August 19, 2004

Volunteer of the Week: Bette Lloyd
                
By Jeanne C. Lewis
Staff Writer

“Helping gardeners grow.”
—Master Gardeners

“One who plants a garden plants happiness.”
—A plaque in Bette Lloyd’s backyard

“Everybody needs a place where they don’t feel compelled to do chores, rake leaves but just go, sit and admire something, a little plant,” Bette Lloyd said relaxing in a chaise lounge discussing the advantages of gardening. “All you need is a chair, a book and something pretty to look at.”

Lloyd knows of what she speaks. For the past five years, she has volunteered with the University of California Cooperative Extension [UCCE] Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County. The objectives of the volunteer organization are to support the educational activities of the UCCE and to operate for scientific and educational purposes, promoting horticultural education and service to the community and provide continuing horticulture enrichment for members.

“Bette is wonderful and a special volunteer who has very high standards,” Nancy Garrison, Urban Horticulture program coordinator who started the program in Santa Clara County in 1982, said about Lloyd’s commitment to the organization. “She has taken on high level administrative jobs of president of the advisory board, special task force, field projects and events chairperson seamlessly and diplomatically. She is very talented and has been awarded Volunteer of the Year in the past.”

Lloyd was born and grew up in Brentwood, Calif., where her mother and father grew tomatoes and the area was surrounded by fruit trees. She attended San Jose State University studying business. Her career led her to staff positions with Intel, Ford Aerospace and Ford Motor Company where she worked in the world wide quality department—even living in England for nine months where “they had the most beautiful tulips.” She married, had two children—a boy and a girl, now grown with families of their own—moving to Almaden 16 years ago. Along the way she was trained in public speaking—a talent that would serve her well in her current endeavors. Retiring in 1994, she began her search for volunteer activities, read about the Master Gardeners in the San Jose Mercury News in 1999 and joined the organization.

Lloyd is now the chairman of the events committee where she organizes and speaks at groups as varied as the Almaden Valley Nursery, San Jose Rotary, Almaden Garden Club, AAUW, San Jose State University Environmentalists, IBM, Blossom Valley Neighborhood Association, Cisco, Summer Winds Nursery, Welcome Wagon and KLA Ten Core. The speeches are diverse: from container gardening, beneficial insects and pollinators and tomato cultivation among many others. Then there are the January and August home and garden shows to staff and assist visitors with questions pertaining to gardening.

Of special interest is the Master Gardener’s hotline that Lloyd and other dedicated volunteers man Monday through Friday 9:30 a.m. to noon. Have a certain strange bug that’s invaded your yard, vegetable problems, or a hot, shady area that you’re searching for the right plant? Have pantry pests or yellow jackets? What about the west Nile virus? These are the type questions the knowledgeable staff can answer. If they don’t know there’s a reference library that they will be happy to explore to answer your questions. Once a month the volunteers meet and decide what may be the most probable hot topics.

The research center at Nine Palms is a cornucopia of special projects. There Lloyd and other volunteers decide yearly planting assignments to cultivate and study. Lloyd’s current undertaking is container plants which is a common query with Santa Clara valley’s lack of open space. Lloyd has four half wine kegs where she is experimenting with peppers, two varieties of tomatoes, basil, cutting celery that looks like parsley and peppers.

Each of the planters is placed in diverse natural lighted areas to see which conditions will produce the most bounty. The information is documented for future reference.

Other volunteers are busy with their own assignments: Sue Van Stee’s pollinator and beneficial insect garden; Mike Kent has built greenhouses where melons are planted to document the growth of the fruit at different time intervals; Jackye Churchill is examining the development of different heirloom carrots in raised beds with diverse soil conditions; Jim, the chili guru, investigates the growth of dozens of peppers to examine which pods are best suited for Santa Clara valley; Karen’s yellow beans are growing over 5 feet tall; others study hot weather substitutes for spinach on the leased space on Mabury Road. Many of the plants will be sold at the spring sale at Prusch Farm Park and is always a sell-out event.

Besides Lloyd’s commitment to the Master Gardener’s, she finds time for a community garden on Lean Avenue.

On a 20 by 20 plot, she raises 16 varieties of tomatoes, six peppers, basil, zucchini, sunflowers, beans, onions, parsley and dahlias all carefully documented in her gardening journal.

“I’ve always loved gardens,” Lloyd said as she tours her own backyard which is a rival for the pages of Sunset magazine and includes 11 fruit trees of peaches, apples, and citrus along with many vegetables and flowering foliage. “No matter how fresh fruits and vegetables are at the grocery store, it always tastes better [from your own garden]. It’s beautiful to look at and food for you, friends and neighbors.”

For more information volunteering, questions about your own garden or a speaker for your group, call University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners of Santa Clara Valley at (408) 299-2638 Monday through Friday from 9:30 – 12:30.