Garden Club Cultivates New MembersBy Vicki Jackson
Photo by Vicki Jackson The Clearwater Garden Club, now celebrating its 60th anniversary, held an open membership Tea on Friday, October 8. Charming Caroline Kaufmann, club president, hosted the event, conducted get-acquainted games, introduced officers, and summarized ongoing activities of the club. Among other participations, the organization sponsors scholarships to Wikiva Youth Camp and will be donating garden tools to Habitat for Humanity The attractive tea table featured china cups and an assortment of delectable treats. Numerous prizes and raffle winnings were distributed. The room was decorated with artistic creations by members, and exhibits of club involvement and awards. Flower Show Committee Chair, Marsha Clark, explained her artistic creation, as an example to encourage entries in their forthcoming show. Belen Brown, flower designer extraordinaire and self-professed oldest member of the club, described her unique dried flower arrangement. She told how she had long ago purchased the dominating line material, petrified deformed giant asparagus stalks that had been afflicted with a viral disease. The club has reinstated their popular Grow and Share program. It was encouraging to see among the variety of specimens on the table a couple of native plants, Rouge shrubs. Unfortunately a Mexican Petunia also slipped in, but when no one selected the invasive plant, a prospective member knew just what to do with it. As planned, the program will offer free non-invasive plants and cuttings to attendees. Representatives of the Francis Wilson Playhouse from just across the street, Andy Rufo and Gabrielle Snap, stopped by and delivered a brief history of the community theatre. They detailed recent renovations and announced their new children's program, which will begin on October 16th, at their facility at "Clearwater on the Bay". The Clearwater Garden Club is fortunate to have its own building at the corner of Ft. Harrison and Seminole Streets. Normally, regular meetings are held the second Friday of the month (September through May), while Saturday Garden Club meetings are held the third week of the month year round, all at 10:00 a.m. Residents and visitors are welcome to join them for floral design, horticulture presentations, and garden arts and crafts. The November meeting will feature Karen Stewart, volunteer at the Marie Selby Garden, who will discuss growing and propagation of ferns. The club's fall fundraiser, Trash and Treasure Sale, will be held on November 20th, beginning at 8:00 a.m. For information on membership or the sale, interested parties are invited to phone club vice-president and committee co-chair, Cathy Foley, at (727) 443-7032.
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