Wisteria Garden Circle

89^th Annual Flower Show to Open in Thomasville Friday, March 19-Saturday, March 20

Sponsored by Thomasville Garden Clubs, Inc.

Friday, March 19 1:30-5:00pm and Saturday March 20 10:00am-4:00pm

Thomasville Garden Center, 1102 South Broad Street, Thomasville (Old Monticello Road)

Theme:  “Through the Garden Gate” Entry garden courtesy of Gecko Gardens

Features:  6 design classes with 4 entries in each class in addition to General and Youth Horticulture

Horticulture entries accepted Thursday, March 18 from 3:00-7:00pm and Friday, March 20 from 7:00-9:00am.

Events:  Luncheon/Fashion Show Friday at 12:30pm. $15 tickets, advance reservation required

Show opens Friday, March 19 at 1:15 with Ribbon Cutting-Thomas University Jazz Band will perform.  Show open till 5:00 pm

Saturday show hours are 10:00am-4:00pm

Show Chairman:  Helan Huddleston, Killarney Queen Garden Club

For Luncheon Tickets and more information, call the Thomasville Visitors Center toll-free at 1-866-577-3600 or 229-228-7977

Questions: call Julia Singletary, 229-225-9711.

Spring Vegetable Gardening
Saturday March 6, 2010
10:30 am – 11:30 am
Location: Mission San Luis Class Room
Street: 2100 West Tennessee Street
City State Zip: Tallahassee, FL 32304
Phone: (850) 245-6406

BEFORE THE DIGGING, THEY WILL BE GIVING A BASIC WORKSHOP

Helena Sadvary, John Maiers, and Ed Schroeder present various aspects of starting a spring garden for the first time gardener. Topics include location, types of gardening, irrigation, compost, soil, what to plant when, seeds vs seedlings, advantages, opportunities to get involved, and much more! They will be available during and after the presentation to answer questions. All three presenters are Master Gardeners with a special interest in vegetable and herb gardening.

This event is sponsored by New Leaf Market.

March 19 and 20.

Guided tours, art, and living history of Wakulla Basin. For more information and to sign up for tours, visit http://www.wakullawildlifefestival.org/.

Wisteria Circle is hands-down the coolest in the Garden Club. Last night’s “Build A Birdhouse with your Sweetheart” was one of our best meetings ever. It was great to meet everyone’s significant others and sons. I took photos with my phone, so they’re a bit grainy, but it sure shows how much fun us Wisteria girls know how to have.

Thanks a bunch to our hosts Glenda and Paul Erickson. We’re also eternally grateful to Leisa Pichard and Keith McCraw for getting all the materials ready for the build.

Birdhouse Prep

Thanks to everyone who RSVP’d for the special Valentine’s Day program this coming Tuesday at Glenda’s house. Look for directions via email in the next few days.

We have 10 couples coming to assemble these lovely, cypress bird houses. It will be a fun program (bring a hammer!), and a great opportunity to catch up with everyone. Special thanks in advance to Keith McCraw (Keith’s Cabinets), who procured all the materials, designed the birdhouse, prepped the wood (and let me use the drill press!) for this special program.

From the Goodwood Museum website:

Saturday, February 27

8th Annual Winter Garden Symposium: Infusing the Garden with Your Personality

Carriage House Conference Center

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m

$45 per person, price includes lunch

Featuring Tovah Martin and Carleton Woods

Tovah Martin, a horticulturalist, author, freelance writer, photo stylist and lecturer, will talk about “Infusing the Garden with Your Personality.” She has written for Horticulture and Garden Design magazines, among others, and has also appeared on the PBS television gardening series “Cultivating Life,” where she served as editorial producer. Her passion for all things growing and encased in glass has led to her most recent book, The New Terrarium, where she presents the whimsical yet practical world of gardening under glass – a no-fuss way to bring snippets of nature indoors.

Carleton Wood, Executive Director of Hills & Dales Estate in LaGrange, Georgia home of the historic Ferrell Gardens, will speak on “Rediscovering Old Favorites: Historic Plants in Today’s Garden.” Wood directed the public opening of Hills & Dales Estate, a 35-acre property operated by the Fuller E. Callaway Foundation. In 1989, Wood was awarded the Garden Club of America Interchange Fellowship, which allowed him to study at the Royal Botanical Garden, Edinburgh and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. He has given many presentations in the Southeast, and has published many articles, including a “Garden of Remembrance” in the Garden Club of America National Bulletin.

Click here to register online.

Saturday, February 13

From the Goodwood Museums website:

(sales continue every Friday and Saturday morning thereafter until sold out)

Presented by the Goodwood Garden Volunteers

9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Virginia McKee Greenhouse at Goodwood

Each year, volunteers from Goodwood, root Old Garden Roses for use on the grounds and for sale to the public. The proceeds from the sale are used for the restoration and maintenance of the rose gardens at Goodwood.

This year we will have approximately 1,750 roses and about 120 varieties available. We will, as always, offer your favorite roses like Louis Philippe, Duchesse de Brabant and Pink Pet, but will also feature more recent additions such as Crepuscule, Hugh Dickson and Pink Grootendorst

From the Goodwood Museum website:

Goodwood Museum and Gardens

Jubilee Cottage

Friday, February 4, 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Free, No reservations required

By Fred Dietrich

Bluebirds were almost extinct in Tallahassee in the 1940ís when Fred Dietrichís family moved here for a teaching position at the newly co-ed Florida State University. But with recent conservation efforts by wildlife enthusiasts such as Dietrich, the species now thrives. Our speaker will talk about the past and future of this beautiful songbird and how to provide food and shelter in your yard, including how to construct a bluebird box, a simple design which he had perfected over 25 years of building birdhouses.

Dietrich will also talk about hummingbirds. It was once thought that there was only one species of hummingbird east of the Mississippi, the ruby-throated, but we now know that there are 14 different kinds. Dietrich will talk about whatís being done to support these animals and how we can create sanctuary for them in our gardens.

Workday at HOPE House, Saturday, February 6.

January 16th will bring the first festival of the new year – the annual Crawfordville Arbor Day celebration at Hudson Park.  Starting at 10am on Saturday, hundreds of free trees will be given away.  This year’s trees are even larger than in previous years.

Choices will include Florida sugar maple, fringe tree, redbud, southern magnolia, bald cypress, crabapple, rusty blackhaw, Walter viburnum, and Chickasaw plum. The Florida Division of Forestry will give away 1,000 bareroot pine seedlings – 500 longleaf pines and 500 slash pines.

If you want a free tree for your home or business but don’t know a maple from a magnolia, help will be available. Tree – giveaway volunteers are all experienced gardeners or Master Gardeners and will be able to answer questions and give advice.

Purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win even larger trees donated by Purple Martin Nurseries.  A decorated rain barrel and a fresh vegetable basket will be raffled off as well.  If you have empty, black – plastic plant pots (6-inch diameter or larger), bring those, too.  You can trade them for chances to win a beautiful, large tree from Just Fruits & Exotics Nursery.

Trillium Gardens will again sell hard-to-find native shrubs and wildflowers.  The Magnolia Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society will raffle off a beautiful native azalea.  Wakulla County 4-H Junior Master Gardeners will sell rain barrels and birdseed treats.

The Wakulla County Extension Office will demonstrate micro-irrigation for home landscapes and gardens. They will also demonstrate ways home gardeners can extend the growing season by using high tunnel and row cover – and display a small greenhouse with instructions for how to build your own.

Artisans, craftsmen, and other vendors will be on hand selling their wares.  Pottery, wind chimes, and scented candles are among the items you’re likely to find  Bird lovers will be delighted by the handcrafted bird houses, bird feeders, and birdbaths available this year.

Seasonal produce grown by local farmers will be for sale.  The Iris Garden Club will sell baked goods to raise scholarship funds.  Bring a canvas bag to hold everything you will acquire.

Families will find delightful children’s activities, music, and food.  Smoky the Bear and free goodies for children at the Forestry booth are always a big hit.  Face painting, art activities, and old-fashioned tire swings also put smiles on children’s faces.

Arbor Day is a nationally celebrated observance that encourages tree planting and care.  “Trees provide welcome shade in hot weather and reduce electricity bills,” said Wakulla County Commissioner Lynn Artz.  “Trees also provide food and shelter for wildlife and beautify our county,” added Jeannie Brodhead, President of the Iris Garden Club.

The Iris Garden Club of Wakulla organizes this annual festival.  The festival will be held rain or shine.  For more information, please contact Lynn Artz  (926-8756; lynn_artz@hotmail.com).