"Lucky Louise" Cleans up at September's Kickoff Meeting

If Louise ever takes a trip to Las Vegas, the entire garden club might be traveling with her.  She won both the raffle and the best guess contest at our September 11 kickoff meeting.  Her raffle winning was a photograph of the Cummer Museum's gardens taken by Marguerite (and signed by the artist).  Her best guess was an explanation why holes had been drilled into the picture's frame (see the left and right frame sides).  She and her prizes are pictured next to the marvelous arrangement of September flowers and foliage brought in by Beverly Fleming.  For the answer to the mystery of the "holey picture frame" and the names of the plants in the cut arrangement, click the Read More >> link just below this sentence. 

For Donna Keathley

Please join us in noting the passing of The Garden Club of Switzerland's vice-president, Donna Keathley.  Memorial Services will be held at 3PM on Saturday, September 20 at Geneva Presbyterian Church.  Light refreshments are planned afterwards, and all are invited to attend.

We also invite everyone to share their memories of her in celebration of her life by posting a comment for Donna at our Donna Keathley page.

Super Harvest Moon, Monday 9/8, First Meeting Thursday 9/11

Are you looking forward to fall?  The Garden Club of Switzerland is.  Our kickoff meeting is at the Bartram Trail Library on Thursday at 10AM.  See our calendar for our meeting and events schedule.  Please feel free to stop by and enjoy what's happening.

Between now and then we'd like to tell you about a celestial event you might like to appreciate and better understand.  The event is the full harvest moon.  Practically every culture celebrates the harvest moon, which happens on the full moon occurring closest to the autumnal equinox.  As discussed in the vernal equinox post in March, day and night last for equally long times as the earth reverses its tilt along its axis.  The autumnal equinox begins when the earth's tilt changes to a northward direction; the reverse of this tilt change is in the spring.   The autumnal equinox in northern Florida occurs on September 22 at 10:49PM.  This year's full harvest moon takes place on September 8 at 9:30PM, well ahead of the equinox.  Does the timing discrepancy mean that this full moon is not a "true" harvest moon?  Find out why it's called the "harvest moon."

Springtime in the Garden: Slideshow

This summer has been a banner season for butterflies and other pollinators.  It was well underway in May, when these photos were taken.  For a 7-minute slideshow complete with sound, click on:

Spring 2014 in the Garden

The song is, "Butterfly's Day Out," from the Applachia Waltz CD featuring Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, and Mark O'Connor - so be sure your speakers are on.

The fritillaries in the video were very skittish, never giving me quite enough time to focus.  When I returned with my camera to the garden in mid-August they were coming to the end of their run and were much more lethargic.  In August there were plenty of zebra longwings, swallowtails, and sulfurs to give my shutter speed a run for its money - that slideshow will be out in the fall.  But while you are watching "Spring" notice the fritillary caterpillar on its favorite host plant, the purple passionflower.  

For future reference, if you want to play this slideshow again, it has a permanent home on our Awards and Projects page, on the right sidebar in SPRING 2014 IN THE GARDEN.

And here are two Resources you might want to investigate:  Roses for Florida and The Name of the Rose.