parade. The winners of the Good Gardener awards serve as hat judges.

This year’s winners were Kathleen Palmer-most beautiful, Edith Wilson-funniest (hat made by Mary Sykes), Corinne Williams-most creative, and Billie Harrison-most colorful (hat created by April Lance).

One of the few male members of HGC, John Essman said he tried to join the fun with the hats but stopped a few years ago.  He enjoyed using “the most noxious plants.” 

Essman said in his good-natured way, “I stopped because I would never win.”

The Healdsburg Garden Club welcomes new members. Each month they have a garden related program. Membership is $20 and meetings will resume in the fall.