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| Officer and Member Biographies Nicole Hackett - President
 (a.k.a. Garden Girl) I have a passion for plants!
I can remember the first plant’s name that I ever learned. The year was 1994. The plant was sea pink, and my future mother-in-law identified it for me when we were on a “yard walk”. That was the beginning…
In 1996, I started working at my in-laws new business in Clayton. They bought a former nursery to move their pool supply and patio furniture store to. They decided to incorporate the nursery with the rest of their business, to give people a complete backyard store. I carried around a Western Garden Book, and looked up each plant that arrived. I used an Ortho Problem Solver Book to diagnosis plant disease, and pest problems. It was a slow journey. As the years went by, I needed those references less and less. Since we have a family business, we work lots of hours. I’ve been surrounded by plants for almost 13 years, six days a week.
To keep my work interesting, 10 years ago, in 1998, I began to do perennial and ornamental shrub consultations around Clayton. This has been a creative outlet for me. I was getting a chance to tell people what to plant where, and how to care for what they have planted. Sometimes I created container combinations for customers, other times I consulted on whole landscapes. This was really a chance to let my passion for plants grow. My consultations were done on Mondays (R&M is closed that day), and after work as long as there was light.
In 2002, I spoke for my first time about plants at our Clayton Valley Garden Club meeting. I was so nervous, yet challenged. I enjoyed sharing my passion on a different level. Since 2002, I have spoke many times for the CVGC, as well as the Walnut Creek Garden Club, Concord Garden Club, California Master Nurserymen in Pleasant Hill, a couple of church groups, MOPS, and Sirs meetings. I love to speak and share.
In 2003, I took my passion to another level. Our town was turning out its own bi-monthly newspaper. I leapt at the chance to write a garden column. My first issue was May of 2003, and the topic was Hot Plants for the Hot Sun. Readers loved it, and I have been doing it ever since. Every other week, I write about gardening in the Clayton Valley area, under the name Garden Girl.
Actually, I’ve been doing it all ever since. I still consult, write and speak. I have a suppor-tive husband and two great boys that excel in school, and sports. The whole family goes to work every day, and the Clayton Community has watched my family grow. It is a great life.
Steve Lane - Vice President
 I was born in Walnut Creek, California, and have lived in Clayton for the most part of my life – a resident since 1973. I feel fortunate to have been raised in a beautiful, small, historic town such as Clayton, attending our local schools, from Mt Diablo Elementary thru Clayton Valley High School, Diablo Valley College, eventually on to U.C. Berkeley earning my BA in Architecture. So, I can honestly say I’ve been a “Mustang,” a “Bear, ” and an “Eagle” . . . twice!
After graduating from Cal, I began working full-time as a draftsman and designer in small Architecture offices in Berkeley and Point Richmond, eventually wearing the hat of ‘Job Captain’ / ‘Project Manager’. The good part of working for small offices is that you gain a broad-range of experience quickly. The bad part is when the Economy slows down, and your employer cannot keep you busy. During our most recent slowdown, I began independently consulting more with the Architects, Engineers, Landscape Designers, and Contractors whom I’ve fostered good relationships with over the years, and am glad to see my workload picking-up again, along with the slowly improving Economy. The good part of having a light workload, was having time for other passions in my life, such as Bicycle Training & Racing, Local Railroad and Historic Research, Volunteer Work, and of course . . . Gardening! I must admit – I was never much interested in Gardening, until I was more or less forced-to, after my parents fired the Gardener, bought a lawnmower & a weed trimmer, and moved to Florida full-time, leaving Ingela and I to take care of the house and the yard, including a dying lawn and the ever-returning weed patches. After some trial and error we taught ourselves (with lots of help from Nicole Hackett at R&M, Navlets Classes, and the indispensable Sunset Western Garden book) how to become better gardeners, replacing the eventual dead lawn with new sod, and over time replacing those faithful weed patches with mulched beds of thriving plants. In 2006 at the Downtown Clayton July 4th Parade – Ingela and I were handed a packet of California Poppy seeds, with a Clayton Valley Garden Club card inside, and eventually became members . . . and as the sayings go - “it’s funny how things work out” and “the rest is history” . . . Ten years ago – I would never have dreamt of being the Vice President any Garden Club. However, to date - it is with great pleasure and satisfaction, that I have been able to volunteer my time, talents, and ever-improving gardening skills with the CVGC over the years, and I look forward to being a part of the Club’s great history and achievements -past, present, and future. Ted Meriam - Membership Chair
 Ted grew up in Clayton in the shadow of his mother, who was an avid gardener. While he offered his labor in the yard to his parents, he joined the Clayton Valley Garden Club with the intention to learn more about gardening as a hobby. After being away from the East Bay for several years for college and to start his career, Ted has recently returned to Clayton and purchased his first home. He hopes to overtime transform his own land into a smattering of flower, vegetable, and herb gardens framed by both ornamental and fruit trees. In Clayton, Ted is also involved with the Clayton Historical Society, the Clayton Planning Commission, Clayton Business & Community Association, and the P2C Foundation. Ted is employed by the Microsoft Corporation and has developed the Clayton Valley Garden Club website. Learn more about Ted by reading this blog... Nancy Westman - Membership Chair
 I am a proud 4th generation Californian, born in Berkeley moving to Walnut Creek in 1949. My parents enjoyed the outdoors and working in the garden, but it was my “Nana” that educated me about the wonderful world of plants, flowers and birds in the Diablo Valley.
I am married to Art Westman, another native Californian, raised on a farm in Pinole. We were married on the top of Mt. Diablo on the first day of Summer in 1975, attended by our four children and the Minister. What a beautiful morning! Daily you will find Art and I walking the Clayton trails, watching the Redtail hawks train their young near Keller House or catching a glimpse of a coyote on Black Diamond trail. Moving to Clayton eleven years ago was like moving “home” as Clayton reminds us both of the way Walnut Creek and Pinole were when we were growing up. The Clayton Valley Garden Club has provided us an opportunity to meet new friends, learn more about gardening and keep our community beautiful! Dennnis Kaump - Treasurer
 I grew up on a dairy farm in the Midwest and developed a love for gardening when I decided to try and improve our home place with flowers and shrubs. Needless to say it was not a great success due to the lack of an adequate water supply. The livestock always came before my flowers. I worked for several summers at a local nursery while attending school which broadened my knowledge of gardening. I was fortunate to relocate to the Bay Area in 1973 after working in Arizona and Rhode Island for several years. After becoming a home owner I was able to continue honing my gardening skills. I retired in 2008 after working the last 27 years as controller for a beverage distributor in San Francisco.
Retirement is great! No more tunnels and bridges to cope with everyday. In addition to gardening I enjoy the theater, cooking and traveling.
Dorothy Bradt - Founding Member
 I grew up in Michigan where gardening is possible about 6 months of the year. We always had an excellent vegetable garden, thanks to my Dad. He was practicing organic gardening before they called it that. All of the kitchen vegetable scraps and leaves were worked back into the soil. We also had many fruit trees. Dad made cider and sometimes it became cider vinegar. Mom canned everything. They never wasted anything and would be apppalled by what goes on today. It comes from living through the great deppression of '29. I was the last of four girls and by the time I came along my parents were doing well, but you never forget the really tough times and I find that the way I was raised made an im-pression on me that I can't shake. I use everything and try to recycle what little I cannot find a use for. I feel guilty if I throw away that last half cup of broccoli, (Mother would be disappointed.) I have a vegetable garden, but it's tiny compared to what we had growing up. I fertilize a little, and have to hand water, which isn't necessary in Michigan. It gives me satisfaction to see things grow. I have some flowers, but I am so stingy with the water that my garden is definitely a spring garden. By July things are looking pretty sad. It amazes me to see how resilient Mother Nature is, because with the win-ter rain, my garden is given new life. Currently the daffodils are a blaze of yellow and the bergenia has pink spikes coming up. Camellia blooms are just starting, and the forsythia bush is about to pop. The most beautiful gardens are in the East Bay Regional Parks. Nature cannot be out done by humans. I have been a member of a hiking group for 15 years. I have hiked the trails in all the parks and the best wildflowers in this area are right here on Mt Diablo. April is a good time to go. Come see what is in your parks. You will love it! | |
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