Garden Club – January 2012 Update
Our Christmas Party was also a success. Dinner at Visani, great food, and then a group of us went to Danny’s on Sandhill to see our favorite oldies band ―the Goldtones. We even picked up a new member that night. Our January meeting will be her first.
Then the club enjoyed something we have never done before. We had a Christmas Home Tour. Members opened their homes for us to see their decorations. There were 7 homes to visit and at the 7th. home, there was food and drink and a good time had by all.
Now for some garden news. I was just browsing through my garden journal the other day, I’ve kept one since 2005, and went back to December, 2010. It read something like this ―TOO COLD, TOO SOON Here we go again. Temps dropping. Dec. 25th. 8:30 AM and 51*. Another cold front coming and temps will drop some more soon.‖ I won’t even tell you what I wrote about our 2009 winter.
Today, December 21st., I’m writing this and it has been in the 60’s in the evening and mornings and in the 80’s during the day. Is it me or has our beautiful Florida winter weather returned to us? Good for us if it has.
I have even divided some of my more mature plants that are able to be divided and planted them around to fill in spots in my landscape. This also slows down my visits to nurseries, but not by much. Sometimes just walking through nurseries is fun. I have also noticed how my landscape in general is happy with these cooler nights and warm days, like I’ve mentioned before. But some plants do look like they are ready for their winter nap. Jasmines, Hibiscus, Day lilies, Gardenia, Jatropha and others, will loose their leaves or they will turn yellow. But that’s normal at this time of year. But my palms, both large and small are doing great. I’m thinking those October feedings are working like a charm by keeping plants healthy to withstand a little temperature change.
I know all the Garden Club members are experiencing the same thing I am, sitting back and enjoying our labors of love. Even pulling a weed or two now and then is no problem. But we can sit and enjoy just so much because we have lots to do in 2012. Planning our Spring Plant Sale, arranging field trips like the Naples Botanical Garden, Rege Malone, a horticulturist friend of the clubs that has acres of tropical plants and flowers, and a trip to Epcot and the International Flower Expo. And of course caring for the three entryways to Deep Creek, our pet projects. We always plan a revamping and mulching for them every spring. So if Mother Nature is kind to us this winter, keeping up the entries will be a piece of cake.
Your Deep Creek Garden Club wishes you and your family a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2012!!!!!!!
Happy Gardening, Ilona Newman
PLEASE NOTE: For January only, our meeting has been changed to Jan. 16th.