In The Garden and in the Kitchen - Happy Thanksgiving!

The month of November took us to the Westminster Woods Community Garden, courtesy of St. Johns County Master Gardener, Jerrel Powell.  Jerrel has done something pretty special to take the sweat out of gardening.  He has installed a vertical hydroponic garden system.  After explaining the science behind the hydroponic garden, we enjoyed a visit to the garden where residents were growing anything from flower, to herbs, to some really amazing vegetables.  See the photos at the end of this article.

During our business meeting Arlene shared her latest visit to Julington Creek Elementary in her Junior Gardening report.  Sarah discussed the Florida Water and Land Legacy and the need to keep the pressure on our legislators to honor that commitment.  Mickey updated the club on the Monarch Butterfly Committee's accomplishments; see Year End Report from Butterfly-Monarch Conservation Committee.

November's bounty inevitably leads us to the kitchen, and our president, Claire Fioriti, gave us some inspiration when she served up her roasted kale chips at the meeting.  See our our Holiday and Any Day Recipes posting on the Resources page for her recipe and for other ways to use local and seasonal produce.  Our Publicity Chair, Dianne Battle, wrote an article, Honey in the Mornin' Honey in the Evenin' for her Master Gardener column in the December 2015 St. Johns Sun on her  adventures on Tour de Farm and shared an unusual cookie recipe.

Click on the Read More >> link below to see some holiday ideas that support our affiliated garden clubs.  Don't forget to enjoy the pictures of our visit to Westminster Woods Garden!





We all know that Christmas is coming up fast!  Do you have someone on your list that you just haven't been able to find the perfect gift for?  How about shopping from your computer AND supporting our Florida Federation of Garden Clubs or the National Garden Clubs?  Your recipient needn't be a gardener.   Just use the FFGC website to access Amazon, by clicking on the Amazon image on their home page.  Of course, you can get gifts for your special gardener including books, jewelry, videos, and calendars through the FFGC Garden Shop or the National Garden Clubs Shop Online menu.  All the links are in our Resources page sidebar item,
Support Our Affiliated Organizations.

Membership in a garden club makes a great gift (for you AND a friend) too!

Our December posting will feature a recap of our 2015 postings and photos of our members' Christmas luncheon at Carrabbas Italian Grill.  Check out our calendar or email us for program information for 2016.   In the meantime, do enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday and let us give thanks for our many blessings.

In the Garden At Westminster Woods: