Sheila Weston began gardening at an early age in England. Throughout moves to California, Australia, and then back to California she has always had a garden, from pots on an apartment windowsill to a large suburban lot.

Sheila has been a Master Gardener since 2009. This has led to a greater awareness of the importance of bees of all kinds, and how we can plan our gardens to benefit both the gardener and the bees. She has kept honey bees since 2016, and currently has three backyard colonies together with fruit trees, vegetable garden and assorted bee plants in her Pleasant Hill garden.

Denece Dodson followed her passion and lifelong interest in the plant world and became a Master Gardener in 2012, serving as president in 2016/17. Gardening is in her blood as a descendant of Kansas farmers. Of particular interest are trees, herbs and veggies. She has worked at the local VA campus in Martinez providing lessons in gardening and helping vets with PTSD create a community garden. In addition, Denece completed a program at the Horticultural Therapy Institute, with an eye towards the therapeutic and beneficial aspects of gardening.  

Denece was introduced to bees by happenstance. Someone on freecycle wanted quart jars for honey in exchange for a jar of honey. The beekeeper eventually placed a hive on her property with no instructions – only that they would be back! They never reappeared, so after 2-3 years of watching the bees come and go, she called a friend to come take a peek inside. Denece’s interest in developing this topic on bees in the garden stemmed from realizing at the tail end of summer last year that she had nothing planted for the bees. Not a plant was in bloom! She vowed that she would do better the next year focusing on year-round, drought tolerant and abundant food resources for the bees. It was back to bee basics!