EatYourYardJax was our guest presenter for the March meeting. We were treated to a shopping spree featuring unusual edibles for us to "grow our own" and an array of succulents and cacti. Our guest speaker was a student at UNF studying nutrition, and she told us about some of the more exotic edibles on the cart.
We also learned how EatYourYardJax is advancing the green building movement. They planted the rooftop garden at breakinggroundgreenroof this past spring. The garden is also used by local Jacksonville schools as a teaching garden. EatYourYardJax has a history of community involvement, winning a HandsOnEarth award from HandsOnJacksonville in 2013.EatYourYardJax took over the business from Fruit Cove Cactus and Foliage, hence the unusual product combination. We had a full house of shoppers, including guests. Nice to meet you, Nancy, Pat, Jerrel, and Amy, and to see you back, Kelly!
Other Items
Our committees reported in. Arlene from the Junior Gardening Committee related her experiences with Julington Creek Elementary School the prior week. And we had happy news that the county Board of Commissioners approved historic status for Alpine Groves Park. Congratulations to the Friends and many supporters of that initiative!
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| Click for the Garden Slideshow |
To welcome a new beginning in our butterfly garden, Dianne showed her slideshow of the flora and fauna in the Freedom Butterfly Garden spring/summer 2014 (please turn on your speakers for the 7-minute show).
April with the Garden Club
Come on down next Thursday 4/9, for our annual Boondoggle and the Bartram Bash. The Garden Club Boondoggle is our annual "al fresco" April meeting to plan for the Bartram Bash. Weather permitting we'll be at the Butterfly Garden in Alpine Groves Park. No speakers are planned for the meeting, but feel free to drop by. Find out where we'll be and what we'll be doing at the Boondoggle and the Bash!
Our Monarch Committee and Other Winged Wonders
This author got a chance to tag along with the Butterfly Monitoring group at GTMNERR on 3/24. The group does a monthly count which it submits to the Florida Butterfly Monitoring Network. They also do annual butterfly counts and submit them to the North American Butterfly Association Butterfly Counts. Despite the inhospitable weather, the team I was with managed to identify 11 butterflies: 5 buckeyes, 5 phaon crescents and 1 ceranus blue. The woodland team had better luck, finding 44 butterflies. Thanks to Janet Koehler and the volunteers at the GTMNERR Butterfly Monitoring project.
During the first meeting of our garden club's monarch committee, we discussed doing something similiar to GTMNERR's annual count for NABA in our area. So the count at GTMNERR was my first lesson in butterfly observing. The skill will serve our garden club well as the monarch committee begins its work.
Read about the first monarch committee meeting on 3/18. Remember, you heard it here!
Come on down next Thursday 4/9, for our annual Boondoggle and the Bartram Bash. The Garden Club Boondoggle is our annual "al fresco" April meeting to plan for the Bartram Bash. Weather permitting we'll be at the Butterfly Garden in Alpine Groves Park. No speakers are planned for the meeting, but feel free to drop by. Find out where we'll be and what we'll be doing at the Boondoggle and the Bash!
Our Monarch Committee and Other Winged Wonders
During the first meeting of our garden club's monarch committee, we discussed doing something similiar to GTMNERR's annual count for NABA in our area. So the count at GTMNERR was my first lesson in butterfly observing. The skill will serve our garden club well as the monarch committee begins its work.
Read about the first monarch committee meeting on 3/18. Remember, you heard it here!
