Forget Me Not … · Welcome, fellow gardeners, plant-lovers, design-lovers, to the 2019-20 Garden Club Year. I hope all of you enjoyed your summer. This year we are reviving an event,

Fall 2019 Edition Page 1

President’s Letter: Welcome, fellow gardeners, plant-lovers, design-lovers, to the 2019-20 Garden Club Year. I hope all of you enjoyed your summer. This year we are reviving an event, welcoming our new mem-bers. We will be hosting a “Happy Hour” for all those mem-bers who have joined the Tampa Garden Club in the last two years. New members will be accompanied by any and all members of their circle. So basically, it will be an event for everyone. Why not? We have a beautiful club house – what else are you doing on Thursday evening, Oct. 10th? Join us in welcoming our new members for some wine and cheese and a bit of a celebration for our well earned “Garden Club of the Year” award from the Florida Federation of Garden Club, Inc. (FFGC). We will meet the new FFGC officers at the District VIII Fall Meeting, held at the Temple Terrace Golf and Country Club, 200 Inverness Ave., Temple Terrace, on October 24. Our brother-gardener, Al Latina, of the Temple Terrace Garden Club, is president of FFGC for the next two years. Please plan to attend. Combined circle meetings will be November 6 and February 5. In November, fol-lowing Al Latina’s presentation on his theme of Diversity in the Garden, Diversity in our members, we will have a “Committee Round up”. Each Committee Chair will be available to meet and greet members to inform and encourage their participation in the activities of their committee. We are grateful to Azalea Circle for making ar-rangements for John Hardin of Hardin’s nursery to present “The Care and Feeding of Roses in Tampa” at our February meeting. We have applied for another year of hosting a Gasparilla Beer Garden. We did have so much fun last year, didn’t we? Keep your fingers crossed. This year Carolyn Franzese, Amaryllis Garden Circle, will be co-chairman. We are so pleased to introduce Moonlight Circle’s president, Michele Vatalaro as the incoming 2nd VP, in charge of communication. She is new editor of the Forget-Me-Not. We are working with Isham Harris of MerchantSide Marketing Group to redesign our website. We could use some members to volunteer to help with social media and public relations; please consider offering. Those of you who did not attend last year’s Annual Meeting missed a heartwarming event. The presentation from our 2018-19 scholarship winner, Julia Jester, nearly brought down the house as she described the work she has done on identifying haz-ardous waste sites. She is going to make a difference in this world. Another person making a difference is Chelsea Johnson. She is the founder of Tree Something, Say Something, an advocacy group for trees that has worked diligently with City Council to update the tree ordinance. The Tampa Garden Club honored Chelsea and her or-ganization with the FFGC Earth Steward award. This year the annual meeting will be April 29th and will include a vintage fashion show so save the date. I look forward to a year that is meaningful and fun.

Kitty Wallace, President

Forget-Me-Not Fall 2019

Michele Vatalaro, Editor

Newsletter of the Tampa Federation of Garden Club Circles, Inc.

Garden Club of the Year 2018

Tampa Garden Club 2629 Bayshore Boulevard Tampa, FL 33629 (813) 251-5059 [email protected]

The mission of the Tampa Garden Club is to build

relationships through education, beautification, and preservation

of our community.

2018-20 Executive Officers

President: Kitty Wallace, Old Fashioned 1st VP: Mercedes Piesco, Village

2nd VP: Michele Vatalaro, Moonlight 3rd VP: Linda Day, Rose

Secretary: Caroline Schultz, Village Treasurer: Sandy Streit, Town ‘N Country

Parliamentarian - Lollie Scott

Table of Contents Page 1 - Letter from the President 2 - Kids in the Garden 5 - Earth Steward award 6 - The Joy of Flowers 8 - Building Update 9 - Hypertufa Pots 11- Circle News 12 - Convention update 13 - Member recipes 14 - In Memorandum Editor notes

Mark your calendars October 10 —New Member Happy Hour and Open House—5 to 7 p.m. COMBINED CIRCLE MEETINGS: November 6 — Special Guest FFGC Pres-ident Al Latina. We are celebrating ‘Tampa Garden Club of the Year for 2018 February 5, 2020— John Hardin of Hardin Roses - “The Care and Feeding of Roses in Tampa”. ANNUAL MEETING April 29, 2020– Annual Meeting and Vin-tage Fashion Show


Kids in the Garden—2019!

SNAKES ALIVE !! By Dot Adler – Rose Circle

“Discovering Nature in Tampa Bay” was this year’s theme at the Tampa Garden Club’s Kids Camp. Each day started with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, yoga (they love this), and snacks outside in the Wedding Garden.

There were 34 campers, 7 vol-unteers, and 8 counse-lors. The kids ranged in age from 6 to 11. They were formed into four groups and named themselves: The King Cobras, The Pythons, The Copperheads, and The Panthers. The First Day a representative from the Florida Aquarium pre-sented a program, “The Secrets of the Swamp” which explained the environment, function and inhabitants of a swamp. A question and answer session

afterward showed that the young audience had absorbed the information like little sponges. “Snickers” the snake was then introduced and all were allowed to touch it. They were amazed at its’ smooth dry skin.

On Day Two urban foresters from the City of Tampa did a presentation on “Trees”. The original “Tree huggers”, Michael and Louisa, discussed the anatomy of a variety of trees – whether Evergreen or Deciduous. The campers learned that trees sustain wildlife and help the environment. Did you know an Oak tree can live up to 500 years and that Chicklets chewing gum was made from the Beech Tree?


Kids in the Garden - continued!

The Third Day brought fur-ther insight on snakes by The Herpetology Society from West Palm Beach. The kids learned more about snake habits and those of other reptiles that were brought in for a hands-on experience. The potential life span of many snake species is 30 years. The skit writing commenced with the teen counselors and the camp-ers. Day Four was a busy one with groups rotating activi-ties: flower arranging,


Last Day – Original skits were presented before an audience of parents and friends – to much applause. A big shout out and thank you to the teen counselors: Alexa Jaskiel, Derrick Jaskiel, Brandon Green, Andrew Lewis, Zac Camacho, Sophia Camacho, Ian Al-ton, Gus Russell, and Presley Zysk who all did a great job leading the campers during a hectic week. Many thanks to our TGC volunteers Anita Camacho (camp Chairman), Kitty Wallace, Kathy Echeverria, Nootchie Smith, Diane Sullivan, Grace Kelly, Silke Baumann, Virginia Green, and Pam Slagg. Next year’s camp is scheduled for June 1st; and my two grandsons are already looking forward to another exciting and fun learning experience.

Kids in the Garden - continued!


The Tampa Garden Club honored Chelsea Johnson and her or-ganization, Tree Something, Say Something, by awarding them as an FFGC Earth Steward at the Annual meeting, April 24th.

Mrs. Johnson and her group, Tree Something, Say Something, worked for over a year with build-ers to find common ground in crafting a new tree ordinance. It was widely seen as a successful compromise that protects the trees while providing guidance to homeowners, builders, and devel-opers in utilizing their private property most efficiently when building a residence.

“Our priceless trees deserve the very best protections that we can give them to the best of our ability," Johnson told City Coun-cil. The FFGC Earth Steward honor can be awarded in the field of

Gardening and Landscape Design, for efforts to protect our envi-

ronmental resources, for providing education about our re-

sources, or for efforts to persuade decision makers to protect

our resources. The recipient is not required to be an FFGC mem-

ber.

Editor’s note: After the City of Tampa adopted the new tree ordinance, the Florida State Legislature passed HB 1159 which took effect in July 2019. This law supersedes Tampa’s new ordinance and prohib-its any local government from requiring that a local arborist certify the work to be done. It also eliminates any requirement of local governments to mitigate the loss of the tree by replanting another. For more information about this state law: https://www.flsenate.gov/Committees/BillSummaries/2019/html/1941

https://www.flsenate.gov/Committees/BillSummaries/2019/html/1941


THE JOY OF FLOWERS

Garden Clubs are all about ex-pressing beauty using plants, flowers, and landscaping in our surroundings. It takes practice to improve our design skills. Taking advantage of the sum-mer lull in garden club, a De-sign Enrichment Workshop was presented by Pam Slagg and Beverly Owen, TGC (Old Fash-ioned) members. Beverly is an artist who taught in the public school system until retirement and who is now a student Flow-er show Judge. Pam is a Master Flower Show Judge. The topic was designing using monochro-matic colors. Each participant

received a 'color wheel' in the class to demonstrate all the hues, tones and tints in each color.


Invitations were sent by Evite and fifteen interested people attend-ed the workshop at a cost of $10.00 each. The participants brought their own flowers, plant materials and containers.

The results of the class were amazing.

The designs were unique and striking.

One designer used her creations in a

home "Julia" dinner

party.

The skills practiced

will be used when de-

signing for the TGC

Spring Flower Show

"This Sporting Life"

will be held in conjunction with GreenFest

March 28-29, 2020.

Yes, the original name Green-

Fest is here to stay!


The Tampa Garden Club Building is a Grand Lady with a New Outlook. While everyone was taking a break over the summer, Linda Day, Building chair/3rd Vice President, has continued the valuable work done by last build-ing chair, Paula Meckley. Our entire electrical system was brought to cur-rent standards by installing a new switch gear and a new breaker box. This was a completely re-engineered system based on the capacity of the build-ing. The ceiling and lights that were original to the building (1969) were re-placed in the ballroom, kitchen, prep room, office and conservatory. The ballroom ceiling had to be rewired as there was significant damage, includ-ing melted and burned wires. We replaced the ancient a/c in the kitchen/prep room with two extremely ef-ficient smaller units; removed duct work and patched the walls. The kitchen pass-through window was removed, and the kitchen was arranged more ef-ficiently. We installed a new thermostat in the ballroom with two sensors which provide temperature information from the far side of the room which keeps the entire room comfortable. The new thermostat can be monitored and run from the computer in the office or from a smart phone. We also:

- Sealed the stucco faux bricks on the front of the building; - Roof was cleaned and repaired as part of annual maintenance;

- Moved the irrigation pump from the inside to the outside, thereby preventing the building from suffering a flood caused by the pump malfunctioning (which it did twice this year - ask Linda about that story!);

- Selected new porch lights (without bugs…yay!) and are in the process of installing them;

- Repainted the ballroom, conservatory and foyer.

We are grateful to our building committee, Mattie Vega, Founders, Lollie Scott, Calliandra, Heather Ferrill, Moonlight, Nancy Criswell, Azalea and Re-gina Birrenkott, Amaryllis. Deep appreciation to member, noted interior de-signer, Sandra Chancey, of Rose Circle, for her contribution of time and tal-ent in helping us make key decisions.


Making a hypertufa pot doesn’t have to be hard. If you’ve tried before and failed, give this recipe a try. You will need: Perlite, Peat Moss, Portland Cement, Plastic gloves, A work bucket that you don’t mind making a mess in, A small form for your project. Non-stick cooking spray – optional Plastic grocery store bags You can purchase all of these items at the large box hardware stores. Perlite and Peat Moss come in different sizes. Purchase the smaller size bag – 8 quarts. They will cost $5 to $6 dollars each and they go a long way. Portland Cement is not the same thing as quick set cement so don’t confuse them. Portland Cement is one of the ingredients that goes into concrete. The bad news is that it only comes in one size bag which weighs about 50 pounds. The good news is that it only costs $10. Yea! Start with a small form for your first project. Good forms are 3 or 4 inch plas-tic pots or even a small disposable bowl. Some directions tell you to spray the inside of the form with the non-stick spray. I tried it on one of the plastic pots and it worked, however, I had to turn the pot upside down and let it sit outside for a few days before my prize was dry enough to release and slide out. Otherwise, you use the plastic bag as a liner within the form. The recipe is one 1 part perlite, 1 part peat moss and ½ part Portland ce-ment. If you use your form for a measuring device you will have more than enough material to make your pot. Mix the material together in your work bucket and then begin adding water – slowly. You want the material to have the consistency of cottage cheese when you are done. If you grab a fist full and squeeze, a little water should drip out. When you are satisfied with it, let it sit for about 5 minutes. If you’ve sprayed a plastic pot, you are ready to go. If you are using the plas-tic bag, insert it into the form as you would a liner for a waste paper basket and let the excess hang over the edge. Begin to pack the mixture into the bottom of the form. You should make the bottom about 1 inch thick.


If you are going to use the finished product for a plant, make sure to scratch in a drainage hole in the bottom. Pack/press the material going up the sides of the form, making the sides about ¾ inch thick. You want to get any air pockets out. Smooth the edge as you reach the top of the pot and you are done. If you want to get fancy, you can press stones or other decoration on your top edges at this point.

If you used the plastic bag liner, gently fold the excess over the pot to cov-er it for about 24 to 48 hours. After that you can gently remove the materi-al from the form and pull the plastic down to let it dry further. If you used non-stick spray, cover the pot with plastic for 24 to 48 hours and then gen-tly turn it upside down to finish drying. It will let you know when it’s ready to come out. You can purchase cement pigment to add to the wet mixture for a different look. If you are interested in making a large pot it is recommended that you add acrylic fibers to the wet mixture to add strength. I haven’t looked for these but they may be found at craft, hardware or building supply stores. Forms for pots below - left to right: foam disposable bowel, plastic wine glass, 6 inch plastic pot, and a 4 inch plastic pot.


Cactus and Succulent would like to remind us all that we are wel-come to attend their meetings. They meet the first Wednesday of the month at 7:30pm at the Garden Club. Meredith Berwick, [email protected], is the new President of the circle . Their September speaker will be Lisa from @tampasucculents (Instagram).

Well - everyone must have had a good break this summer as there were no re-ports for circle activity. PLEASE let me hear from you for the next edition. In lieu of reportable circle news I’ve supplied some random news of my own.

Did you know…

Johnny Appleseed Day celebrates the famous apple tree planter, whose real name was John Chapman. It is celebrated on two days—March 11 and Sep-tember 26. Some sources list Johnny Appleseed's death day as March 11, but some list it as March 18, 1845. Johnny Appleseed Day is either celebrated on March 11 because it is the anniversary of his death, or because it is during planting season. Johnny Appleseed's birthday is September 26, in 1774, so that is why it is also celebrated on that day.

Appleseed did not simply scatter apple seeds on the ground, but planted nurseries, left them in the care of someone else, and returned every few years to check on them. Appleseed planted and introduced apples to the "West", which were areas where few Americans lived at the time. Appleseed planted trees in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and West Virginia, as well as in Ontario. He was against grafting, and most of the apples that he planted were used to make hard apple cider, which was a safe alternative to water on the frontier.

Similar to legend, Johnny Appleseed is known to have worn ragged clothes and many times be barefoot. He also wore a tin hat—not a tin pot—which he used for cooking and eating. This has become such a big part of his legend that there even is a baseball team called the Fort Wayne Tin Caps in the city where he died. He was a member of the New Church, and also used his travels to do missionary work. He told stories to children and the gospel to adults, many times being given supper and a place to sleep in return. He became a legend when he still was alive, and his legend continued to grow after his death.

Johnny Appleseed Day is observed next on Thursday, September 26th, 2019. It has always been observed annually on March 11th. It has always been ob-served annually on September 26th.

From Checkiday.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Church


We look forward to next year: • District VIII Fall meeting - October 24, 2019, Temple Terrace GC • FFGC State Convention, 4/14/20 to 4/18/20. Hilton, TAMPA

FFGC Convention Highlight!

Spring time is convention time with the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs (FFGC). The FFGC Convention will be held in Tampa, April 16, 17 and 18, 2020, at the Hilton Tampa Downtown. Speakers and presentations are sched-uled that will inform us on gardening and environmental topics. A State Flower Show is our opportunity to enter designs as well as horticulture. A highlight of the FFGC Convention each year is the Opportunity Drawing that occurs at the close of convention! The tickets will be available to all FFGC friends and members for $2.00 and will be available to you soon! TGC mem-bers, Kitty Wallace and Kathy Echevarria are chairmen for the 2020 Opportunity Drawing and an exciting offering of an array of individual prizes !!!!

A Week at Sandcastle II Condo, Indian Shores, FL* I-Pad *

Hand made quilt Quilt (created by Karen Flaacke) * Hand made Wooden Tray with Stand *

Two Design Containers *made by David and Kiki Hergesheimer Metal floral design sculpture by Ken Schwartz

Vertical Garden by Gronomics *

Silver Necklace, Bracelet & Earring Set *

AND

*Two nights stay at the Tampa Downtown Hilton - plus tickets to the Florida

Aquarium with Boat Tour - plus Dinner at Ybor's Columbia Restaurant!*


Member Recipes (yum!)

Cocktails in the Garden: Mixing up Two Things I Love

By Beth DeGeorge, Moonlight Garden Circle

Rosemary Greyhound - 2 oz vodka (I like Tito’s; it’s got a great hand-crafted quality, an even better story of humble be-ginnings and is wonderful as a mixer or a stand-alone.) - ½ oz rosemary simple syrup (recipe below) - 4 oz pink grapefruit juice (I like Simply Grapefruit in the pink variety; if you grow pink grapefruit, skip the trip to the grocery store and get squeezing!) - Fresh rosemary sprigs for garnish Fill a cocktail shaker with crushed ice and combine the vodka, rosemary simple syrup and grape-fruit juice. Shake and strain into an ice-filled double old-fashioned glass. Garnish with fresh rose-mary. Rosemary Simple Syrup 1 cup water 1 cups sugar ¼ cup healthy fresh rosemary leaves Combine water, sugar and rosemary leaves in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until sug-ar dissolves. Simmer for one minute. Remove from heat and let steep for about 30 minutes. Pour syrup into a sterilized glass jar through a mesh strainer to remove rosemary leaves; let cool. The rosemary simple syrup will keep in the refrigerator up to a month. Find me soon mixing up all sorts of fun on Instagram @gingerwalksintoabar.

I recently gave an at-home presentation to fellow Moonlight Garden Circle members on botanical cocktails, more specifi-cally, libations you can create at home, from things growing in your garden. As a modestly accomplished gardener and a working-my-way-to-becoming-an-accomplished-mixologist, I found myself wanting to incorporate herbs I grow into the cocktails I was crafting. Since rosemary is one of those Flor-ida workhorse plants, and seemingly always around, for the presentation, I wanted to focus on a drink that would utilize this hearty Mediterranean herb. After a bit of research, I came across the Pink Greyhound. While recipes varied from source to source, several main ingredients are key: a good vodka, pink grapefruit juice and rosemary simple syrup. Recipes vary, but the particular version I settled on is based upon one called the Rosemary Greyhound, which seems quite fitting for a refreshingly chill cocktail after a long gar-dening day in the hot Florida sun.


We are sad to advise that Village Circle has lost 2 longtime friends and members—Ellen Myer and Alicia Laddon.

Additionally, Calliendra has lost their longtime friend, Alice

Prida, who was a member for over 40 years.

Notes from the Editor

We’ve added a few features to the newsletter this time—plant crafts and recipes. Let’s make this a real community newsletter. Please let us know about your favorite plants, what’s growing in your garden, and what creative projects you’re involved in. If you know someone who has a beauti-

ful garden, let’s do a feature on it. If your circle has some great recipes, let’s share some of

those.

We would also like to highlight each of the circles. Please let us know what your circle is working on. Maybe another

circle can offer some assistance or combine forces.

Editor - Michele Vatalaro - Moonlight

If you are a gardener, you can always put ‘Plant Manager’ on your resume ~ source unknown.

Documents

Forget Me Not … · Welcome, fellow gardeners, plant-lovers, design-lovers, to the 2019-20 Garden Club Year. I hope all of you enjoyed your summer. This year we are reviving an event,