March 2023

Bay Breeze

In This Issue

From the President

Juan Carlos Esparza, Urban Scapes

I attended the CLCA Leadership Conference in Sacramento and was reminded of the key, core goal of CLCA:

Support members as they create beautiful, enduring landscapes that improve the quality of life. CLCA’s core values are: commitment honesty, integrity, and ethics at all costs, devotion to excellence in craftsmanship, living the entrepreneurial spirit, reverence for the earth and respect for its resources, and relationships are everything.

In addition to giving members access to competitive insurance rates, CLCA has an attorney on retainer to advise and provide members with legal help. This is an important, but often not used, benefit of membership.

February’s highlight was the fine NorCal landscape show at the San Mateo Events Center on February 9. Attendance was very high, the vendors represented all aspects of the horticultural and landscape industry, and the seminars were sold out. If you missed it, you missed a great event. It was especially good to see old friends and to meet new people, something that the pandemic has kept us from doing. SFBA Chapter board member Ana Cooper was working the check in area and reports that those attending were uniformly positive about the return of the show.

The SFBA Chapter’s board has started to plan for the 2023 awards. Entry applications will be available on the website and published in the Bay Breeze. With plenty of advance warning, you have time to think of the properties you wish to enter in the two main categories of installation and maintenance. Once the details of this year’s competition are finalized, the information will be published in the Bay Breeze and in a mid-month blast. Get ready, set, and go!

Landscape Contractors Insurance Services, Inc.

Auxiliary Report

Welcome Spring almost! I hope you and your gardens are surviving this cold and wet winter. I’m sure all this weather will bring spectacular spring gardens, just in time for you to enter your projects in the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter’s Achievement Awards program. I’m looking forward to seeing award winning gardens from our chapter members.

It is with sadness that I report the passing of Ann Tsuda in September 2022. I did not know Ann very well as she and Mas had already moved to Grass Valley by the time Girvin and I got married. Ann joined the Auxiliary in 1980, during the Grass Widows era of the Auxiliary. She served on many committees and was President of the Auxiliary in 1985. Her CLCA family here in the Bay Area will miss her and we send our thoughts and sympathy to the Tsuda family.

The Auxiliary is a fun group of men and women, planning CLCA events and working on the philanthropic and social end of the Chapter. These endeavors are crucial to the continued success of the Chapter and it takes a lot people to keep the Chapter and the Auxiliary running smoothly. I hope you will consider joining us this year and we would welcome your participation on whatever level of interest you may have and wish to share. Happy St. Patrick’s Day on March 17 and I hope the spring season brings all good things to everyone.

Lesley Peters
Garden Designer
650-444-4580
gpland@sbcglobal.net

An Open Invitation to All CLCA Members

On behalf of the CLCA SFBA Chapter Auxiliary, I would like to extend a warm invitation to become a member of the Auxiliary. Established in the early 1950’s, the CLCA Auxiliary was formed as an assistance and support group to CLCA.

We lend a helping hand when needed throughout the year, whether in the form of organizing functions, providing refreshments during specific activities or just being there when the Association needs us. In addition, we raise funds to support the Landscape Educational Advancement Foundation (LEAF). All representatives of CLCA members (regular, associate or affiliate) are eligible to be members of the Auxiliary.

We can accomplish great things with your participation on whatever level of interest you may have and wish to share. If you have any questions or wish to speak with someone about the Auxiliary, please feel free to call or email me. I hope you will consider becoming a member of the Auxiliary.

Sincerely,

Lesley Peters
SFBA Chapter Auxiliary President
(650) 444-4580
gpland@sbcglobal.net

Dues: The annual dues are $25.
$20 goes to the State Auxiliary ($15 to the General Fund and $5 to the LEAF Auxiliary Fund), and $5 goes to our local chapter General Fund.

How can you become a member? Complete the application by clicking the button below and follow the instructions on the PDF.

Download CLCA SFBA Auxiliary Application

Norcal Landscape & Nursery Show

Thank you to those who attended the NORCAL Landscape & Nursery Show on February 9th in San Mateo. The Bay Area came together for one day to partake in the region’s biggest green industry trade event. Vendors had booths, equipment, lighting, pavers and irrigation parts as well as information and networking with the community. Seminar topics included climate change mitigation and preparedness, beyond the basics in lighting design, organic herbicides, eco-friendly pest management for California’s climate and more topics, keeping attendees up to date on California’s rapidly changing landscape industry. Revenues raised by the NORCAL show are reinvested in the industry through education, research and philanthropy.

50th Annual Trophy Awards Banquet & Presentation

It is time to start thinking about project entries for the CLCA San Francisco Bay Area Chapter Achievement Awards. Save the date of June 17th, 2023 for the 50th Annual Trophy Awards Banquet & Presentation at Michaels Shoreline in Mountain View and celebrate the 2023 award winners for outstanding landscapes and superior workmanship in landscape maintenance and construction.

The SFBA Chapter Board of Directors is planning to make this big milestone a very special event. You do not need to enter projects to attend Awards Banquet. Join us and make it a community celebration and bring together the landscape industry for an amazing night. Award entry applications will be sent in March. Contractors, start preparing your work and look for applications in the coming weeks!

Article of Interest

Parched California Misses a Chance to Store More Rain Underground

California misses opportunity to store rainwater

It sounds like an obvious fix for California’s whipsawing cycles of deluge and drought: Capture the water from downpours so it can be used during dry spells.

Yet even this winter, when the skies delivered bounties of water not seen in half a decade, large amounts of it surged down rivers and out into the ocean.

Read Full Article

Partner Spotlight

This month’s Partners Spotlight is Delta Bluegrass Co

Delta Bluegrass Company, established in 1978, is located in the heart of the San Joaquin Delta Region. Delta Bluegrass Company is a full-line Sod Company, one of the few in the industry supplying a complete product line of Commercial, Residential, Sports Turf, California Native Grasses, and Kurapia Ground Cover. Our market spans the entire state of California and is headquartered in Stockton.

At its inception, the company President, Ed Zuckerman has always been thinking of the big picture with an emphasis on water sensitive landscape options. Delta Bluegrass Company’s vision is to be the customers First Choice for Sod! Our mission is to partner with our customers to provide knowledge, excellent service and innovative, quality products that benefit our environment. Delta Bluegrass Company takes pride in growing and providing top quality sod to our customers. We know that when you choose our sod, you expect exceptional delivery service and the best value for your investment.

Our Sales Team and Customer Service Department are recognized as leaders in the turf industry. Our Team is always available to discuss our full portfolio of products and help you understand how we can maximize your sods potential. Delta Bluegrass Company has an in-house Research and Development Program that ensures our sod offerings are always progressive and on the cutting edge of the most improved varieties to benefit our industry. We remain committed to our leadership role in the environmental stewardship of our community and the world.

Please feel free to contact your local Rep Jeff Henninger at:

Jeff Henninger
(925) 698-8295
jhenninger@deltabluegrass.com