Flower power ruled Valley Center Saturday

A busy Saturday for Dos Valles Garden Club featured its annual flower show, plant sale.

Dos Valles Garden Cub’s biennial 33rd Flower Show turned into an annual Saturday, April 23, blooming and spreading across the Valley Center Library on Cole Grade road. It’s theme: “Recycle, Respect, Restore the Earth.”

Budding and beautiful, even bold, the show transformed the library into exciting exhibits of locally grown plants, beautiful floral designs, youth projects, and educational exhibits, including a working hydroponics station as Garden Club president Sharon Grant said.

The Valley Center club, 125 members strong, pulled out all the stops at the library. Division 1, the horticulture division had rosa fruit, vegetables — and lettuce that turned heads — annuals, iris, native trees and shrubs, plants, perennials and biennials.

Container plants, succulent and cacti assumed their appropriate places. Special exhibits included the aforementioned hydroponics display, photographs and youth exhibits.

Monique Ricardo and son Andre of Pauma Valley Country Club came to see Sharon Grant’s display to their right.

Monique Ricardo and her 13-year-old son Andre, camped out in front of a very interesting display. It turned out to be an award-winner from none other than the inimitable grant, a fellow Pauma Valley Country club resident.

“Our dear friend and neighbor told us she would be showing here,” Monique Ricardo said. “These are just gorgeous roses.’

Andre had other displays on his mind. “They have two whole heads of lettuce in the other room,” he said, voice rising in admiration.

Dana Behmer carried a Valley Center high School Floriculture Club display back to the car that would take it back to school.

Meanwhile, Dana Behmer was beaming as she carried an exhibit from the Valley Center High School Floriculture Class to a car to return to the school. “They did just a wonderful job she said.

The show that occupied the library auditorium, conference room, main atrium and outdoors walkways also featured a weekend full of flower and fruit exhibits, youth exhibits from local schools, a working hydroponics exhibit and hands-on workshop for the young’uns, ages 5-12 to create Mother’s Day bouquets. UC master gardeners were on hand to answer growing queries.

Checking out the big show.

That wasn’t all she wrote though for the hardy Dos Valles GC members. the club also staged its annual plant sale during the morning just down the street at Martin Gang Ranch.

That’s where local residents and fellow travelers got a good start on planting their garden with heirloom tomatoes, eggplants, herbs, trees, native plants and succulents, according to publicity chair Sue Reynolds.

Money earned at the Plant Sales is used for community programs. Last year, DVGC gave nearly $9,000 to the community in scholarships, elementary and high school horticulture, and design programs and floral arrangements for the Valley Center Library.

For more about the Dos Valles Garden Club, visit www.dosvallesgradenclub.org.