BEAUTY WILL BE SHARED : CONEJO GARDENERS PLAN TO GIVE AWAY FLOWERS, HERBS, TIPS.

Byline: Gloria Gonzales Daily News Staff Writer

Novice and experienced gardeners alike can pick up free plants and advice today from some of the area's greenest thumbs - the members of the Conejo Valley Garden Club.

Club members bring their gardens' bounty to Cutting Day - a plant, bulb and cutting giveaway - and they also bring years of Conejo Valley gardening experience.

``We can explain care for different types of plants, how to root them, what's the best soil. We know which plants spread a lot and which are drought-resistant,'' said Evelyn Mahannah, a longtime garden club member who has cultivated her own Conejo Valley garden over the last 30 years.

``I'll be bringing geraniums, alstroemeria, calla lilies, Mexican primrose, and assorted bulbs and some succulents,'' Mahannah said. ``The Mexican primrose has beautiful pink flowers but grows very quickly and can be almost invasive if not properly tended.''

Some slips, bulbs and cuttings can simply go straight into the ground, said Eunice Udels, garden club president, who will bring impatiens, geraniums and plumbago from her Newbury Park garden.

``Some plants like the giant impatiens can go right into the soil, and it'll grow like mad. Just pull off the lower leaves and put the shoot in the ground,'' Udels said. ``But whatever type of plant it is, we can tell people about proper care and where we think the plant is likely to thrive.''

Club members will cut plants early this morning, so all the slips and cuttings are fresh, Udels said. Club members will bring cuttings that will grow into ground cover, flowering plants and shrubs, succulents, and herbs.

``Most of our members are great manicurists, but they hold off and wait for Cutting Day to do most of their trimming and cleaning,'' Udels said.

Cutting Day offers an opportunity for gardeners with new homes with empty or under-landscaped gardens, Mahannah said.

Gardeners can learn which plants provide good ground cover, which will grow quickly and which will require a greater investment of time and money.

Residents with beginning gardens can also save money.

``Some plants are more valuable than others,'' Mahannah said. ``There may be some Martha Washington geraniums which sell for $5 apiece at the store, so new gardeners can save some money.''

And each year, several club members bring coveted bulbs and succulents. Last year, one member even brought expensive orchids, she said.

``But the best plants tend to go early,'' Mahannah added.

``I'll be getting there early myself just to see what's available.''

In recent years, garden club members have also offered some potted specimens and kitchen herbs, including oregano, basil, mint and rosemary.

``Gardeners can stop by and pick from a lot of beautiful plants,'' Mahannah said. ``You can really walk away with a bagful of goodies.''

Other plants offered by club members today will include bearded iris, Siberian iris, agapanthus and a variety of herbs and succulents.

The Conejo Valley Garden Club will offer its cuttings and gardening advice from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in front of the Sav-on drugstore at the Thousand Oaks Ralph's Shopping Center at Moorpark and Janss roads.

Garden club members support a wide range of educational and conservation programs, locally and nationally. The group meets on the fourth Wednesday of each month and will host a statewide garden clubs convention at the Hyatt Westlake Plaza from May 1 through May 5. For membership information, call Catherine Ott at [phone].

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Photo: (1-2--color in SIMI and CONEJO editions only) Evelyn Mahannah, at left, examines geraniums from which she will give away cuttings. Blooming plants which she plans to share include alstroemeria.

Andy Holzman/Special to the Daily News