MARCH MEETING CANCELED

The SHGC March meeting at Moccasin Lake is canceled due to the BOK TOWER trip.

SHGC elections

There are current no candidates for the posted positions.

Update: Gary Sawtelle will continue in his role as President until July 1,
Cheryl Warth will keep the duties of vice-president until she moves later this year. 

Rebecca Cunningham is the new Recording Secretary. All other officers will retain their positions.

 

BOK TOWER TRIP

Looking forward to our BOK Tower trip!

The Bus is full but there is a self-drive option available.

Safety Harbor Garden Club Board Meeting Minutes
March 1, 2023

Present: Gary Sawtelle, Celeste Sawtelle, Gisela Bennie, Leslie Zambito, Sharen Kuckkahn, Barbara Nelson, Cheryl Warth, Jennifer Rothe, and Paula Harvey

Membership Report:         SHGC has 62 paid members – 11 of those are new members – 51 members from 2022 have not paid their dues.

Paula will send an email to the 2022 members who have not renewed their membership with a reminder to pay dues before the April Picnic.

Treasure’s Report:            Balance in the SHGC account is $5,735.97.
                                            Bok Tower Account: $1,144.95
                                            Gnomeo account: $480.22.
 The Audit has been completed. Carol Cecil will check paperwork at the end of every month.

Bok Tower Trip: 29 paid members will be riding the bus, 2 will be driving. There is no waiting list. The trip will close out at 29. An email was sent to 29 people for a lunch count. Celeste will help Cheryl with the lunch count. Bok Tower needs the lunch count by Friday, March 3 and payment for the trip on arrival. An email will be sent to participants to bring their own water and sunscreen. One stop midway will be made on the way and on the return trip.

Plant Sale: Plant sale at Folly Farm on the 2^nd Saturday – March 11.

Pollinator Pathways: Gary has contacted pollinator-pathway.org. Our club will be the first in Florida to be on the website.  The organization will manage emails and street addresses obtained from the pledges.  They have information brochures and handouts and metal yard signs. They will sell the yard signs to us at ½ price.  Gary made a motion to donate money (amount to be determined) to the Pollinator Pathway organization. Motion seconded by Leslie and passed.

Enchanted Garden Fest- March 26: This festival is the biggest and most successful event for the SHGC. The kick off for the Pollinator Pathway project will be during the Garden Fest.
Ken Fischer is building an information booth.
Information from the Florida Wildflower Foundation will be handed out at the booth.
Leslie made a motion to pay for the shipping of the educational material from the Wildflower Foundation. (there is no cost for the material). Barbara seconed the motion. Motion passed.
Cheryl and Leslie will coordinate the purchase of seeds from the Florida Wildflower Foundation. $100.00 has been budgeted for the purchase.
Cheryl will send an invitation for a “seed packing party”.
Volunteers will be needed for the festival. Some suggested volunteer positions: Help Desk – Jan Corbett? Cashier for the Plant Sale, “Helpers” to look at the site at Folly for plant ideas – Barbara has volunteered for this. Walking tours of the gardens – Nancy McClelland ?

Bloomin Chalk Fest-March 18 and 19: SHGC will be present both days to promote the Pollinator Pathways. A committee chair will be needed – 2 tables with brochures and volunteers. Possibly bring the “Help Desk”. Mail Chimp will provide information and seek volunteers.

Newsletter: The newsletter has been posted on the website a day after the board meeting. In the past an email has been sent out to members with a link to the newsletter. We need to educate members to go to the newsletter to find updated information.

Nursery Needs: Our plant nursery needs 1 gallon nursery pots and some 3 gallon pots. People who purchase plants have been asked to return pots.

April Picnic: It was decided to host the annual picnic at Folly Farms in the Barn area. Tours of the gardens will be provided. Gary will reserve the barn.

SHGC Award: Gisela has selected a house behind the Safety Harbor History Museum on Iron Age to receive the garden award. The home embellishes the front with art from local artists. The sign was in need of repair. Gisela contacted the company that made the sign and they repaired it at no cost.

Programs for Membership Meetings: Cheryl will be moving in June or July. She has arranged speakers for the membership meetings for May, June, September and October. The club does not meet in July or August.

President and Vice President Openings: Gary will continue to serve as president for the months of May and June. The search will continue for two members who will serve in these capacities.

SHGC Committee Structure: Need for committees was discussed. The by-laws give some direction as far as standing committees. Gary asked that board members email him with suggestions of committees that need to keep going.

Respectfully submitted,

Paula Harvey

All hands on deck for the Enchanted Garden Fest!

We need our members to block the date and come out and volunteer.
Sunday, March 26th

It will be a plant sale on steroids!
Showcasing two of our projects
Pollinator Pathway and Gnomeo 

Keep checking our website for more information 

THE GNOMEO PROJECT is underway!

Each Year for the past few years the Safety Harbor Garden Club has added enhancements to the Folly Farm Nature Preserve. In 2021 we won the state-wide award of excellence for Beautification and Enhancement!

If you walk about at Folly today, you will see that we have added a Butterfly Labyrinth, a Wind Phone, multiple gardens, blue bird boxes and more!

This year our enhancement is a sculpture of a giant gnome made from reclaimed wood combined with a piece by sculptor Kumpa Tawornprom.

For many years local artist and sculptor, Kumpa Tawornprom, had visions about adding sculptures to the gardens at Folly Farm.

When Shannon Schafer, Recreation Superintendent, was approached with the sculpture idea she immediately produced some photos of giant troll sculptures created by Thomas Dambo. (Thomas Dambo is an artist based out of Denmark. He has giant troll sculptures in place around the world and is currently building his 100^th giant troll!)

They are fantastic!

Local artist (and SHGC member) Chris Dotson was aware of the Dambo sculptures. He also had a friend, Sean Carberry, who had expressed interest in building a giant troll! 

The Gnomeo Project was born!

A decision to create a giant gnome rather than a troll kept to themes already established at Folly.

GNOMEO!

If you were at last year's world premiere of the play "The Origin of Magic at Folly Farm ..." you will recognize the name "Gnomeo"!

Gnomeo

Gnomeo will be constructed from discarded lumber.

He will stand approximately 17 feet tall.

Chris Dotson created a scale mock-up of the sculpture.

Sean Carberry designed the sculpture infrastructure and has committed resources from his contracting company.   

Kumpa is fabricating the head using foam and fiberglass. There will be additional treatments to make the appearance look like the wood used in the rest of the sculpture,

Rebekah Mason, Laura Kepner, Leslie Zambito and Celeste Sawtelle soon joined the team. 

Initial construction will begin mid-February and final assembly will have a March 26 deadline to coincide with the Folly Farm “Enchanted Garden Fest”. At that time, the public is invited to join in on a “community build” to complete any unfinished pieces!  

Gnomeo photos

Sean and Zack in the Gnomeo workshop (Folly Barn)

Kumpa brings "Chromeo" to 3rd Friday

3rd Friday on Main Street 2 17 23

 

City Hall

At work in one of Kumpa's studios

at Kumpa's studio

Gnomeo cut-away

The designer with his work!

SAFETY HARBOR POLLINATOR PATHWAY Update:

Our SHGC Pollinator Pathway project
start-up date is moving to
March 26
during the "Enchanted Garden Fest"!

The Pathway project invites gardeners to
plant native host and nectar plants.  

To join our "Pollinator Pathway," gardeners will sign a pledge to avoid pesticides and herbicides and use natural fertilizers such as composted materials.

They will also have the opportunity to purchase a metal  "Pathway" sign as shown above!  

We have been working hard in the nursery to build up our native plant inventories in anticipation of the start-up. 

In addition to having native plants for sale we will officially open our help kiosk. It will be stocked with hand-out materials from the Florida Native Wildflower foundation as well as other sources.

(Our volunteers at the Enchanted Garden Fest will
be supplied with elf ears and Gnome hats!!) 

The Pathway project will soon have its own page on our website.

PHOTOS FROM THE FIELD

February Plant Sale again surpassed $500 in donations!
Thank you volunteers!

Mullet Monday continues!

SHGC promoting Pollinator Pathway and Gnomeo projects at Moccasin Lake Park

Cary brings an unusual plant to the monthly meeting plant swap!
Mercily wants a piece!

Carol works at the Safety Harbor History Museum planting native flowers.
Part of our Pollinator Pathway initiative.

Nancy checks one of our bluebird boxes as Celeste looks on.
We have activity!
Nancy is logging activity at the boxes and we will post updates on the website.

Thanks for reading!

Our next newsletter will be posted directly to the Website,
no email link will be sent.
Make it a point to check in to the website
on a regular basis to stay up to date 

Volunteer for one of our events!

Keep checking our website for information.