A group of students proposed creating a memorial garden to honor deceased students and alumni of Spring Grove High School.

And with administrators and school board members on board, the students from Celeste Barnes’ environmental science classes are ready to move forward with the design and completion of a garden.

The students were motivated by the recent death of 2010 graduate Cameron Stambaugh, according to Lisa Smith, district community relations coordinator. Stambaugh, 20, was one of the six NATO service members killed July 8 when an armored vehicle he was in was demolished by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.

While students discussed the possibilities, the memorial expanded to include not only members of the military, but those who served their communities as police officers and firefighters as well.

Spring Grove graduate David Tome would be among those honored. Tome was struck and killed in October 2008 while investigating an accident in Franklin Township.

Sixty senior students in the environmental 2 classes, under the direction of Barnes, will be digging, planting and building the 125-square-foot garden. Douglas Rohrbaugh of Crabtree, Rohrbaugh and Associates is donating his personal time, along with that of a landscape architect, to work with students in defining the most appropriate layout and selecting the best trees and plants for the area.

The firm has pledged to provide the trees at no cost, said Smith. The garden will be located in front of the high school pool area.

Members of the National Art Honor Society are also involved in the project; they will design and create an appropriate work of art for the area. Barnes said students would like to have flags surrounding the garden as well.

Donations are being sought for funding of the project. Barnes said the responsibility for maintaining the garden would fall to each successive class of environmental science students.

A timeline for the project has yet to be determined.

A group of students proposed creating a memorial garden to honor deceased students and alumni of Spring Grove High School.

And with administrators and school board members on board, the students from Celeste Barnes’ environmental science classes are ready to move forward with the design and completion of a garden.

The students were motivated by the recent death of 2010 graduate Cameron Stambaugh, according to Lisa Smith, district community relations coordinator. Stambaugh, 20, was one of the six NATO service members killed July 8 when an armored vehicle he was in was demolished by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.

While students discussed the possibilities, the memorial expanded to include not only members of the military, but those who served their communities as police officers and firefighters as well.

Spring Grove graduate David Tome would be among those honored. Tome was struck and killed in October 2008 while investigating an accident in Franklin Township.

Sixty senior students in the environmental 2 classes, under the direction of Barnes, will be digging, planting and building the 125-square-foot garden. Douglas Rohrbaugh of Crabtree, Rohrbaugh and Associates is donating his personal time, along with that of a landscape architect, to work with students in defining the most appropriate layout and selecting the best trees and plants for the area.

The firm has pledged to provide the trees at no cost, said Smith. The garden will be located in front of the high school pool area.

Members of the National Art Honor Society are also involved in the project; they will design and create an appropriate work of art for the area. Barnes said students would like to have flags surrounding the garden as well.

Donations are being sought for funding of the project. Barnes said the responsibility for maintaining the garden would fall to each successive class of environmental science students.

A timeline for the project has yet to be determined.

There’s a secret to the low-maintenance garden: native plants. California natives are drought-tolerant, thrive in local soil without amendments and provide forage and habitat for pollinators. Autumn, with its cooler nights and the promise of rainfall, is the ideal time to start a native garden. When planted during fall, plants have time to develop healthy root systems over winter that will sustain them through the dry season with less irrigation – and less maintenance. Looking to get started? A trio of recently published guides can help you cultivate your own native environment.

“Growing California Native Plants,” the second edition (University of California Press, 2012). Gardener and designer Katherine L. Greenberg retooled this 30-year-old book by the late Marjorie G. Smith into an easy-to-use guide for novices and experienced gardeners. Through colorful photos, maps, lists and charts, the authors make a case for the 6,300 species and subspecies – trees, grasses, perennials and annuals – that thrive west of the Sierra. Plants include drought-tolerant varieties as well as moisture dwellers from meadows, streams and woodlands that can thrive in home gardens with similar conditions.

The book includes a handy section that groups plants according to their special features (dry garden, deer resistant, fall color, and so on), as well as a glossary of plant terms and lists of resources.

Smith and Greenberg assure novices that there is a native plant for any garden situation. Once established, most get all the nutrients they need from the soil and thrive, thankfully, with little attention.

“California Native Gardening” (University of California Press, 2012). Helen Popper’s month-by-month guide lists the chores specific to the calendar up front and fleshes them out in the pages that follow, many of them accompanied by plentiful, colorful images. Particularly useful is a rough guide for when cuttings of specific plants can be taken for propagation.

The guide came out of the Santa Clara Valley chapter’s monthly meetings of the California Native Plant Society where Popper – a member and an associate professor of economics at Santa Clara University – took voluminous notes that ended up in her book.

“Wildflowers of California” (University of California Press, 2012). Let nature inspire your native garden’s design. Author and photographer Laird R. Blackwell’s month-by-month guide reveals when and where to view spectacular wildflower displays and fascinating flowers.

Blackwell divides the Golden State into 10 geographical regions and identifies 67 flower “hot spots.” He also highlights more than 600 wildflower species “whose beauty or fascination would lead me to go out of my way to see them.”

In his introduction, Blackwell offers tips on using his guide: “Since most flowers bloom for at least several weeks, if you’re looking for flowers to see in a particular month, be sure to check the earlier month sections as well.”

A Sierra Nevada College professor who regularly leads wildflower walks and classes, Blackwell has penned half dozen other regional field guides on the subject of wildflowers.

Laramie Treviño is a Monterey County freelancer and master gardener with the University of California Cooperative Extension. E-mail: home@sfchronicle.com

There’s a secret to the low-maintenance garden: native plants. California natives are drought-tolerant, thrive in local soil without amendments and provide forage and habitat for pollinators. Autumn, with its cooler nights and the promise of rainfall, is the ideal time to start a native garden. When planted during fall, plants have time to develop healthy root systems over winter that will sustain them through the dry season with less irrigation – and less maintenance. Looking to get started? A trio of recently published guides can help you cultivate your own native environment.

“Growing California Native Plants,” the second edition (University of California Press, 2012). Gardener and designer Katherine L. Greenberg retooled this 30-year-old book by the late Marjorie G. Smith into an easy-to-use guide for novices and experienced gardeners. Through colorful photos, maps, lists and charts, the authors make a case for the 6,300 species and subspecies – trees, grasses, perennials and annuals – that thrive west of the Sierra. Plants include drought-tolerant varieties as well as moisture dwellers from meadows, streams and woodlands that can thrive in home gardens with similar conditions.

The book includes a handy section that groups plants according to their special features (dry garden, deer resistant, fall color, and so on), as well as a glossary of plant terms and lists of resources.

Smith and Greenberg assure novices that there is a native plant for any garden situation. Once established, most get all the nutrients they need from the soil and thrive, thankfully, with little attention.

“California Native Gardening” (University of California Press, 2012). Helen Popper’s month-by-month guide lists the chores specific to the calendar up front and fleshes them out in the pages that follow, many of them accompanied by plentiful, colorful images. Particularly useful is a rough guide for when cuttings of specific plants can be taken for propagation.

The guide came out of the Santa Clara Valley chapter’s monthly meetings of the California Native Plant Society where Popper – a member and an associate professor of economics at Santa Clara University – took voluminous notes that ended up in her book.

“Wildflowers of California” (University of California Press, 2012). Let nature inspire your native garden’s design. Author and photographer Laird R. Blackwell’s month-by-month guide reveals when and where to view spectacular wildflower displays and fascinating flowers.

Blackwell divides the Golden State into 10 geographical regions and identifies 67 flower “hot spots.” He also highlights more than 600 wildflower species “whose beauty or fascination would lead me to go out of my way to see them.”

In his introduction, Blackwell offers tips on using his guide: “Since most flowers bloom for at least several weeks, if you’re looking for flowers to see in a particular month, be sure to check the earlier month sections as well.”

A Sierra Nevada College professor who regularly leads wildflower walks and classes, Blackwell has penned half dozen other regional field guides on the subject of wildflowers.

Laramie Treviño is a Monterey County freelancer and master gardener with the University of California Cooperative Extension. E-mail: home@sfchronicle.com

Johnstown —
A fun-filled holiday event will help the Garden Club of Johnstown flourish.

The 22nd annual Welcome the Holidays program begins at 11 a.m. Nov. 10 at Sunnehanna Country Club, 1000 Sunnehanna Drive, Westmont.

Before lunch, which begins at noon, guests can browse two rooms filled with handmade items created by club members and other items that have been purchased.

“It’s a matter of preventing congestion,” said Carla Straw of Richland Township, one of three women chairing the committee. “Setting up in two rooms has worked out well.”

Straw, along with Mary Jo Gardill and Jan Wolfe, both of Westmont, have been working for nearly a year to organize the event and create items that will be featured at the luncheon.

The luncheon, which is the garden club’s only fundraiser, attracts 240 guests each year.

The majority of items will be holiday themed, but there also will be items that can be displayed throughout the year.

“Items are priced from $5 to $50,” Straw said. “Our goal is to make the event affordable to everyone, which will enable us to sell all the items on display.”

There also will be a half-dozen raffle items and door prizes, including a money tree and the table centerpieces.

“We will be raffling an original floral photograph by former Johnstown resident Fred Gilmour of Williamsport,” Wolfe said.

Gilmour has been a freelance artist for more than 40 years.

Boutique shopping will feature nearly 80 wreaths, centerpieces, swags and floral designs, handcrafted by members of the club, as well as other holiday novelties.

“For the last three months, members have been busy at our workshops creating an array of unique items,” Wolfe said.

Proceeds go back to the community.

“The monies raised are used for our civic development, horticulture therapy, habitat for humanity, conservation and youth gardeners committees,” Straw said.

The club has performed or contributed to civic beautification projects in the Johnstown area for decades.

Founded in 1930, the club’s works includes annual and special projects performed in order to advance gardening, landscape design, floral design and the study of horticulture.

The organization also has taken a proactive approach when it comes to conservation and the environment.

Ellen Singleton of Southmont pointed to the club’s work to limit a knotweed infestation along the Jim Mayer Riverwalk Trail from the Moxham section of Johnstown to Sandyvale Cemetery, in the Hornerstown section.

“By focusing on natural plants, we want to revegetate the area through a combination of seeding and mature plantings,” she said. “It’s an effort to control the problem, not irradicate the knotweed.”

The club’s other projects can be found throughout the Greater Johnstown region. They add a touch of beauty to the gazebo in downtown’s Central Park, four Main Street planters, the Russell House in Moxham, the John P. Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport in Richland Township and the Community Arts Center of Cambria County in Westmont.

The group also tends a 19th century-style vegetable garden at the Wagner-Ritter House in the Cambria City section of Johnstown.

After lunch, there will be a fashion show with holiday styles provided by Karen’s Couture, 9 Entrance Drive, Lower Yoder Township.

A floral design program will be presented by Mary Jane Martucci of Charleroi, Washington County.

She is a Garden Club Federation of Pennsylvania District 10 director and an accredited flower show judge.

“She will present creations for various designs for the fall and winter holidays,” Straw said.

There also will be a slide show on what the club has accomplished at its various sites.

“We will have several before and after photos, which show the accomplishments of the club,” Straw said.

The Garden Club of Johnstown has 91 members.

“We are the largest garden club in District 6, which encompasses Cambria, Somerset, Indiana, Bedford and Blair counties,” Wolfe said.

The group meets at noon on the second Monday of each month at Westmont Presbyterian Church, 601 Luzerne St. in Westmont. New members are welcome.

There are a limited number of tickets remaining.

Tickets for the luncheon are $30 and must be reserved.

Those interested in attending should contact Aurora Gilmour, a club member.

Information: 255-6230.

If you go …

What: Welcome the Holidays luncheon.

Where: Sunnehanna Country Club, 1000 Sunnehanna Drive, Westmont.

When: 11 a.m. Nov. 10.

Reservations: Aurora Gilmour at 255-6230.

Cost: $30 a person.

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Johnstown —
A fun-filled holiday event will help the Garden Club of Johnstown flourish.

The 22nd annual Welcome the Holidays program begins at 11 a.m. Nov. 10 at Sunnehanna Country Club, 1000 Sunnehanna Drive, Westmont.

Before lunch, which begins at noon, guests can browse two rooms filled with handmade items created by club members and other items that have been purchased.

“It’s a matter of preventing congestion,” said Carla Straw of Richland Township, one of three women chairing the committee. “Setting up in two rooms has worked out well.”

Straw, along with Mary Jo Gardill and Jan Wolfe, both of Westmont, have been working for nearly a year to organize the event and create items that will be featured at the luncheon.

The luncheon, which is the garden club’s only fundraiser, attracts 240 guests each year.

The majority of items will be holiday themed, but there also will be items that can be displayed throughout the year.

“Items are priced from $5 to $50,” Straw said. “Our goal is to make the event affordable to everyone, which will enable us to sell all the items on display.”

There also will be a half-dozen raffle items and door prizes, including a money tree and the table centerpieces.

“We will be raffling an original floral photograph by former Johnstown resident Fred Gilmour of Williamsport,” Wolfe said.

Gilmour has been a freelance artist for more than 40 years.

Boutique shopping will feature nearly 80 wreaths, centerpieces, swags and floral designs, handcrafted by members of the club, as well as other holiday novelties.

“For the last three months, members have been busy at our workshops creating an array of unique items,” Wolfe said.

Proceeds go back to the community.

“The monies raised are used for our civic development, horticulture therapy, habitat for humanity, conservation and youth gardeners committees,” Straw said.

The club has performed or contributed to civic beautification projects in the Johnstown area for decades.

Founded in 1930, the club’s works includes annual and special projects performed in order to advance gardening, landscape design, floral design and the study of horticulture.

The organization also has taken a proactive approach when it comes to conservation and the environment.

Ellen Singleton of Southmont pointed to the club’s work to limit a knotweed infestation along the Jim Mayer Riverwalk Trail from the Moxham section of Johnstown to Sandyvale Cemetery, in the Hornerstown section.

“By focusing on natural plants, we want to revegetate the area through a combination of seeding and mature plantings,” she said. “It’s an effort to control the problem, not irradicate the knotweed.”

The club’s other projects can be found throughout the Greater Johnstown region. They add a touch of beauty to the gazebo in downtown’s Central Park, four Main Street planters, the Russell House in Moxham, the John P. Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport in Richland Township and the Community Arts Center of Cambria County in Westmont.

The group also tends a 19th century-style vegetable garden at the Wagner-Ritter House in the Cambria City section of Johnstown.

After lunch, there will be a fashion show with holiday styles provided by Karen’s Couture, 9 Entrance Drive, Lower Yoder Township.

A floral design program will be presented by Mary Jane Martucci of Charleroi, Washington County.

She is a Garden Club Federation of Pennsylvania District 10 director and an accredited flower show judge.

“She will present creations for various designs for the fall and winter holidays,” Straw said.

There also will be a slide show on what the club has accomplished at its various sites.

“We will have several before and after photos, which show the accomplishments of the club,” Straw said.

The Garden Club of Johnstown has 91 members.

“We are the largest garden club in District 6, which encompasses Cambria, Somerset, Indiana, Bedford and Blair counties,” Wolfe said.

The group meets at noon on the second Monday of each month at Westmont Presbyterian Church, 601 Luzerne St. in Westmont. New members are welcome.

There are a limited number of tickets remaining.

Tickets for the luncheon are $30 and must be reserved.

Those interested in attending should contact Aurora Gilmour, a club member.

Information: 255-6230.

If you go …

What: Welcome the Holidays luncheon.

Where: Sunnehanna Country Club, 1000 Sunnehanna Drive, Westmont.

When: 11 a.m. Nov. 10.

Reservations: Aurora Gilmour at 255-6230.

Cost: $30 a person.

Click here to subscribe to The Tribune-Democrat print edition.

Click here to subscribe to The Tribune-Democrat e-edition.