
Nancy Richie surrounded by Tommie Barfield Junior Gardeners. SUBMITTED PHOTOS
Garden Club’s Junior Gardeners Learn About Tortoises
This school year, 25 Tommie Barfield Elementary students are participating in the Calusa Garden Club’s Junior Gardener Program. The first Junior Gardener meeting featured retired City of Marco Island Environmental Specialist Nancy Richie presenting a program on tortoises. After the program, the students applied their new knowledge to creating fanciful tortoises to take home. The Junior Gardeners enjoyed learning about and creating tortoises to take home. The boys agreed, though, that what they really look forward to are the “digging-in-the-dirt” activities.
Garden Club Members Tour Marco Island Florida Friendly Yards
On a lovely October Marco Island

The Junior Gardener boys look forward to “digging-in-the-dirt.”
Garden club members were especially interested in the saucer-sized deep purple blossoms of the passion vine. With their frilly edges and bright yellow centers, the blossoms are somewhat reminiscent of – but much more showy than – northern clematis. Florida passion vines also are preferred feeding hosts for fritillary butterfly

Tommie Barfield Elementary Junior Gardeners show off their colorful tortoises.
Calusa Garden Club Learns Tricks for Growing Herbs
Learning tricks to growing herbs in the Southwest Florida climate began for some Calusa Garden Club members with an invitation to Island Garden Center from Chris Burt, owner, and on-site

Club members learned about herbs from Chris Burt, Island Garden Center.
Then, at the October meeting of the garden club, Chris shared some secrets of successfully growing culinary herbs, pointing out, however, that there are both annuals and perennials in the herb families, with some of our favorites falling into the annuals category – meaning they likely will need to be replaced at least once a year.
Chris brought many herbs with him to the meeting, and garden club members lined up to choose which ones to buy. Two lovely herb dish gardens also were donated by Island Garden Center as door prizes.
Calusa Garden Club

Maria Lamb, left, talks with Chris Burt as club members listen in (from left) Linda Colombo, Judy Kouhi, Linda Spell, Gwyn Goodman, Cristina Leske and Donna Kay.
On November 9, the club’s 11 AM on-site workshop and 1:15 PM program will center on floral design and decorating for the holidays. There also will be a plant exchange and sale. For further information, please visit www.calusa.org or contact Judy Kouhi, membership chair, at 239-642-4645.
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