Photograph by Robert Scheer
Members of the Foothill Garden Club take up garden utensils. From left are Carol Nelson, Bob Work, Phil Bush, Al Abshire, John Kahle and Bud Greenlee.
By Tim Persyn
Off Saratoga-Los Gatos Road and away from the traffic, congestion and noise of Silicon Valley lies Sunnyside Road in Saratoga, a one-lane, paved county road with a rural feeling.
On this road, hidden behind lush greenery, sits the house of Colonel Robert E. Work (ret. USAF), vice president of Foothill Men's Garden Club.
Founded in 1962, the club raises money to preserve the natural environment while touching the lives of community members through the sale of members' homegrown garden products.
The club, which encompasses Santa Clara and parts of San Mateo counties and has 18 Saratoga members, hosts an annual garden sale, this year held in April over two days at El Rancho Shopping Center in Los Altos. Popular products included tomatoes and irises.
Each year the proceeds from the sale are donated, often to Hakone Gardens and Villa Montalvo. However, the decision about who is to receive the money is accompanied by much discussion.
"It takes two days to make the money and six months to argue about who to give it to," joked Work as he relaxed in his backyard with other members of the club. At this point, the club has decided to donate some of this year's proceeds to organizations such as the Sempervirens Fund, which is purchasing land to form a protected area between Big Basin and Castle Rock, and to the Peninsula Open Space Trust, which purchases private lands to turn over to the state for open space.
So well known was their sale that when club members started to unload the trucks at 7 each morning, customers were there, ready to make purchases.
This year's sale was dedicated to Albert Wilson, a former member of the club who hosted the popular TV show "Dig it With Albert." Wilson recently passed away.
Certainly, one of the club's functions could be described as philanthropic.
There is a long list of organizations which have been touched by the club's giving: the Gamble Gardens of Palo Alto, Guadalupe River Park in San Jose, the open-space trust, Hakone Gardens and Montalvo, as well as scholarship funds at educational institutions like Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo and UC-Davis.
The club also provides funding each year for 58 acres of tree planting in the Los Padres National Forest. In addition, due to the club's Sempervirens donations, an area in Big Basin has memorial trees dedicated to former members.
The majority of members of the Foothill club are retired, although the club welcomes gardeners of all ages. Generally, each member has his own garden.
Most club members specialize in a particular area of gardening, although there are some generalists in the ranks. For example, Carl Nelson focuses on tomatoes, Bill Holzmer concentrates on succulents, while Work is an iris expert.
The club meets monthly. These meetings can include a presentation by an expert in a particular area of gardening. Other club activities include an annual barbecue and an annual dinner, when officers are installed.
Club members say one of the biggest satisfactions of their work is touching the lives of community members through the sale of the club's produce.
"Little old ladies will tell you in great length how beautiful the irises are--and then they will request a certain color," said Work.
Another member commented, "There's satisfaction in knowing somebody enjoyed something you created."
Al Abshire, a member of Saratoga's Planning Commission, related an interaction he had with a group of women who came to his house one day to plant chrysanthemums. "It was a nice, serene fall day. I watched them spend a half day planting the flowers. It was a reward you can't describe."
Members also enjoy a sense of camaraderie from the club, not to mention gardening tips they pick up.
A conversation with club members can quickly turn into a discussion on the merits of kiwis. In this discussion, members decide that kiwis make a nice jam and are good on salads, but that one should not try to make Jello out of them.
Though there are no women members, about one-third of the attendees at monthly meetings are female. Some are spouses of the members, others simply garden-loving citizens.
The members say they took a poll of their wives, who replied that they didn't want full membership, although they did want the symbolic honor of associate membership.
"There is a general society movement toward having women involved in every organization," said one member. "We feel the heat on that."
Work thinks it's only a matter of time before women can join the club. "I forecast that one day we'll take women in."
Another forecast that can be made about the Foothill club is that the active men who constitute it will continue to make a difference.
"We contribute to the good eating and beautification of the community," said Work with a smile.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, July 17, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved