Awards of Excellence in Gardening

 

The Garden Club of Switzerland is BACK!!!  And our first activity was to drive around the neighborhoods that have popped up since COVID sent us back inside.  We drove through a few new communities and got lost...  So, we got back on familiar territory:  Roberts Road near SR 13.  It had been some time since I'd been in Mallard Landing, but at least I wouldn't get lost there.  

That's when we found ourselves on Pintail Drive.  Once home stood out in particular.  An array of neatly-pruned shrubs in a variety of species provided interest for the eye and privacy for the residents.  It turns out it was the home of Master Gardener Kathy Schwob and her husband, Charles.  They gave us a tour of their landscaping, and container gardens.  Not everyone has an acre of land that can support so many mature trees, but that much landscaping represents a lot of work.  The Schwobs at 1525 Pintail Drive are our first recipients of the Award of Excellence in Gardening for April 2022.  

We didn't get very far.  When we turned on Mallard Lake Avenue, we saw this home and just couldn't leave without stopping in to compliment the owners on their landscaping.  This too was the home of a Master Gardener.  Mary Sue Wolf and her husband Michael had designed a landscape that offered privacy and a lot of horticultural interest.  A sheltered sitting area on the way to the front door looked so inviting and the wind chimes singing in the oak tree added to the ambience.  Mary Sue and Michael Wolf of 1484 Mallard Lake Avenue became our second recipients of the Award of Excellence in Gardening for April 2022.

We'll be out scouting our May recipients and are looking forward to the adventure.  Our club flower is the red Camellia Japonica, which symbolizes "unpretending excellence."  We encountered two examples of that this month.

This month we also started a partnership with the St. Johns County Extension Center to help revitalize the club's native plant pollinator garden in Alpine Groves Park.  We'll be posting our planning, hard work, and progress in enhancing this special part of Alpine Groves Park.  Check out the Resources pages for our Freedom Butterfly Garden Blog.

In the meantime, batten down the hatches - or pull out your frost cloth and move freeze-sensitive plants in containers to a sheltered location.  We have a freeze watch issued for the area.  And before you go to bed, set your clocks FORWARD one hour.  We are headed for Daylight Saving Time!