What Part of the Plant are YOU Eating?

Thanksgiving Day has two parts, well maybe four if you count the parades and football games on TV:  1)  Giving Thanks and 2) Eating!!!   As we give thanks for the good fortune that allowed us to gather around the table, do you think about the plants comprising so many of the yummy dishes before you?  Do you even know what part of the plants our meals come from?  Well, if you are curious take the quiz that Master Gardener, Barbara Purple, gave to our club at our November meeting.  Believe me, it was a humbling experience!

The quiz is at our Resources page at the posting, What Part of the Plant are You Eating and Cooking?  The same page has reference materials, and a link to the answers.  Plus a few recipes you might want to try using seasonal fruits.

The January 2019 issue of The Florida Newsline-Creekline will have our article about Barbara's presentation that is full of MORE botanic information and horticultural history in our part of Florida:  "What Part of the Plant are You Eating?"

Many thanks to Sally for donating this beautiful mum for our raffle!  Lucky Deborah got to take it home.

We'll resume our program schedule in January.  If you'd like to attend, just let us know.


A very HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

A Visit to a Never-Never Land in Fruit Cove

Blink and you might miss the sign marking the unassuming dirt road that leads to a 4-acre park in Fruit Cove and a rare dual National Literary Landmark.  The park is the site of William Stetson Kennedy's home, Beluthahatchee.  Kennedy's books documented folk life and culture, and championed environmental conservation and human rights, including, "Palmetto County, " and "Southern Exposure."  They are available in our public library system.  The other honoree, Grammy Hall of Fame inductee, Woody Guthrie, is famous for his folk songs including, "This Land is Your Land."  It was at Beluthahatchee that Guthrie wrote his autobiography, "Seeds of Man."

Some of our garden club members were unfamiliar with Stetson Kennedy, but after his stepdaughter, Karen Roumillat's, tour of the park and history of his life we had a deep appreciation for the man who devoted his life to celebrating folk culture and protecting those priceless civil rights enshrined in the Constitution.  See more about him at the Stetson Kennedy Foundation website.

The park is set aside as a wildlife refuge and, in accordance, with Kennedy's stipulations the surrounding residential community, The Lake Dwellers Association, is maintained as a non-profit corporation with covenants ensuring the land is maintained in an environmentally sustainable manner.  That explains the dirt road leading from State Road 13 to the park.  The jewel in the center of the area is Lake Beluthahatchee, a word derived from First Nation's peoples' word for dark water.  Beluthahatchee was William Stetson Kennedy's lifelong Never-Never-Land.  Read our article about the magical place called, "Beluthahatchee," in our December issue of the Florida Newsline Creekline, and see our photo album.  The article also tells you how to get a tour of the park and how to enjoy Second Sundays at Stetson's, featuring folk music from the North Florida Folk Network.  You might even hear a version of Woody Guthrie's ode to his dear friend, "Beluthahatchee Bill."  Visit The Stetson Kennedy Foundation Facebook page.

Our garden club will hold its final program of the year on Thursday, November 8, at the Bartram Trail Library at 10AM.  Just in time for your Thanksgiving table, "What Part of the Plant are You Eating," a presentation by Master Gardener Barbara Purple.  Please contact us at our email so we can reserve you a space.

We'll be back at the library in 2019 for our regular program schedule, and you are always welcome to join us.

Field Trip to Stetson Kennedy's Homestead 10/11

The Garden Club of Switzerland is visiting one of the best kept little secrets in this part of the county:

Beluthahatchee Park
10AM-noon
Thursday, October 11

The park is about 1/4 mile south of Roberts Road.  The homestead itself is reached by a dirt road, on the east side of SR 13.  Look for the orange Kennedy Event sign along SR 13 and follow the road all the way back to Mill Pond.  The location is the only dual literary landmark in the United States and honors both author, Stetson Kennedy, and songwriter, Woody Guthrie.  In keeping with Kennedy's wishes, land was set aside in perpetuity as a wildlife refuge under the Florida Community Trust Program.  Stetson's step-daughter, Karen Roumillat, will give us a tour of his house, which is maintained as he himself kept it, and will tell us about both author's lives and legacy devoted to human rights, mother earth, and traditional culture.

Guests are welcome to join us and are asked to contact us via the email on this website so we have enough refreshments for everybody. We had blockbuster attendance in September, so come on down! 

Thanks for the photos, Carolyn!

BSA Troop 180 Tames the Restless Natives

Boy Scout Troop 180, under the leadership of Tyler Phillips, really spruced up our butterfly garden this weekend.  Pruning, weeding, and sowing seeds, the garden is ready to share its autumn glory with the public (and the butterflies)!

Read the article, "Taming the Restless Natives," in the upcoming October 2019 Creekline.  And learn more about the native butterfly demonstration garden that the Garden Club of Switzerland maintains in Alpine Groves park.  You are welcome to join us at our meetings.  See the schedule here.  Please let us know if you plan to attend so we may have enough refreshments for all.

We're less than a month away from the start of another Garden Club of Switzerland program year!

Our monthly meetings are the second Thursday of the month from 10AM-noon from September through May.  Most take place at the Bartram Trail Library and are open to the public.  There are a few events that take place in other locations and these may be for members only.  The program schedule is at our Events page and on our Calendar.  If you see a program you would like to attend, consider yourself invited!  Please do us the courtesy of letting us know in advance so that we may have enough refreshments for everyone.  Use our contact info, SwitzerlandGC@gmail.com.  If you would like to become a member after you meet us (how could you resist?) ask for an application form or open the online Membership Application and mail it or bring it to a meeting.

Grow your world and join a garden club!  Our first meeting is September 13!

Rain, Rain, When Will You Go Away?

Summer is our rainy season, but this year - AGAIN - we are getting more than our share of "free water."   Our average June rainfall is just over five inches but this past June we got over eight!  While we can't get Mother Nature to turn the tap off we can fine-tune our landscape to be more tolerant of her changing disposition.

Do you have any low-lying areas in your yard that are subject to ponding?  Or do you have concerns about soggy areas around your home?  You can plant a "rain garden." that will soak up the puddles and love it!  Read about Rain Gardens on the web.  And you can select plants that enjoy getting their feet wet by using the Florida-Friendly Plant Database.   If your house has gutters and downspouts, you can use a rain barrel to capture the water from your roof; attach a spigot and hose to the barrel and you can use the water to irrigate around the house in dry times or to water your plants under your porch - you can even wash your car (if it ever stops raining...)  Just don't drink water that you've collect and stored.

When you aren't gardening you can still read about it.  The St. Johns County library system has a large collection of reading material (printed and online) that will give you gardening ideas.  There are also fiction books that have garden themes.  Take the kids/grandkids to the library and check out some rainy day reading to help them keep their academic skills sharp.  School is just a month away!

Switzerland is Historic! Celebrate it on 2/24!

The old Bennett House in Alpine Groves Park is the starting place for Historic Switzerland Dedication Day.  The celebration includes the Bennett House, the old Hartley Store, and the home of Stetson Kennedy (a National Literary Landmark as well as a county historic landmark).  The event is free, and although you are invited to register, it is not necessary.   Click here for directions to Alpine Groves Park, and to Hartley store (now Andrew's Homestead Store), and Stetson Kennedy's home, Beluthahatchee. 

When: Saturday, February 24 
Where: Alpine Groves Park, 2060 SR 13, St. Johns
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Details: St. Johns County and the Stetson Kennedy Foundation have partnered for a Historical Landmark dedication recognizing the Bennett Farmhouse, Hartley Store, and Beluthahatchee. At 10 a.m., attendees will gather at the Bennett House located by the St. Johns River at Alpine Groves Park for the dedication of all three historic properties. Attendees are encouraged to visit the Hartley Store and Beluthahatchee at the conclusion of dedication, both sites will be open to the public until 1 p.m. 
Registration and More Information: Register here for the dedication ceremony. For more information, please contact AyoLane Halusky at 904.209.0348 or ahalusky@sjcfl.us.