March Meeting on 3/14

You are invited to join us on 3/14 at the Bartram Trail Library for a presentation by Master Gardener, Dianne Battle, on supporting local butterflies and other pollinators.  The meeting starts at 10AM.  Master Gardeners can receive CEU credit for attending.  Refreshments will be served, and we appreciate you letting us know if you'll attend so we'll have enough snacks for all.

In the meantime, a reminder that Daylight Saving Time takes effect on Sunday, March 10.  Set your clocks ahead by 1 hour on Saturday night.  And St. Johns River Water Management District's Daylight Saving Time water schedule goes into effect.  Read about it at their website SJRWMD Watering Restrictions page.  If your irrigation timer still challenges you, here is an article on how to set and maintain it, when to run it and when you can turn it off without adversely affecting your lawn.  Overwatering not only can create problems for your lawn, but it costs you more money.  Save the green in your wallet and in your yard!

See the Helping the Planet Stay Healthy in our Resources section for more timely information.

January Meeting - Community Gardens and Recycling

Master Gardener, Karen Matulina, gave us a wonderful presentation on community gardens and brought some special gifts:  vegetables, flowers and herbs she had grown.  Click here to see the names of the items.  Her presentation summary will be in the March edition of The Creekline.  Karen's garden is part of the UF/IFAS Extension Center community garden; plots are available for rent by contacting the Extension Center.  See their Winter 2018 Newsletter for contact info and gardening tips.  And see our Resources section, "Fresh Vegetables - Spelled Y-U-M" for recipes our members used for the vegetable they selected courtesy of Karen Matulina.

We also had a discussion on how to reduce waste by increasing our use of recycling.  Some of the suggestions were amplified by our UF/IFAS Sea Grant Agent, Maia Mcguire, Ph.D. in page 3 of her 2019 first quarter Aqua Notes newsletter.

Our February 14 meeting features Master Gardener Karen Van Pernis, who will discuss plant propagation.  If you'd like to join us, please contact us via this website so we have enough food and drink for you.  We meet in the Bartram Trail Library, 60 Davis Pond Blvd, at 10AM.

Visit Us This Thursday

We had a change in meeting date, but the time, place, and speaker remain constant.  1/24 at 10AM, Bartram Trail Library (60 Davis Pond Blvd.), Master Gardener Karen Matulina will be telling us about community gardens.  If you live in a homeowner's association that does not permit you to maintain a full-fledged garden, you might want to use some space at a local community garden to grow your greens, reds, yellows, and purples.  (The University of Florida IFAS Extension Center has plots available for a nominal feed.  Best of all, there are on-site horticultural specialists to give you advice.)

Please feel free to be our guest on the 24th.  Do contact us so we know to provide enough refreshments. Master Gardeners may be eligible to claim CEU credit.  Our February meeting will be at the regularly-scheduled date and time, 2/14, featuring Master Gardener Karen Van Pernis on Plant Propagation.  See our Events page for details and other presentation.

In case you missed it on Sunday (or want to know more about it), the decade's last lunar eclipse was visible in our area.  See our post in the Resources section, "A Phenomenon Called the Super Blood Wolf Moon Eclipse."

A Very Merry Christmas Party

The Garden Club of Switzerland celebrated 2018 with a holiday party at Deborah's beautifully appointed house.  As our hostess she had arranged for a catered meal courtesy of Bono's and served by Steve.  Before diving into our meal Deborah offered a blessing for the food, the friendship, and for the love we all felt for each other.

After delicious deserts our members brought, we had a gift exchange, which is always so much fun!  After the wrapping paper was torn open, we were reminded that Christmas paper, like any paper, is recyclable.  Nancy told us about a company called "Sensible Recycling" on Sunbeam Road that recycles computers, phones, and does certified data destruction on hard drives.  The company is veteran-owned and operated.  And their services are FREE (including free pickup within a certain area).  They take everything apart and recycle usable parts; nothing goes to a landfill.  At last month's meeting we were given a handout from the University of Florida's Extension, Florida Sea Grant titled, "Five Things You May Not Know About Plastic Recycling."  Don't just Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, but Rethink, Refuse, and Repair!  A great New Year's Resolution!

A personal aside, I showed up an hour early because I didn't check my notes. They didn't make me leave or even work.  What a great bunch of folks!  I had enough time to bond with the dog and cat and tour the backyard where Deborah performs "Elopement weddings." as she calls them.  Deborah was more than gracious in opening her home to us.

Please note that our January meeting date has changed to January 24.  Other meeting dates are as noted on our Events and Calendar page.