There is nothing better than April at Bloom Garden Shop. Julie’s creations are so inspirational - they’re amazing. April is our favorite meeting because we walk out of Bloom filled with ideas to add personality to our gardens.
April’s meeting included a demonstration to make Fairy Gardens – a new twist on garden art. 
Spring cleaning leads to garage sale goodies. We met, we sold, we profitted! Our garage sales fund our charitable donations for the year. And, we have fun doing it. Even during a garage sale, we find time to explore the garden and see what is blooming. 
Speaking of Blooming – April 3 meeting is at Bloom Garden Shop on S. MacDill Ave. 6:30 p.m. – ALWAYS a good time.
The winter has been unusually mild so we’ve all been busy getting our gardens ready early this year. Last month Moonlight member Mary Mirabal showed us how easy it was to put together a White (Moonlight) garden to enjoy in the evening. Florida has many evening friendly plants that will show off in the moonlight.
Our next meeting will include speaker Jim Boyer on the subject of African Violets. Jim will show us some of the basics in collecting and caring for African Violets plus answer questions and problem shoot for us. He will also have some plants for sale!
This meeting will be at the Garden Club on Bayshore Blvd. Come join us.
We were fortunate to have Steve Miciak, South Tampa’s Orchid Doctor, as our January speaker. He made orchids sound so easy to care for. Who knew that we all tend to over care for them when minimal care and watering is all that’s needed. Plus, fertilize them (oh, yeah, that would be nice).
We are so lucky to have Kim Levell as our speaker for our November 1st meeting. Kim has been seen locally on TV as well as nationally on the Nate Berkus show. Please join us on Tuesday, November 1 at the Garden Club on Bayshore for an exclusive with Kim Levell.
Our photos don’t do justice to these two great locations on South Manhattan. We had a great time and gained inspiration from Amy Martin’s arrangements and demonstration of how to create a living wreath. The cool (for Tampa) fall weather that we had this week made the evening just perfect.
Keep your eye on our site for the announcement of our November meeting.
Evening gardening - really!
When do Florida gardeners garden? Not in the summer!!! We are so excited that September is here and we can get back outside to clear out those plants that have seen better days and put some great fall stuff in the ground. We had our first meeting of the season this week – catching up on what’s growing and what to begin planting. My new favorite garden quote – “A garden is never so good as it will be next year” – Thomas Cooper. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
We are the evening garden group – for those out there who would love to make those day time meetings but can’t due to jobs (duh), life and other essential events. Please join us at our next meeting – Amy Martin of Sprout Container Gardening will be putting together a living wreath – Tuesday evening, Oct. 4, 6:30 p.m. at The Relic, 3517 S Manhattan Ave, Tampa, FL 33629. For those that haven’t been there before, you will find lots of surprises and inspiration for accessorizing your garden. (813) 835-0715
The calendar may not say summer is officially here but the temperature outside sure says its close. Pretty soon we are going be adjusting our activities in the garden to take advantage of the cooler evening hours and leave the hot afternoons to the lizards.
Despite the increasing temps, we’ve been busy. We had our annual fundraising garage sale.
Who says we aren’t our own best customers! 
We actually had other customers, too – had a lot of fun and raised money that we will use for civic projects this year.
We’ve been busy being creative and starting our own businesses (well, Mary’s been busy!). Here she is showing some of her wares at the Garden Club sale.
Look for Mary at
And, last but not least we’ve been showing off our own growing skills. Lucky for me, they don’t ask how many plants I had to kill to come up with this piece of perfection!
So, bring on the summer – we’re ready to kick back a little. We’re going to honor Arbor Day by a visit to Marie Selby Botanical Gardens – take some photos and get inspired by their fantastic collections. A garden is always a work in progress. No real gardener wants it any other way!
Gardening makes us happy. Part of the joy is just getting out in the fresh air at this great time of year. Part of it is the pretty colors! Beth DeGeorge, one of our many talented circle members, put together these arrangements at our last meeting, showing us how yard sale and found items can add personality to your garden.
Our next meeting will be at Bloom Garden Shop on MacDill Ave., just south of Bay to Bay. Join us for a walk in the garden and a demonstration on container gardening. 6:30 p.m., Tuesday April 5.
Oh, its time to get out in the garden! After all those dreary January days and rainy February days - its time to get out in the garden and add some color! If you think these photos are gorgeous, join us at our March 1 meeting. These are the creations of one of our talented members who will do a demonstration of using found items (i.e. cheap!) as containers and to add interest to your garden.
Due to the March 1 election we are bumped out of our home at the Garden Club. Call 251-5753 for information on our March meeting. Early start time – 6:30 p.m.
