Local Heroes Help Windsor Families – Again --From the Newsletter of Windsor Garden Club Thanks to a handful of Windsor businesses and individual donors, Windsor Garden Club was again able to offer 13 sponsored garden beds to low-income Windsor families, who used them to grow fresh produce, berries, and herbs. These families on tight budgets live in places with no space to garden. Members of Windsor Garden Club love being able to connect with those families and help them get fresh, healthy (and organic) food on the table. But we could not do it without our garden bed sponsors! Our donors are true local heroes. Photo Source: Canva www.CaliforniaGardenClubs.org (fb)

BOOK REVIEW “The Orchid Thief” by Susan Orlean --From the Newsletter of Long Beach Garden Club The Orchid Thief: A true story. When we took the President’s trip this summer, we visited two nurseries highlighting Orchids. I was reminded of a non-fiction book I read years ago, THE ORCHID THIEF by Susan Orlean, and I’m rereading it. The setting is the swamps of Florida, where many orchids grow, and taking them from their natural habitat is illegal. Naturally, there “is a deeply eccentric and oddly attractive man named John Laroche who is determined to find (to clone) a rare ghost orchid.” He takes Susan on an unforgettable tour of the subculture of orchids. It’s her book's 15th anniversary, and I’m so glad to revisit this often wickedly funny, accurate tale with a cast of characters: orchid lovers, native Americans, the court system judges, attorneys, and, of course, the Everglades and the Big Cypress Swamp. www.CaliforniaGardenClubs.org (fb)