Garden of Excellence for May

 

The Garden Club of Switzerland recognizes Mark and Eunice Ferris of 1405 Satsuma Road for their excellent yard scaping.  Their love of palms is reflected in the variety of species they’ve planted, including pigmy date palms, Bismark, queen, and pindo, and has earned our Garden Excellence Award for the month of May.  If you would like to nominate a noteworthy yard, or are interested in being a part of our garden club, see our website, www.switzerlandgc.org.

Two Meetings in May: 5/5 and 5/10

Butterflies and other pollinators are spreading their wings, and our club is holding two presentations at the Bartram Trail Library to highlight the ones that have visited the Freedom Butterfly Garden in Alpine Groves County Park over the years. The public is invited to attend..  This is an adult-oriented event.

Thursday, May 5, 10AM Manatee Room

Tuesday, May 10, 5PM Bartram Room (pollinator plant giveaways featured)

We'll have photos and information to help you make your yard more attractive to pollinators.   We are collaborating with the St. Johns County Master Gardeners to install more species of native plants, including more that support caterpillars that will grow into butterflies.   

First Meeting - Garden Club of Switzerland 4/7

We're having our kickoff meeting this Thursday at 10AM at the Bartram Trail Library.  It's been a long time since we've been about to get together, so we're just going to say "howdy," swap some stories, and do a little brainstorming plans for upcoming meetings and activities.

The public is invited to join us.  This is an informal get-together, so the more the merrier:

Date:  4/7/2022 Thursday

Time:  10AM-noon

Place:  Bartram Trail Library, Manatee Room (in back of library),  60 Davis Pond Blvd. (904) 827-6960

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!