Inspiring and educating San Francisco South Bay and Peninsula plant enthusiasts since 1963

 Long-time member, Elizabeth Garbett was presented with the third Founders Award at our meeting on February 14, 2007, an appropriate day as Elizabeth has had a special place in our hearts for many years.

After some years of serving on the Board, Elizabeth began writing the plant notes in 1990 and she has been putting them together for us every month since then. Bill Kurtz entertained us with some of her humor and wit when he read for us some of her past plant notes published in our newsletter. Elizabeth has captured our fancy through the years with her most descriptive and enlightening comments therein. Here are some examples...

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On Persimmons: "I'm pretty lukewarm about persimmons anyway, except for the fall color, so I'm able to be philosophical about the orgy of looting by the birds & the beasts that is going on in my tree just now"

On Kalanchoe tubiflora: "At the end of the leaves are borne several plantlets which.. become a flood and threaten to inundate the greenhouse...Never allow it in your greenhouse! Kalanchoes are not reliably hardy here which is how they sneaked into the greenhouse in the first place. You may detect a trace of bitterness here, I have met this plant before."

On Akebia quintata: "This vine can be aggressively invasive if not controlled. It will climb 30 ft. into trees and swarm over and through fences and shrubs and along the ground. I am personally currently engaged in all out warfare with my rampant vine and so far the Akebia is winning."

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From the Los Altos Town Crier (August 2016)

Elizabeth has always been a very active member in our society. She and her husband "Budge" helped with some of our exhibits in the San Francisco Flower and Garden Shows and she has been instrumental for several years in getting our newsletters mailed each month with a "mailing party." Some favorite memories for a number of our members are the get-togethers and picnics Elizabeth has held at her lovely home. Her gardens are always appealing and full of unusual plants. Everyone enjoys the miniature trains built by Budge that run through a detailed miniature landscape, complete with wooded slopes, cabins and a saw mill, that encircles the swimming pool. Elizabeth has those attributes that every organization needs to call on to survive and flourish. We have been and continue to be honored with her involvement in the Western Horticultural Society.