Our garden club got started off on the right foot with a full house of guests and members looking forward to Arbor Day in Florida, January 16. Here we are looking back over our shoulders to greet our guest speaker, Master Arborist, Chuck Lippi. There is nobody better qualified to entertain and educate us with
humanity's foibles when it comes to planting and "caring for" trees. He had photos galore of the mistakes that professional landscapers, arborists and nurserymen routinely make, all in the name of giving the paying public what it should know better than to ask for. Bad arboriculture will never die as long as there is a buck to be made from it - especially since its effects might not show up for years. The sad truth is that Mr. Lippi has made a steady, if not princely income doing triage on abused trees.
The author has a few tales of her own, and one has even won her a prize by exposing the barbarous practice of crepe (and other species) murders in her "pruning"
exposé, "
The Killing Fields in Mandarin: Secret of Winn-Dixie Plaza" - my winning photo was featured on the front page of the
2014 Southern Living Crepe Murder Contest (please go there and
Like it). Now is the time
YOU can best appreciate this year's new crop of atrocities and even photograph them. Submit your photo to the
Grumpy Gardener's 2015 Crepe Murder contest between 2/2 and 2/21/2015. Like me,
you could win an appropriately sized crepe myrtle for your special picture like the one here.
In addition to the meeting's
informative presentation by Mr. Lippi, our members were treated to Arlene's recounting of her elementary students' reaction to the
Story of Pedro's Beard, a folktale about the origins of Spanish moss. The club was reminded that the
Arbor Day Tree Seedling Giveaway (featuring several of our members) is on 1/16, 8:30-11AM at the Bartram Trail Library. Claire told us that District IV of the FFGC will be installing a Blue Star Memorial Marker at Jacksonville Memorial Cemetery 1/24 at 10AM, (see our
Calendar). The St. Johns Sun published its inaugural issue with an article, "
Right Tree, Right Place - The Right Thing to Do". Carolyn won our raffle tickets to the Jacksonville Symphony - yea!!! Beverly is back after her surgery (here she is telling us about the native Florida persimmon) and she shared her plans to install the bluebird houses we made in October - stay tuned.
While you're still here: did you sign up for the
ESS Course, The Living Earth? By February 2, it will be too late.
This month's recycling tip: save the beautiful cards you get from friends and family. You can cut the pictures into interesting decorations for wreaths, ornaments, gifts, and labels. A good family or rainy day project that your recipients will appreciate! Send us your ideas to
Reuse the Refuse!
Suggestion for the New Year: Let's improve stewardship of our trees; plant an appropriate one or two - can you say, "free seedlings," - and practice good maintenance. If you didn't do it twenty years ago, the second best time is now.
The author has a few tales of her own, and one has even won her a prize by exposing the barbarous practice of crepe (and other species) murders in her "pruning" exposé, "The Killing Fields in Mandarin: Secret of Winn-Dixie Plaza" - my winning photo was featured on the front page of the 2014 Southern Living Crepe Murder Contest (please go there and Like it). Now is the time YOU can best appreciate this year's new crop of atrocities and even photograph them. Submit your photo to the Grumpy Gardener's 2015 Crepe Murder contest between 2/2 and 2/21/2015. Like me, you could win an appropriately sized crepe myrtle for your special picture like the one here.
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