April 2015 Newsletter The

Gardens Gate

RemindeR

The Friends of the Port St. Lucie Botanical Gardens, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, is charged with creating and maintaining a serene and peaceful environment for all visitors.

WELCOME TO OUR NEW

PALM WALK GARDEN ROOM! Saturday, February 27, 2015, was D-day for completion of the long

awaited Palm Walk Garden Room, located via walkway just west of the

Native Plant Garden Room. The new garden room, many years in the

planning, has introduced native palms to The Gardens in a way that looks

totally natural in the setting, almost as though they have always been

there. Darl Emling, Palm Walk Garden Sub-Committee Chair, along with

assistance from Josephine Telenko, has spent the last few years planning

this garden, and most recently under the stewardship of Susan Shay

Frostrom, owner of Palm City Palms &

Continued on Pg. 3

Board & Committees Pg2

Horticulture Happenings Pg2

Palm Walk Garden Pics Pg3

New Sheds in Propagation Pg6

Front Circle Planter Facelift Pg7

Calendar Pg8

Can You Dig It Pg9

Planning Charrette Pg10

Video of the Month Pg11

HORTence Pg12

Happenings @ The Gardens Pg13

Supporters & Jazz Jams Pg14

HORTICULTURE

HAPPENINGS…

Friends of the Port St. Lucie Botanical Gardens

Horticulture Class Series - 2014/2015 Edible Landscaping

1. Two opposites. Grow what you eat and also expand your horizons. The subtropical world contains a vast array of unusual edible fruits, vegetables, and spices. Try something different. Florida is full of opportunities to try Asian, Indian, South American foods. Be brave.

2. Use the situation that you have. Soil, drainage, sun, etc. It may be difficult to impossible to modify many site characteristics. Study what you have. Different plants can go different places. Consider any legal limitations - Home owner associations, etc.

3. Right plant; right place. Generally, most food plants need full sun, protection from strong winds, soils of at least moderate quality and moderate pH, irrigation. Improve you soil by adding organic matter = compost, ground up yard waste, etc. If you are throwing away vegetable and yard waste you are throwing away money.

Continued on Pg. 5

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@pslbotanicalgardens.org Web: www.pslbotanicalgardens.org Hours: Wednesday - Saturday 10am - 4pm Sunday Noon - 4pm Closed Monday & Tuesday Suggested Donations: Adults $5 Students $2 Children 12 & Under Welcome Members and Active Military (with family) Welcome (IDs required)

Officers & Directors . . . President: Dianne Aguiar Vice President: Bill Manning Secretary: Josephine Telenko Treasurer & Asst Secretary: Richard McAfoos Directors: Illona Christie Joleen King Flo Richards Debra Thompson Ben Woodruff

Standing Committee Chairs . . . Strategic Planning Committee: Bill Manning Horticulture Committee: Joleen King & Josephine Telenko Finance Committee: Richard McAfoos Membership & Volunteer Committee: Illona Christie Gift Shop Committee: Flo Richards Resource Development Committee: Dianne Aguiar Election Committee: TBD

Newsletter... Editor: Richard McAfoos Design: Mark Barnes

The Port St. Lucie Botanical Gardens is managed and

operated by Friends of the Port St. Lucie Botanical Gardens, Inc. The Friends of the Port St. Lucie

Botanical Gardens, Inc. receives no funding from any government agency. Your admission donations help

us maintain and grow The Gardens.

Tropicals. Susan designed the garden room and irrigation layouts, then bid the

project at a discounted rate and provided a $10,000 memorial gift (reduction)

from the final cost. We are very proud of this new garden room and appreciate

the donor’s generosity and all the hard work of our planners! Value of the project

is estimated at just under $15,000.

Editor

Continued from Pg. 1

Before Before

Before Before

WELCOME TO OUR NEW PALM WALK GARDEN ROOM! (Continued from Page 3)

Finshed Finshed

Finshed Finshed

4. Integrate edible plants into your landscaping. Fruit trees for shade, fruiting shrubs or small trees for buffers, edible leafy vegetables for ground covers. Herbs as small shrubs and ground covers.

5. Think up. Fruits and vegetables can be grown as vines for shade and privacy. Grapes, gourds, cucumbers, pole beans, tomatoes, etc. Select indeterminate tomato and cucumber varieties for long harvests.

6. Container plants - most vegetables can be grown in containers. Need moderate size, drainage, high fertility soil, full sun. Exception to full sun - leafy greens, oriental greens. Many dwarf fruit trees can be grown in containers. Combine plants that require the same conditions.

7. Raised beds make amending the soil easier and are often easier for people to manage. Be careful about selection of your materials; do not select materials that will leach toxins into your soils. Put down an organic weed barrier between the new soil and the old soil - paper, newspaper, etc. Not plastic.

8. Start small and start with a plan. Consider the crop rotation. Don't follow crops with crops from the same families. Consider the time to harvest.

9. Most vegetables can be started from seeds but buying starts means faster crops and you can buy just what you need. Usually, not much variety available in starts. There is an astonishing array of seeds available from specialty providers that will allow you to grow crops year round. Lots of crops can be grown from seeds from the produce department.

10. Specific information. Best source are the UF publications. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_hs_vegetables

11. Also, books and magazines; Florida Gardening. Try the library. Join the Rare Fruit Club in Ft. Pierce or Palm

*The content of this lesson plan was provided by a Master Gardener with accents by The Gardens Gate. It should be noted that Master Gardeners have a variety of views and it is up to the individual to determine what information best fits one’s own needs.

Continued from Pg. 2

NEW STORAGE SHEDS

INSTALLATION FOR HORTICULTURE

COMPLETED…

Thursday, February 26, 2015, was the installation day

for the last of two 10’ x 12’ utility storage sheds

located to the rear of the Propagation Area in The

Gardens. The completion of this joint project between

the City and Friends, intended to relieve some of the

storage challenges in the Maintenance Building

Storage bays, has been long awaited. As Friends

grow we accumulate more and more equipment and

supplies which has to be securely stored. Recognizing

this, Parks & Rec. decided to relocate an available

shed they no longer used to The Gardens. They also

agreed to let Friends purchase a shed; both sheds

now sit side-by-side. The City handled the site

preparation by bringing in a crew with trucks, a Bobcat

and a team of workers to clear and set grade for the

area. The sheds were then separately installed and

anchored. This joint project cost an estimated

$10,000, with Friends donating its share with the

$2,800 new shed with ramps. Editor

HORTICULTURE GIVES FRONT CIRCLE PLANTER A FACELIFT…

Recently a Horticulture team, led by Don Wysong with Tylene May and Jack Kelly, performed ‘major

facelift surgery’ on the front circle drive planter area. Primarily populated by gorgeous, huge Bromeliads,

the overgrowth had begun to show. So in a day and a-half the team removed all the Bromeliads and

bordering shrub overgrowth. Then they separated the pup-Bromeliads and smaller plants for Propaga-

tion, after which they transplanted the beautiful large Bromeliad specimens to prosper in a more spa-

cious area. Thanks to the team, the circle planter looks great!

Editor

For more information on these & other events, please call 772.337.1959

1st thru 5th

Florida’s Natural Legacy Photo Exhibit 10am - 4pm ALL Welcome

1st Beginning Spanish Classes 10 - 11:30 am All Welcome Call 772.924.1002

1st Tai Chi for Health Classes 10:30 - 11:30 am Fee Info. call 772.408.6008

1st Tai Chi for Health Classes 11:45 am - 12:45 pm Fee Info. call 772.408.6008

6th Board of Directors Meeting 4 - 5 pm Members Welcome

8th Beginning Spanish Classes 10:30 - 11:30 am All Welcome Call 772.924.1002

8th Tai Chi for Health Classes 10:30 - 11:30 am Fee info. call 772.408.6008

8th Tai Chi for Health Classes 11:45 am - 12:45 pm Fee info. call 772.408.6008

8th Ft Pierce Jazz & Blues Society Jazz Jams 6:30 - 9:30 pm $5 Donation, Members $4

9th PSL Anglers Club Meeting 6:30 - 9 pm All Welcome

10th Junior Children Event – Ladybug Release 11 am – 12 pm Children 9 - 14 Call 772.337.1959 to Pre-register

14th PSL Orchid Society Meeting 11 am - 3 pm All Welcome

14th Master Naturalist Lecture: What’s Bugging You? with Fred Burkey

7 - 9 pm All Welcome

15th Beginning Spanish Classes 10:30 - 11:30 am All Welcome Call 772.924.1002

15th Tai Chi for Health Classes 10:30 - 11:30 am Fee info. call 772.408.6008

15th Tai Chi for Health Classes 11:45 am - 12:45 pm Fee info. call 772.408.6008

15th Bobbies Jewelry Repair & Making Class 1:30 - 3:30 pm Registration Required - Call 772.475.5593 $20 includes materials & tools

16th Treasure Coast Hibiscus Society Mtg. 10:30 am - 1 pm All Welcome

22nd Beginning Spanish Classes 10:30 - 11:30 am All Welcome Call 772.924.1002

22nd Tai Chi for Health Classes 10:30 - 11:30 am Fee info. call 772.408.6008

22nd Tai Chi for Health Classes 11:45 am - 12:45 pm Fee info. call 772.408.6008

22nd Ft Pierce Jazz & Blues Society Jazz Jams 6:30 - 9:30 pm $5 Donation, Members $4

25th Port St. Lucie Angler’s Kids Fishing Event 7 am - 2 pm All Welcome

25th Children Event – Ladybug Release 11 am - 12 pm Children 4 - 8 Call 772.337.1959 to Pre-register

27th Rio Lindo Garden Club Meeting 9 am - 2 pm All Welcome

29th Beginning Spanish Classes 10:30 - 11:30 am All Welcome Call 772.924.1002

29th Tai Chi for Health Classes 10:30 - 11:30 am Fee info. call 772.408.6008

29th Tai Chi for Health Classes 11:45 am - 12:45 pm Fee info. call 772.408.6008

19th Century

The late 18th and early 19th centuries were marked by the establishment of tropical botanical gardens as a tool of colonial expansion (for trade and commerce and, secondarily, science) mainly by the British and Dutch, in India, South-east Asia and the Caribbean. This was also the time of Sir Joseph Banks's botanical collections during Captain James Cook's circumnavigations of the planet and his explorations of Oceania, which formed the last phase of plant introduction on a grand scale.

Tropical Botanical Gardens

There are currently about 230 tropical botanical gardens with a concentration in southern and south-eastern Asia. The first botanical garden founded in the tropics was the Pamplemousses Botanical Garden in Mauritius, established in 1735 to provide food for ships using the port, but later trialling and distributing many plants of economic importance. This was followed by the West Indies (Botanic Gardens St. Vincent, 1764) and in 1786 by the Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Botanical Garden in Calcutta, India founded during a period of prosperity when the city was a trading centre for the Dutch East India Company. Other gardens were constructed in Brazil (Jardim Botânico, Rio de Janeiro, 1808), Sri Lanka (Botanical Garden of Peradeniya, 1821 and on a site dating back to 1371), Indonesia (Bogor Botanical Gardens, 1817 and Kebun Raya Cibodas, 1852), and Singapore (Singapore Botanical Gardens, 1822). These had a profound effect on the economy of the countries, especially in relation to the foods and medicines introduced. The importation of rubber trees to the Singapore Botanic Garden initiated the important rubber industry of the Malay Peninsula. At this time also, teak and tea were introduced to India and breadfruit, pepper and starfruit to the Caribbean.

Included in the charter of these gardens was the investigation of the local flora for its economic potential to both the colonists and the local people. Many crop plants were introduced by or through these gardens – often in association with European botanical gardens such as Kew or Amsterdam – and included cloves, tea, coffee, breadfruit, cinchona, sugar, cotton, palm oil and Theobroma cacao (for chocolate). During these times, the rubber plant was introduced to Singapore. Especially in the tropics, the larger gardens were frequently associated with a herbarium and museum of economy. The Botanical Garden of Peradeniya had considerable influence on the development of agriculture in Ceylon where the Para rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) was introduced from Kew, which had itself imported the plant from South America. Other examples include cotton from the Chelsea Physic Garden to the Province of Georgia in 1732 and tea into India by Calcutta Botanic Garden. The transfer of germplasm between the temperate and tropical botanical gardens was undoubtedly responsible for the range of agricultural crops currently used in several regions of the tropics.

See More at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botanical_garden

Mexican Hothouse, Jardin des Plantes built 1834–36 by Charles Rohault de Fleury

Example of French glass and metal architecture

CITY OF PORT ST. LUCIE PUBLIC WORKSHOP AT THE GARDENS…

The City of Port St. Lucie held a hands-on public workshop, also known as a “design charrette,” on

Friday, March 13, 2015, at The Gardens from 1 to 5 p.m., for the purpose of creating conceptual design

ideas for the 9.75+ acre city-owned parcel located on Westmoreland Boulevard adjacent to the Botanical

Gardens.

The parcel is one of three city-owned parcels on Westmoreland Boulevard with direct access to the

North Fork of the St. Lucie River. It includes the Botanical Gardens (20 acres) to the north and a 15 acre

conservation tract to the south. The center 9.75 acre parcel has been identified by the City Council for

river-related development and recreational uses to enhance public access to the North Fork of the St.

Lucie River in association with the southern extension of the Riverwalk Boardwalk.

The purpose of the charrette, attended by close to 80 people, was to solicit public input on the future

development of the site including public access, recreational opportunities, cultural activities, and

commercial uses. The American Institute of Architects Treasure Coast Chapter conducted the charrette

on behalf of the City of Port St. Lucie. The public was invited to participate in this unique opportunity to

help design a future public project for one of the few city-owned parcels of land with direct access to the

North Fork of the St. Lucie River. It was a very productive event. Editor

Pictures Continued on Pg 9

CITY OF PORT ST. LUCIE PUBLIC WORKSHOP AT THE GARDENS…(Continued from Pg. 3)

Contact Mark Barnes

at 772.801.8800

or e-mail

Welcome to All Garden Goers…

This month our Jazz Jams will be held on

April 8th

& April 22nd starting at 6:30 pm

Donation $5 per person. Gardens & Jazz Society Members $4 per person.

Sponsored by the Fort Pierce Jazz & Blues Society

Come Join US!

S U P P O R T E R S

The Saints Golf Course is owned and operated by the City of Port St. Lucie. Located at 2601 S.E. Morningside Blvd. in a tranquil residential

neighborhood, the saints Golf Course

consists of an exceptional 18-hole

championship course, driving range

and practice area.

To schedule a tee time, please call

(772) 398-2901

THE A t P o r t S t . L u c i e G o l f C o u r s e