Tour Sundance Orchid Nursery

Members only! Tour Sundance Orchid Nursery. 16095 S. Pebble Lane, Fort Myers. Meet at Publix (Cape Coral Parkway and Santa Barbara). Car pool leaves at 8:45 am. Tour starts at 10 am. Followed by lunch at Bahama Breeze 14701 S. Tamiami Trail.

History of the Garden Club – Breeze Staff & Tom Hayden

History of the Garden Club - Staff & Tom Hayden

History of the Garden Club

November 24, 2020
By Staff & Tom Hayden - Garden Club of Cape Coral (Special to The BreezeCape Coral Breeze
Click Here for full article in the Cape Coral Breeze
Tracing the roots of Cape Coral’s growth can literally and figuratively be found in a “garden.”

One of the first clubs to organize in the community was the Cape Coral Garden Club. The club got an organizational push from the community’s first club, the Cape Coral Women’s Club, which started in 1959 and was the idea of first resident Kenny Schwartz. The Women’s Club believed a garden club was needed in the community.

In the spring of 1960, Helen Johnson, of the Everglades Nursery, spoke to a group of Cape Coral residents at the Nautilus Inn about gardening. That talk inspired about 68 people, spearheaded by residents Helen and Otto Sheldon and Dick and Sally Crawford, to form the garden club under the direction of first president Thomas Fleming.

The group’s bylaws provided the direction:

“To stimulate a knowledge and love of gardening.”

“To improve and conserve the beauty of Cape Coral.”

The launch of the club also inspired land developers, Gulf American Corporation, to film the start of a beautification mission, which still exists today.

In 1961, Ann Copenhaver took over as president of the club, which had annual dues of $1.50. The dues bought residents advice from gardening experts and horticulturists on the proper ways to prepare soil and to plant or the right techniques to create a beautifully landscaped yard.

Later, the group also collected funds that purchased gardening books for the Cape Coral Public Library and Caloosa Middle School. Members also planted trees and created a project, called the “forest,” between Cape Coral Hospital and the middle school.

The club had members who were gardening experts. For instance, Daisy Shepard specialized in hibiscus varieties and Madge York knew everything about orchids. And there was not a question too difficult for Bill Norton, who was known as the club’s “answer man,” according to Cape Coral Breeze articles.

Cape gardening stayed true to its roots with the formation of the non-profit Garden Club of Cape Coral in 1997. The club was founded by master gardener Marty Ward and longtime gardening friend Beverly Ray. The 23 paid members had their first meetings at Ward’s home under the direction of president Sherie Bleiler. The club quickly established affiliations with the National Garden Clubs Inc., and the Fort Myers-Lee County Garden Council Inc.

As club membership grew, meetings were moved to a local church and then to the Kiwanis Club of Cape Coral.

The club participated in many projects, including planting and maintaining planters along Cape Coral Parkway and maintaining the Tiny Tots Garden for children at Four Freedoms Park.

The group also has an important part of history on its side. It maintains the prestigious Rose Garden at the Cape Coral Museum of History on Cultural Park Boulevard.

The roses were originally part of a national tourist attraction, called Cape Coral Gardens, which also included the famous Waltzing Waters, lakes and water ski shows, plus hosted many celebrities such as Bob Hope. The garden included more than 40,000 roses. The attraction, facing funding issues, closed in 1969, giving way to development. It is now the site of Tarpon Point.

But the roses were soon to bloom again. In 1990, Lois Herbert wanted to pay tribute to the memory of her father, Russell Herbert, and asked the museum if it would be willing to pay tribute to him and to the roses. A new rose garden was dedicated in front of the museum on Memorial Day 1991. The garden was redesigned in 2007 with raised flower beds. A team of garden club members visit the rose garden to take care of the precious flowers.

The Garden Club continues to educate the community about important landscaping and environmental techniques through various events and in a weekly column found in the Cape Coral Breeze.

Submitted by Tom Hayden, a Cape Coral Museum of History board member. As we celebrate 50 years as a city, much of our area’s history, chronicled at the museum, will be featured twice a month in similar articles provided to the Cape Coral Breeze.

Foodscaping for the New Year – Deborah Haggett

Foodscaping for the New Year

December 20, 2020
By Deborah Haggett - Garden Club of Cape Coral (Special to The BreezeCape Coral Breeze
Click Here for full article in the Cape Coral Breeze

I typically don’t make New Year’s resolutions, but in these uncertain times traditions can help firm the ground beneath you. In light of that, for 2021, I plan to explore the possibilities of foodscaping in my garden. Foodscaping is a landscaping strategy in which edibles are integrated into a typical ornamental garden. Rather than dedicated yard areas for herb and vegetable gardening, foodscaping takes advantage of small spaces by filling the open spaces around your ornamentals with edibles such as tomatoes, lettuce, pumpkin, garlic and basil. The list goes on!

“The Foodscape Revolution” (2017) by author Brie Arthur, looks at foodscaping design in terms of the principle, “Right Plant/Right Place/Right Time.” She describes her landscape as having three zones based on the amount of attention needed for success. Zone 1 is closest to the house near the foundation with a suggested mix of 50% ornamentals to 50% edibles. Zone 2 is mid-yard with a 60/40 mix. Zone 3, the farthest from the house, requires the least care and incorporates an 80/20 mix of ornamentals to edibles. When considering the right place for your plants, remember, most edibles need full sun to partial shade and well-drained soil.

Arthur suggests starting with the edges of your garden beds due to its convenient location for planting and harvesting. Her favorites in the cool season are garlic, salad greens, onion, parsley, and potato. As the weather warms, replace these with basil, beans, peanuts, peppers and soybeans. If you are looking for a groundcover, she suggests arugula or pumpkin. I would include Malabar spinach for a fast growing, heat tolerant, green to purple leaved, vining groundcover. It is both beautiful and nutritious.

As a specimen plant, imagine a 12-foot upright, evergreen Barbados cherry bush or a border of these bushes with their pink to lavender flowers that bloom from May to November. The sweet to tart fruit, although not a real cherry, is small, red and apple-shaped. It is considered a power fruit as it contains high amounts of vitamin C. One study notes that one cup of these tiny cherries is equivalent to the vitamin C in 16 oranges. Be advised, you will be competing with the birds for this flavorful fruit at harvest time.

Planting herbs and vegetables in the winter is counterintuitive to many of us from the north. However, January in Florida provides the cooler weather needed for growing such herbs as tarragon, thyme, dill, fennel and mint. January is also the last month gardeners should plant potatoes, beets, broccoli, kale and turnips, to name a few. The South Florida Gardening Calendar, on the University of Florida/I FAS website, provides a month-by-month planting guide to assist you in planting the right plant in the right place at the right time.

Edibles add color and beauty to our yards, while rewarding us with fresh, healthy food for our table. Foodscaping empowers us, provides us with exercise, purpose and a sustainable food source. Not a bad resolution to start the new year!

Happy gardening and Happy New Year!

Deborah Haggett is a Lee County Master Gardener Volunteer and a member of the Garden Club of Cape Coral. Visit us at Garden Club of Cape Coral

Arthur, B. (2017). The foodscape revolution: Finding a better way to make space for food and beauty in your garden. Pittsburgh, PA: St. Lynn’s Press

Brown, S.H. & Cooprider K. (2016, March). Barbados cherry (Malpighia glabra): Identification, Uses, and Maintenance. (No longer in print).

Edible Landscaping

South Florida Gardening Calendar

Malpighia glabra Fact Sheet

Acerola Cherry Superfruit

Blue Star Dedication Ceremony

The dedication ceremony is on Monday,
November 30th, at Eco Preserve at 1:30 PM.
President Ann will be sending out an invitation via
email to all members. Please note that it is vital
that you respond yes or no – seating is extremely
limited since the ceremony is being held under
the Pavilion at Eco Park and we need to preserve social distancing. Seats will be allocated on a first come, first seated basis. Of course, you may also
attend and watch the ceremony from outside the
Gazebo. There will be an honor guard provided
by the American Legion, music from our own
Ellen Morris, and the marker will be accepted by
the Mayor of Cape Coral on behalf of the city.
Taps will be played at the end of the ceremony
and there will be a 21-gun salute.

Plant Sale at Rotary Park

Tropical Plant Bazaar at Rotary Park

Join us for a Tropical Plant Bazaar at Rotary Park on Saturday, October 24 from 9:00am – 2:00pm.  

The Garden Club of Cape Coral will have a table offering a wide variety of plants for sale. Tropical plants, edible plants, bromeliads, palms, butterfly plants and even some native plants will be available for purchase