The Gardens Gate - January 2020

The January 2020 Gardens Gate Port St. Lucie Botanical Gardens

2410 SE Westmoreland Blvd.

Port St. Lucie, FL 34952 Phone: 772.337.1959 Fax: 772.237.5952 E-mail: info@pslbg.org Web: www.pslbg.org Hours: Wednesday - Saturday 10am - 4pm Sunday Noon - 4pm Closed Monday, Tuesday & Some Holidays Suggested Donations: Adults $5 Students $2 Children 12 & Under Welcome Free for FPSLBG Members and Active Military with family (IDs required)

Mission Statement...

Friends’ mission is to create and maintain a beautiful, serene sanctuary in the center of Port St. Lucie that is environmentally sound and naturally diverse and to provide educational, cultural and recreational opportunities for all who visit.

Officers & Directors...

President: Vice President: Secretary: Treasurer: Directors:

Joleen King Heather Furnari Claire Clark Brenda Gustafson Brett Ashley John Erickson Melinda DeMarco Judy Nash-Wade Michelle Peterson Tim Sutton Mary Thomas

Standing Committee Chairs...

Election Committee:

Stephanie Alessandrini-Giarraffa Brenda Gustafson Claire Clark Brenda Gustafson

Finance Committee: Gift Shop Committee: Horticulture Committee: Membership & Volunteer Committee: Mary Thomas Resource Development Committee: Melinda DeMarco Strategic Planning Committee: Michelle Peterson

Newsletter...

Editor & Design:

Mark Barnes

The Gardens is managed and operated by Friends of the Port St. Lucie Botanical Gardens, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)(3) public charity organization, that was founded to help support the daily operations of The Gardens. Friends volunteers provide hands-on daily oversight of the facility, including staffing to handle the many visitors year round. Please consider becoming a member of Friends. Friends' is a 100% volunteer organization. In all cases, donations are deductible to the extent allowed by law.

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1st 4th 5th 5th 7th 7th 8th 8th 9th 11th 12th 13th 13th 14th 14th 14th 15th 15th 16th 17th 18th

CLOSED 9:00 am - 4:00 pm 9:00 am - 4:00 pm 9:30 - 11:45 am 4:00 - 5:30 pm 7:00 - 9:00 pm 2:00 - 4:00 pm 6:30 - 9:30 pm 5:30 - 9:30 pm 8:00 am - 3:00 pm 9:30 - 11:45 am 10:30 am - 12:00 pm 4:30 - 6:30 pm 12:00 - 3:00 pm 3:30 - 5:30 pm 7:00 - 9:00 pm 10:00 - 11:30 am 6:00 - 8:30 pm 7:00 - 9:00 pm 11:00 am - 12:30 pm 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

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Happy New Years Art Show in The Gardens – Drum Circle Art Show in The Gardens - Jazz Crosstown Chapel Sunday Service PSL Historical Society Board Meeting River Vista HOA Meeting German America Club Meeting Ft. Pierce Jazz & Blues Jazz Jams PSL Angler’s Meeting PSL Anglers Society Nautical Flea Market Crosstown Chapel Sunday Service Rio Lindo Club Board Meeting FPSLBG Board of Directors Meeting PSL Orchid Society Meeting St. Lucie Co. Historical Commission Meeting Master Naturalists Meeting Intermediate Spanish Class Tarpon Bay Villas Community Meeting Treasure Coast Rare Fruit Club Meeting Arbor Day Celebration & Minsky Tree Planting FFGC Mother Earth Flower Show How-To Seminar: Grown & Caring for Bromeliads Crosstown Chapel Sunday Service FFGC Mother Earth Flower Show

9:30 - 11:45 am 12:00 - 3:00 pm

All Welcome All Welcome All Welcome Members Welcome HOA Members Welcome All Welcome $7 Donation, $6 Members All Welcome All Welcome All Welcome Members Welcome Members Welcome All Welcome All Welcome Members Welcome All Welcome HOA Members Welcome All Welcome All Welcome All Welcome Members attend for free, Non-Members $25 All Welcome All Welcome

19th

Daylily Society Meeting

2:00 - 4:00 pm

All Welcome

20th 21st 21st 22nd 22nd 24th 26th 27th 27th 28th 29th

Sandpiper Community Board Meeting Korean War Veterans TCC106 Meeting Villas of Sandpiper Bay Annual Meeting Intermediate Spanish Class Ft. Pierce Jazz & Blues Jazz Jams Tarpon Bay Moorings Board Meeting Crosstown Chapel Sunday Service Rio Lindo Garden Club Monthly Meeting FPSLBG Annual Election & Annual Meeting PSL Historical Society Board Meeting Intermediate Spanish Class

6:00 - 9:00 pm 10:00 am - 2:00 pm 5:00 - 8:00 pm 10:00 - 11:30 am 6:30 - 9:30 pm 6:30 - 9:30 pm 9:30 - 11:45 am 12:30 - 4:00 pm 5:30 - 8:30 pm 4:00 - 5:30 pm 10:00 - 11:30 am

Members Welcome Members Welcome HOA Members Welcome All Welcome $7 Donation, $6 Members HOA Members Welcome All Welcome All Welcome Members Welcome Members Welcome All Welcome

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10:00 - 11:30 am

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Hellebore is a lovely and unique flowering perennial that adds blooms and color to gardens in early spring, or depending on the climate, in late winter. More often used in beds, potted hellebores can also be a nice addition to patios and indoor areas.

Hellebore plants are prized for their unusual and pretty flowers, but also because the blooms come out in winter or early spring. These are great plants for four-season gardens and if you need something to add winter color to your beds. But what about hellebore in containers? You absolutely can grow these plants in containers, but there are some important things to keep in mind in order to help them thrive in pots.

You may see container grown hellebore around Christmas time when it is sold as Christmas rose.

Often these, along with other holiday plants like poinsettia, are used for decorations and then allowed to die or just tossed. There’s no need to let your potted hellebore go downhill, though. You can keep it potted until you’re ready to put it in the ground outside, or you can keep it potted and enjoy it indoors and out, year 8

round. Hellebore needs rich and welldrained soil, so be sure to choose a pot that drains and use a rich organic potting soil or add compost to existing soil. It’s also important to choose a large container, as hellebore plants don’t like to be transferred. The stress of the move can be damaging, so give your plant room to grow. The depth of the pot is particularly important as the roots mostly grow down.

Position your potted hellebores to get as much sun as possible during the winter and spring months. A little shade will be appreciated as it gets warmer. Hellebore also prefers cooler temperatures in the winter, so make sure it gets sun without too much heat. The flowers tend to

droop downward, so find an elevated position for your container grown hellebore so you can fully enjoy it.

Hellebore is at its best when planted outdoors in the ground, but if you have limited space or you simply want to enjoy these lovely flowers as a houseplant, you should be able to make it comfortable in an indoor container.

When planting from seed or division,

While many varieties of hellebores exist, Helleborus orientalis, the Lenten Rose, is among the earliest of winter bloomers and offers the widest selection of colors.

place the hellebore into welldraining, organic soil in filtered sun or a shady location. The hellebore plant will return for many years; make sure the space will accommodate growth and has proper sunlight. Hellebores need no more than a few hours of dappled light and grow successfully in shady areas.

Plant the hellebore under deciduous trees or scattered through a woodland garden or shaded natural area Soaking the soil in which the hellebore is growing helps the hellebore plant to look its best.

Hellebore care includes removal of older leaves when they appear damaged. Care for hellebores should also include careful fertilization. Too much nitrogen may result in lush foliage and a shortage of blooms.

Plant hellebore seeds in the fall. A 60 -day moist chilling period is needed when planting seeds of the hellebore plant. Planting seed in fall allows this to happen naturally in areas with cold winters. Wait three to four years for blooms on young plants grown from seed. Divide overgrown clumps in spring, after flowering or in autumn.

Helleborus foetidus, called the stinking, bear foot or bear paw hellebore, offers flowers in a pastel shade of green and has an unusual fragrance disliked by some; consequently it may be referred to as stinking. Foliage of the bear foot hellebore is segmented and serrated, sometimes turning to deep red in cold weather, when it is highly ornamental. Flowers may be edged in the deep red to burgundy color.

This hellebore plant prefers more sun than its oriental counterparts.

Helleborus niger, the Christmas Rose, features 3-inch (7.5 cm.) blooms of the purest white. Many hybrids of hellebores offer a range of flower colors, colors often change as they mature.

Hellebore care is simple and worthwhile. Plant a variety of hellebores in your garden in the shade for a lovely spring flower.

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Volunteer Highlight

Come join our very active team of volunteers. We our celebrating our 10th year celebration in 2020 and have lots planned. Whether you like to work out in the garden or inside in our Welcome Center, Gift Shop or one of our many committees. We can accommodate your schedule. You will have the opportunity to meet some great volunteers while giving to your community.

Over 35 Monarch Catepillars Found Chomping Milkweed In The Greenhouse

Volunteer Mary Petrone lead the caterpillar transfer to the butterfly house and the butterfly garden. There just wasn’t enough milkweed in the greenhouse for all of the butterflies. Mary a Master Gardener has been volunteering in the Butterfly Garden for several years’. As an educator she is also active in the Children's Programs at the Garden and a avid photographer.

Volunteers Jack & Goldie enjoying a beautiful day in the Butterfly Garden. They love ‘digging in the dirt’.

What better place to spend a couple of hours—in the Butterfly Garden.

Join our team of volunteers. We have openings in the Gift Shop, Welcome Center, Propagation and all of our Garden Rooms. Stop by and see our Volunteer Coordinator Mary Thomas or call 772-337-1959.

Thank you to Lin Olson, (right) for her generous donation of roses to the garden. A nne Norse, who is heading up the Rose Garden Project is on the left. Both are active Master Gardeners and Garden enthusiasts.

Brenda Gustafson receives certificate from UF/IFAS St. Lucie County Master Gardener. She has dedicated 5000 volunteer hours in five years’. The majority of these hours have been at the Port St Lucie Botanical Garden.

L to R. Kate Rotindo, Brenda Gustafson, Kate O’Neil

Art Show Committee: L to R Jeff Chambers, Mia Lindberg, Lorie Goss, Laura Mehr, Committee Chair, Mark Barnes

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Friends of PSLBG Membership Renewal Special Primary Member Name: Email Address: Secondary Member Name (Family & Friends Only): Annual Membership Type:

 Individual $25

 Family & Friends $50

 Student $15

 Business $75

Additional Donation $_________________ Total Check Enclosed: $_________ or  Master Card  Visa  AMEX Card # ________________________________________Exp. Date __________ Code _________ Billing Address: ___________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Signature: __________________________________

15 Month Membership Special Offer Expires March 31, 2020.

The Friends of Port St. Lucie Botanical Gardens is a Florida non-profit corporation, and is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service, as a public charitable tax-exempt non-profit organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code. All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law.

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Friends’ Annual Meeting & Board Elections Friends of the Port St. Lucie Botanical Gardens will hold their Annual Meeting and Board Elections on

Monday, January 27, 2020 starting at 5:30 pm.

All members are encouraged to cast their ballot and we welcome you to attend our annual meeting.

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VISIT WWW.PSLBG.ORG FOR MORE INFORMATION

VISIT WWW.PSLBG.ORG FOR MORE INFORMATION

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VISIT WWW.PSLBG.ORG FOR MORE INFORMATION

VISIT WWW.PSLBG.ORG FOR MORE INFORMATION

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CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR

PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS!

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CLICK HERE TO BUY YOUR TICKETS TODAY - THEY WILL SELL OUT FAST