Conversations spark about topics from pruning to watering tips as Fremont Senior Center Garden Club members, carrying the latest plants they’ve grown, walk into the Age Well Center for their monthly meetings. Since starting as a small group of friends in 2005, the organization has bloomed into a club with more than 40 active members.
“It’s [people] from all walks of life who come together,” former vice president and current plant sale co-chair Gloria Gates said. “The commonality is that we all like to get our hands in the dirt and grow plants, share information and have field trips.”
‘The commonality is that we all like to get our hands in the dirt and grow plants.’
– Plant Sale co-chair Gloria Gates
The club will host its annual plant sale at the Age Well Center from 9am to 2pm on May 2. Plant sale co-chairs Gates and Anita Deppner host preliminary meetings to organize volunteers months in advance and work with members to set up the event the day before, labeling and placing tags for the plants.
“The best thing is just getting everybody together, volunteering, working and sharing the whole process,” former vice president Steve Patchin said. “It’s trying to share your knowledge about the plants that are there, and it’s just a fun experience.”
Featuring a variety of plants from annuals and perennials to succulents and vegetables, members grow the flora themselves and offer them for affordable prices. “[The plant sale] has always been something to look forward to,” said Garden Club member Arlene Hoover. “It’s amazing how many plants are brought in by the people that belong to the club.”
Using money earned from the sale, the club supports the Fremont Senior Center’s kitchen through donations. “We always donate…to the Senior Center to give back, because they let us use their room to have our meetings,” said treasurer Pat Barone. The club is currently looking for other organizations and charities to contribute to with their earnings.
The plant sale also serves as a major fundraiser that helps them finance field trips to locations like the Fioli Gardens, Bancroft Gardens and San Francisco Japanese Gardens. “These are things I probably wouldn’t do on my own or by myself, as an elderly senior, but with a group, it’s so much more fun,” said Hoover. “[I especially] enjoy all the friendships with all the different people that we’ve made throughout the years.”
Through the Fremont Senior Center Garden Club, members of the community join together in a shared pursuit—spending time chatting in their club room, visiting local gardens and offering fresh horticulture advice. “I enjoy the camaraderie and just being able to talk to other people [at the club],” Gates said. “When you have a problem with a certain plant or a certain situation, there are people that you could talk to.”
In addition to the club’s regular meetings, a different member takes charge of organizing speaker events every month. In recent months, they’ve invited speakers ranging from a bonsai artist, who brought in diverse species of bonsai trees, to a worker from Dale Hardware, who discussed the different machines available for composting.
Discussing the benefits of gardening for the elderly, Gates mentioned the hobby’s ability to keep seniors active both physically and mentally. “There’s so much emphasis on [preventing] Alzheimer’s and keeping our minds functioning and challenged,” Gates said. “The garden club fits right into that … as gardening [keeps] our minds and bodies active.”
Plant Sale
Friday, May 2
9am – 2pm
Age Well Center
40086 Paseo Padre Pkwy, Fremont
