Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico - P.V. Garden Club begins a new season and welcomes back our supporters and members who are returning now. This comprehensive report of the activity of the club through the summer includes obstacles overcome to continue our mission of Beautifying Vallarta.

First, you will notice as you drive into town from the airport, the beauty of Avenida Mexico. We did lose some beautiful trees to the elements, (and some to the merciless hacking of a heartless citizen) but we've placed new poles, replaced lost plants, and pruned and shaped the bougainvillea so it really looks beautiful.

20 new metal poles support the bougainvillea throughout the Romantic Zone. The very large red bougainvillea in the Mercado area have largely been replaced. They were too big in some cases, and had threatened the electrical lines. The smaller leaf and less vigorous growing bougainvillea will be more pleasing and more appropriate for this area. The river side of the street now contains lots of hibiscus, and the planters have been radically cleaned out.

Parque Lazaro Cardenas now has 250 ever-blooming ixxora on its periphery to augment the improvements already made by the club in past years.

A prototype garbage container has been placed on Olas Altas. The purpose is to demonstrate how businesses can improve the esthetics of their surroundings, if they contribute to trash collection. Stay tuned for developments in this arena.

Insurgentes, Ave. Vallarta, Basilio Badillo and Olas Altas, etc., all have new plants, and the support and wiring around the bougainvillea has been redone so the graceful cascading of the bougainvillea branches atop a large trunk is encouraged. This appearance is what P.V. Garden Club is proud of in our planters throughout town, and it takes constant monitoring and work to make this happen. Some restaurants have taken advantage of the bougainvillea adjacent to their entrees, and have tucked their dining tables under the branches.

A new small park at Rio Cuale/last hanging bridge was established and planted last Spring, and the Pier street, nominally under the aegis of the city, has been improved by plantings PV Garden Club offered.

Another aspect of our beautification mission you don't see is the relationship we are building with the city, the Tourism office, and the many businesses whose owners sometimes don't understand the role we private citizens are playing in improving the beauty of their storefronts. Summer may seem like a dead time as we think of P.V. from afar, but it is just the opposite as you can see.

We have a talented, enthusiastic new board that met October 30th. You will be thrilled to know we committed to a third annual gala at an elegant location. The precedent set in 2014 at Casa Chickie, and the Hacienda Palo Maria in 2015, assures that we will have another sell-out event to look forward to.

The board voted to set the membership dues for the 2015-16 season at $500 pesos per person or $750 pesos per couple. We are also initiating a three-tiered giving structure of $250 USD, or 4000 pesos; $500 or 8000 pesos; and $1000 or 16,000 pesos. We hope to have an auto-deduct from checking or credit card plan to enable us to do this and make it easy. Stay tuned.

Please save the date of November 19th for our "Return to P.V. Social," which will be a great time to see everybody at our President, Bonnie Mott's Selva Romantica Palapa, from 5-7 pm, and also mark December 17th for a party and Christmas Carol sing-along at the Botanical Gardens. We'll let you know the time and transportation possibilities early in December.

Thanks for your ongoing support for P.V Garden Club - Embellecer Vallarta.

For donations, including dues, please Click HERE. Or email vallartagardenclub2012(at)gmail.com and ask us how to wire money from the Unites States or Canada.