september 2007 newsletter



Our Wonderful Hosts!
Our most recent meeting

We returned to our roots this month, at Jim and Eric's home for our annual membership meeting.  The weather was great, and the garden was in full bloom.  Thanks for another terrific year you guys!

White Wedding Passiflora

Our Next Meeting:

Our next meeting will be on September 16th at 3pm.  We will be meeting at Walsingham Park, just across the street from the Florida Botanical Gardens at Ulmerton and Walsingham Rds. Larry Hughes is the host, and this month's presentation will be a tour of the botanical gardens, specializing in their new butterfly garden area by Roy, our new Master Gardener!  The club will be providing sliced turkey breast, so plan accordingly when cooking for the pot luck.  

RSVP is not necessary, but if you have any questions, Marty has all the answers at  potluck@rakesandbladesfl.com or by calling 727-797-8498.

Directions to next meeting: Login to Members page

I am sure you will be bringing lots of plants for the raffle. Please don't forget to identify your plants for the next owner. I have included the plant care form in the members only section for your ease.  You can print out as many as you need from the site.   I am sure you will appreciate finding out how to care for the plants you select. I haven't killed anything yet, so they must be effective!  


It is also time to renew your membership dues.  This year you have the option of paying online through our website by Paypal with your debit or credit card,  or by check payalble to Gary Raush.  We prefer that you not pay in cash so we can have a record of all payments.

Of Interest to Gardeners

Norris Crenshaw’s monthly timetable of gardening chores:

September
  • Fertilize and trim roses
  • Spray and fertilize citrus trees
  • Trim shrubs for last time of the year
  • Plant vegetables
  • Last call fro planting grass seed

Also of interest:

Selby Botanical Garden in Sarasota
Sunken Gardens, 1825 4th Street N, St Pete.
Pinellas County Extension Service calendar for lots more gardening events.
City Beautiful Commission in St. Petersburg
Gizella Kopsick Palm Arboretum in St. Petersburg

Monthly meetings at Moccasin Lake Nature Park
2750 Park Trail Ln., Clearwater:

Clearwater Audubon Society
1st Monday, October – May, 7:00-9:00pm.
Pinellas Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society
First Wednesday of month, 7:30 - 9:30 p.m.
Suncoast Sierra Club
3rd Thursday, 7:30-9:30pm

ASK THE GARDENER:

This month we are adding a new column to the newsletter.  It is called Ask the Gardener.  This is where we will attempt to answer a question submitted by one of our members.  This month I get to ask the question, and answer it - Lucky me!!

Question - How practical is garden cloth for maintaining weeds in a Florida garden? 

Answer - Up North, garden cloth is very effective for keeping out weeds.  It is semi permeable, so only the hardiest and narrowest of shoots gets through, while allowing water to get to the roots of plants. Seeds are usually sewn after the bed has been established.  Herein lies the problem in Florida!  I used garden cloth in all of my flower beds, covered with a thick layer of mulch. As you all know by now, I am new to gardening, and had many raffle-won plants to transplant from pots to the beds I have established in my yard.   Unfortunately, I have a garden of tropicals - heliconia, gingers, cannas - all rhizomatic plants - plants that spread a complex root system in all directions - clumping plants!   The garden cloth does its intended job so well, that it keeps new growth of my plants from breaking through!  I didn't realize it until early this spring when I was complaining about my crepe costus (a raffle win from Jim) not sending up any new growth.  Brian Cahill promptly brought it to my attention that the mulch was rising all around the original plant indicating that there was growth going on under the barrier.   Once I cut into the cloth, many new shoots were exposed.  Ever since, I have been  removing all the garden cloth from my flower beds, and discovering all kinds of new growth!

So the lesson here - Garden cloth is fine to use if you are not growing clumping plants.  Otherwise, a heavy layer of mulch should curtail most weeds, or at least slow things down so you can keep ahead of them!
 Club News
Jim and Eric opened their home and garden to us for our anniversary meeting.  There were more than 50 of us present, and what a great time we had!  Kevin and Bruce were on hand to welcome everyone, pass out badges, and take raffle plants, then it was into the pool!  


The food, as usual, was terrific!  The club provided ham and turkey,  and there was so much.



Of course, our dependable potluck committee took control of the buffet and did a smashing job.  



Jim took groups through the extensive gardens to show off the changes they have made, including the great benches they constructed in concrete! I had no idea they were so good with their hands!  The gardens are amazing - a tropical paradise with such a huge variety of plants.  Everything has grown so much since last year, and particularly since our first meeting there.  I was checking out the photos from that time and at one point you could stand at their glass door and see all the way to the fence in back...just try to do that now!

Elections were going to be held, but since all us of were running unopposed, we just accepted the thunderous round of applause as we were all introduced as the new officers for this year.  Of course we do have a few new additions to the roster - Michael Argrew is the new Social Director, and Dani Skrzypek has joined the potluck committee.  Our wonderful photographer, Brad Hissing, is now our club historian, too!



Jim asked your opinion about several issues - lifetime memberships, fieldtrips, etc.  Due to the response we got, these issues will be brought up again at a later date, after further discussion.  



Jim also informed us of a joint effort of Rakes and Blades with the Gulfport Garden Club to have a plant sale in Gulfport on October 27th.  This plan has been scrapped due to the exhaustive list of rules and regulations required by the city to hold such an event. Instead, we are looking into the possiblility of joining in on some other existing sale - the Green Thumb Festival, St. Petersburg Garden Club, or some other facility. 

  

After the business meeting, Jim identified all the plants for the raffle and Kevin, our shy and demure Raffleator called the winning numbers.  Hopefully everyone won the plants they were desiring.

 
Jim’s Plant of the Month:

 Rubiaceae is a family that includes two of the most common landscape plants in Florida, Ixora and Pentas lanceolata (star clusters). Their relative the Gardenia is also commonly grown. All 3 are highly recommended for specific uses – Pentas for butterfly gardens, Ixora for easy summer color and Gardenia for fragrance. Several other plants in the family Rubiaceae are no fussier about care than Ixora or Pentas, but unfortunately not seen so often in local gardens. These include Coffea arabica, Psychotria nervosa, and Mussaenda erythrophylla.

Wild coffee (Psychotria nervosa) is a Florida and Caribbean native that grows in sun or shade. Its appearance is similar to its close relative, coffee, described below. The flowers attract butterflies and the fruit is eaten by birds. It will grow in all types of soils and is fairly drought tolerant. Its maximum size is about 10’ high by 8’ wide, much smaller in full sun. All in all, it makes an excellent addition to a native or butterfly garden.

Coffee (Coffea arabica) is a shade-loving shrub or small tree which also tolerates sun. Its glossy, dark green leaves are very attractive, and so are the red berries, which give us the beans that make up such an important part of every American breakfast! Coffee likes lots of rain, so if we’re going through a dry spell, it will definitely need regular irrigation. The flowers are fragrant and continue to bloom after the first beans are produced. At any one time there are green, orange, and red berries on the bush, so it puts on quite a show.

Of course I’ve saved the best for last. Mussaenda erythrophylla is a spectacular shrub which grows very well from Tampa Bay southward, but is not often seen in local nurseries. Recently, however, I saw some at Home Depot, so I thought it was time to write about it. A shrub with too many common names to list, reaching 6 to 10 feet tall, Mussaenda likes full sun and moderate water. With occasional low-nitrogen fertilizer it blooms repeatedly throughout the year, and can be quite literally covered with blooms.
   



Club officer contact

President: Jim Nevers, president@rakesandbladesfl.com
Vice President: Ann Allen, vicepres@rakesandbladesfl.com
Treasurer: Gary Raush, treasurer@rakesandbladesfl.com
Secretary: Bruce Bates, secretary@rakesandbladesfl.com
Newsletter: Bryan Hopper, newsletter@rakesandbladesfl.com
Photographer: Brad Hissing, photos@rakesandbladesfl.com
Raffleator: Kevin Ritter, raffles@rakesandbladesfl.com
Social Director: Michael Argrew, socialdirector@rakesandbladesfl.com
Program Coordinator: Brian Cahill, programs@rakesandbladesfl.com
Host Coordinators: Ann Allen, Marty Volpe, hosting@rakesandbladesfl.com
Potluck Committee:
Marty Volpe, Scott Hoffman, Dani Skrzypek, Jeffrey Davis
potluck@rakesandbladesfl.com

There are some interesting things that are going to be discussed this coming meeting.  Be sure to attend so you are up-to-date on what's going on. 

Bring your checkbooks to renew your membership, and your walking shoes for the tour of the Botanical Gardens!   

I hope to see you all there!
NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES    
| Jan 2008 | Dec 2007 | Nov 2007 | Oct 2007 | Sep 2007 | Aug 2007 | Jul 2007 | Jun 2007 | May 2007 | Apr 2007 | Mar 2007 | Feb 2007 |
© 2007 Rakes & Blades of Florida. All rights reserved. Web design by ChrisArt Designs