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Please join us the 3rd Wednesday of each month from September through June: In person meetings start at 9:45 am and are held at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church in the Parish Hall. We hope to see you at our next meeting.
St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church
6201 E. Willow St. (Willow & Palo Verde)
Long Beach, CA 90815
We encourage new members to join the Long Beach Garden Club and learn about native planting, wildlife and habitat conservation, as well as flower-arranging, and all aspects of gardening at our monthly meetings and tours. Visitors are always welcome. Click on the above “LBGC Programs & Activities” link for more information about upcoming programs and activities.
Questions? email us at longbeachgc@cagardenclubs.org |
2025-2026 Programs
Please join us the 3rd Wednesday of each month, unless otherwise noted, from September through June
In-person Meetings at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church start at 9:45 am (Business Meeting, followed by a social break at 10:30 and the Program at 11:00)
6201 E. Willow St. (Major Cross Streets: Willow & Palo Verde)
Long Beach, CA 90815
Program updates are posted on this webpage as details are finalized
Questions? email us at longbeachgc@cagardenclubs.org
September 2025
General Meeting: Wednesday September 17 at 9:45 a.m.
Centerpieces: Stacey Palma
Plant of the Month: Rosalie Rowe
Program: Ground Education
At Ground Education the natural world is our classroom. We teach robust lessons in Long Beach elementary school gardens and green spaces that nurture every student’s academic, physical and emotional well-being…at Ground Education, we are rooter in the belief that natural spaces are teaching spaces where we can learn to mutually thrive on the Earth we all share.
Co-founder Holland Brown will be here with stories, descriptions of lessons and a hands-on activity.
El Dorado Nature Center Entrance Garden Project:
Monday September 22 at 2 p.m.
October 2025
Field Trip: Farm Lot 59 October 2
Growing a Cutting Garden in a Small Space Presented by our friend Sasha Cano, Founder of Farm Lot 59, an urban garden located in Long Beach
General Meeting: Wednesday October 15 at 9:45 a.m.
Centerpieces: Linda Edgar
Plant of the Month: Jane Kaylor
Program: Eliot Freutel, California Naturalist
The UC California Naturalist Program is a certification program that educates Californians about the state’s unique ecology and encourages them to become involved in its conservation and stewardship. Eliot is a Community Education Specialist and ambassador for the UC Environmental Stewards programs.
El Dorado Nature Center Entrance Garden Project:
Monday October 27 at 2:00 p.m
Costa Verde District: South Coast Botanic Garden
26300 Crenshaw Blvd, Palos Verdes Peninsula
General Member Meeting: Wednesday October 22
10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Program: Gisele Schoniger, Organic Gardening Educator from Kellog Garden Products
Entry $5 per person
November 2025
General Meeting: Wednesday November 19 at 9:45 a.m.
Centerpieces: Roxanne Korzeniowski
Plant of the Month: Carolyn Rubin
Program: Wreath Making with Bonnie Goldberg and Argie Grimshaw
Field Trip: Descanso Gardens with Marlita Kahn
Thursday November 20
Time TBD
El Dorado Nature Center Entrance Garden Project:
Monday November 24 at 2:00 p.m.
December 2025
General Meeting: Wednesday December 17 at 9:45 a.m.
Note: No Goodie Table this month
Centerpieces: Bonnie Goldberg
Plant of the Month: Cindy Kovacs
Program: Holiday Celebration and Potluck
We joyfully gather for our traditional Holiday(s) Celebration. A relaxed time for socializing, creativity, our “Paper Bag Raffle” and a scrumptious potluck lunch. It’s always great fun!
El Dorado Nature Center Entrance Garden Project:
Off this month.
Costa Verde District: South Coast Botanic Garden
26300 Crenshaw Blvd, Palos Verdes Peninsula
Holiday Party: Wednesday December 10
10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Program: Liz Evans, Nature Center Manager and Naturalist from the Madrona Marsh
Entry $10 per person
Long Beach is hosting this meeting.
January 2026
Field Trip: Armstrong Nursery, Long Beach
Wednesday January 14 Time: TBD
Armstrong Educator, Maya, will speak on “The Secret Histories of House Plants: Origin Stories.” Bring your house plant concerns and care questions. We will have time to browse the green house and ground at one of Armstrong’s flagship nurseries.
General Meeting: Wednesday, January 21 at 9:45 a.m.
Centerpieces: Open
Plant of the Month: Barbara Mais
Program: Jorge Ochoa – South America’s Aphrodisiac: Passion Fruit 🌱
Professor Ochoa is Department Head of Long Beach City College’s Horticulture Department. He is world renowned for his research, discovery and propagation of many species of passion fruit.
El Dorado Nature Center Entrance Garden Project:
Monday January 26 at 2:00 p.m.
February 2026
Workshop: Hypertufa Pots with Cindy Kovacs
Monday February 9 at 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Jane Kaylor’s backyard
General Meeting: Wednesday February 18 at 9:45 a.m.
Plant of the Month: Marlita Kahn
Program: Best Practices for a Healthy Garden
Teri Wohlgemuth and Stephanie Prien, University of California Master Gardener Program Leads, Harbor Region. These dynamic women will offer ideas for dealing with plant diseases and pests. Come with questions and photos of plant problems.
El Dorado Nature Center Entrance Garden Project:
Monday February 23 at 2:00 p.m.
March 2026
General Meeting: Wednesday March 18 at 9:45 a.m.
Centerpieces: Ellyn Meikle
Plant of the Month: Ellyn Meikle
Program: Ideas for Spring Planting with Lynn Hillman
She is such a great resource! Lynn will share with us the latest in pollinator friendly, flowering perennials, and new to the nursery trade plants.
Bonnie’s Philanthropy Tea
Thursday March 19
Bonnie and Mike host this lovely event to raise funds for the Long Beach Garden Club philanthropies. Invitations are emailed to club members. RSVP please.
Field Trip: Virginia Robinson House and Gardens
Date and Time TBD. Hoping the weather will cooperate and we are able to tour this historic site in Beverly Hills!
El Dorado Nature Center Entrance Garden Project:
Monday March 23 at 2:00 p.m.
Costa Verde District: South Coast Botanic Garden
26300 Crenshaw Blvd, Palos Verdes Peninsula
General Member Meeting: Wednesday March 11
10 a.m. to 1p.m.
Program: Chris Young, Catalina Island Conservancy
Entry $5 per person
April 2026
Tour: Prisk Native Garden
2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Date: TBD
This amazing school garden was started in 1996 by science teacher Candy Jennings. Mike Letteriero will serve as guide and historian for our visit.
General Meeting: Wednesday April 15 at 9:45
Centerpieces: Open
Plant of the Month: Bonnie Goldberg
Program: Succulents with Ellyn Meikle
Ellyn will share some of her extensive knowledge on succulents as a gardening hobbyist and a business owner of WaterWise Garden Center.
El Dorado Nature Center Entrance Garden Project:
Monday April 20 at 2 p.m.
Costa Verde District Special Event
Monday April 13
Bus Trip to Mathias Botanical Garden at UCLA
Meet at South Coast Botanic Garden to travel by bus for a tour and a picnic lunch.
May 2026
General Meeting: Wednesday May 20 at 9:45 a.m.
Centerpieces: Carolyn Rubin
Plant of the Month: Lorraine Graham
Program: Spring Show and Tell
Members are asked to bring a horticultural specimen
from their yard and share something about it.
Special Event: Long Beach Poly High School
Festival of Gardens and Butterflies
We host a booth at this school festival to educate students about gardens and gardening.
Wednesday, May 20 from 1:35 to 3 p.m.
Field Trip: Tour of Albert Robles Center for Water Recycling and Environmental Learning
The Water Replenishment District uses groundwater aquifers to create a locally sustainable water supply for Long Beach. Our tour guide will answer questions.
Tuesday, May 26 at 10:00 a.m.
El Dorado Nature Center Entrance Garden Project:
Monday June 1 at 2 p.m.
June 2026
General Meeting: Wednesday June 17 at 9:45 a.m.
Centerpieces: Open
Plant of the Month: Open
Program: Looking Back – Looking Forward & Planning for the Future. With Jane Kaylor
No Goodie Table in June
El Dorado Nature Center Entrance Garden Project:
Monday June 223 at 2 p.m.
Costa Verde District: South Coast Botanic Garden
26300 Crenshaw Blvd, Palos Verdes Peninsula
General Member Meeting: Monday June 8
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Program: Carlos Prieto DeLeon from Greenpeace
Entry $5 per person
Summer Activities
El Dorado Nature Center Entrance Garden Project:
Monday July 20 at 2 p.m.
Monday August 24 at 2 p.m.
History
The Long Beach Garden Club was organized in 1936 by our first President, Francis Wilson to promote an interest in amateur gardening on all levels and encourage conservation. During our 80+ years our club has made numerous contributions to the beautification of the city of Long Beach as well as to the preservation of our natural resources in California.
A contest was begun in 1940 giving a prize to the most beautiful front yard in the city, but the contest was interrupted by World War II. It was then that we began to promote The Victory Gardens. Members guided and encouraged residents of the city to grow food for their families. The club also planted Jacaranda trees on 14th Street between Pacific Avenue and Long Beach Blvd. We also provided and landscaped an area for WACs stationed at our local air base.
During the 1950s members provided many programs including horticulture, flower-arranging, conservation, bird watching, etc. We actively campaigned against the erection of billboards and littering and helped in the development and of beautification of roadside rest areas.
In the 1960s the club cooperated with the Long Beach Hobby Council, providing exhibits of potted plants and cut flowers, and flower-arranging demonstrations. LBGC began supporting the Penny Pines program, a state program that provides for the reforestation of national forests within California. We also supported the newly established South Coast Botanic Garden; a garden created on a trash dump site.
In the 1970s members participated in the Fifth World Orchid Congress held in the new Long Beach Arena. The Long Beach Beautification Committee was formed and club members assisted in this project until it was disbanded. At the end of the 1970s LBGC was involved in the development of the Japanese Garden on the campus of California State University at Long Beach. Along with other members of the CGCI Costa Verde District, we turned over the first shovels of dirt on the garden site. The club also staged the first Garden Club Flower Show aboard the Queen Mary in conjunction with the Long Beach Heart Association. LBGC provided small plant “tray favors” for patients on holidays and birthdays at Long Beach General Hospital as part of the Meals on Wheels program.
In the 1980s, the club produced several award-winning flower shows. Members continued to support the Penny Pines program with annual plantation purchases. Commemorative stamps were collected to aid the Nature Conservancy with the Baldwin Lake Preserve to save the bald eagle. From 1936 through 1989, the club planted 27 trees in Long Beach Parks. In June of 1986, members dedicated a Blue Star By-way marker on the grounds of the Long Beach VA Medical Center, the first By-way marker to be placed on VA property.
During the 1990s the club began supporting a re-cycling program. 7 trees were planted at El Dorado Park and trees were planted along Willow and Oakbrook Streets bordering St. Gregorys Church where the club has met for many years. LBGC also planted a cactus garden in the church’s parking lot. LBGC members toured the CSULB Japanese Garden, 20 years after breaking ground. The above LBGC history was compiled by Eunice Antosik, from Our First Fifty Years, and by Rose Nelson.
Beginning in the 2000’s, the Long Beach Garden Club philanthropic efforts expanded to support the development and maintenance of Rosie The Riveter Park, including funding the planting of trees and providing volunteer work parties to prune, weed and generally tidy up the landscape of this wonderful park.
Current Philanthropic Projects and Donations
Long Beach Poly High School Festival of Gardens and Butterflies
Long Beach Garden Club will host a booth at the festival. We will also support the weekly Poly Garden Club with supplies and donations from our members.
St. Gregory’s Church Native Landscape Beautification Project
Two years ago, we offered St. Gregory’s our experience with native plants and planted a section along the parking lot overlooking the Los Cerritos Channel. California natives would survive the heat and drought of this strip, as well as look attractive, provide a habitat for native insects, and require low maintenance by the gardening staff. The natives selected are Santa Cruz Island Buckwheat (Ergonium arborencense), Palmers Indian Mallow (Abultion palmeri) and Desert Museum Palo Verde (Cercedium x’Desert Museum’). This year, we replaced some mallows and buckwheat that had died. We planted clarkia in a nearby flowerbed with some success. The church has since added irrigation to the area so we will consider more wildflowers this winter.
El Dorado Nature Center
Long Beach Garden Club was requested to maintain the entrance sign garden for the Nature Center at El Dorado Park three years ago. This showpiece native garden is visible to all when entering the parking lot, and serves as a demonstration native garden. We planted natives and many are thriving.
We meet the 4th Monday at 2 p.m. for one hour of work. There is shade and free parking on Mondays. Bring weeders, gloves, bucket and knee pads.
El Dorado Nature Center is at 7550 E. Spring Street, Long Beach.
This project was awarded First Place by the California Garden Clubs, Inc. and Pacific Region Garden Clubs, Inc. in June 2025.
Penny Pines Restoration
Our goal is to purchase four plantations each year. Additional plantations can be purchased through contributions from members at each regular meeting and by donations to honor life’s celebrations.
Scholarship for LBCC Horticulture Student
Long Beach Garden Club has funded a $1000 scholarship to be awarded to a horticulture student at Long Beach City College since 2014. We select a deserving recipient annually in Spring, and the funds are distributed by the LBCC Foundation and Scholarship Office to that student in the Fall. This year we are evaluating a different scholarship process.
Canceled Postage Stamp Collection
Long Beach Garden Club collects used (canceled) stamps and sends them to the Postal Museum in Tucson, Arizona.
Arizona. CGCI is now partnering with the Postal History Foundation in Tucson, Arizona. The non-profit organization includes a library, stamp sales, museum and educational outreach programs. Stamps provide a little colorful window to a wider world through the foundation’s various offerings to teachers and home-schooling parents, scouting programs and community events. Your contributions do have an impact. The website is https://postalhistoryfoundation.org
St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church Food Bank and Feed My Lambs
Long Beach Garden Club asks members to bring donations for St. Gregory’s Food Bank and the Feed My Lambs Program. Specific requests are published in our newsletter.
Philanthropy Donations
- El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach
- CGCI President’s Project: CGCI Scholarship Fund
- Huntington Beach/Seal Beach Surfrider Foundation
- Ground Education
- Farm Lot 59
- Ballona Wetlands
- Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust
- Palos Verdes Land Conservancy
- Sowing Seeds of Change
- Catalina Island Conservancy