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.

 

 Safety Harbor Garden Club 

 

Newsbreak!

SHGC President Gary Sawtelle is resigning his position after three years as president.

SHGC 1st Vice President Leslie Zambito is resigning her position after three years as Vice-President 

As a result, our nominating committee is seeking out members interested in the following three offices including that of Assistant Treasurer:

President
1st Vice President
Assistant Treasurer 

Officer Job Descriptions 

The President shall:

A.  Be the official representative of the Club.

B.  Preside at all Board and Regular Meetings.

C.  Appoint all Chairpersons of Standing and Special Committees, subject to the approval of the Board.

D.  Consult with the Treasurer in appointing the Budget committee.
E.  Be ex-officio member of all Standing and Special

Committees, except the Nominating Committee.
F. Communicate with membership.

 

The First Vice-President shall:

A.  Perform the duties of the President in absence of, 

or by request of, the President.

B.  The elected First Vice-President shall be 

Program Chair.

Assistant Treasurer  

The Assistant Treasurer shall perform the duties of the Treasurer in the event of absence of the Treasurer.

Current Held Positions

Paula Harvey - 2nd VP. Membership
Karen Isak - Recording Secretary
1st Treasurer - Celeste Sawtelle
2nd Treasurer - Vacant

Social Secretary - Barbara Nelson
Publicity - Sharen Kuckkahn
Webmaster - Judy Zaccaria
Hospitality - Jennifer Rothe

If you are interested in any of the three available positions reach out to a member of our nominating committee:

Sharen Kuckkahn, Gisela Bennie, Nancy McClelland

Election of officers will take place at the March general membership meeting.

There has never been a better time to step into the roles of President, Vice-President or Assistant Treasurer of our garden club!

You'll have an experienced, fun team to work with and loads of support!

We need you!

For more information email: SafetyHarborGardenClub@gmail.com

Gary and Leslie aren't leaving us! They have thoroughly enjoyed their roles as President and Vice-President and look forward to serving the Club in their roles at Folly Farm Nature Preserve.

   

                                        Announcing

Folly Farm Nature Preserve Positions

appointed by SHGC president w/board approval

 

Nancy McClelland

 Folly Farm Gardens Manager

 Manages “Folly Farmers” volunteers to maintain gardens. 

Focus on enhancing and expanding the Folly Garden experience.

Knowledgeable in native plant use in landscape designs. 

Good communications skills.

Able to leap tall ant mounds in a single bound.

Works closely with Folly Farm Nursery Manager.

Gary Sawtelle

Folly Farm Garden Manager Assistant

City of Safety Harbor Folly Farm Site Beautification Technician

 

 Leslie Zambito

Folly Farm Nursery Manager

 Manages “Folly Farmers” volunteers to maintain nursery.

Focus on native plant propagation.
Knowledgeable in nursery operations.
Good communication skills.
Works closely with Folly Farm Gardens Manager to determine preferred plant inventory.
Acts as SHGC Folly Farm liaison to City of Safety Harbor.

 

 Gary Sawtelle

Folly Farm Nursery Manager Assistant

City of Safety Harbor Folly Farm Site Beautification Technician

*******************************************************

The SHGC is also searching for a Newsletter Editor:

 

SHGC Newsletter Editor

 Publishes a fun monthly online-newsletter detailing the activities of the club.

Activities reported include monthly meetings
 and special events.

 Must be able to write and edit content.

Experience in photography and photo editing a plus!

 Works with and has the support and input from the President and board to keep the membership informed of all current events and information.

Interested? Or need more information? 

Email: SafetyHarborGardenClub@gmail.com

  

 

 

 

December SHGC News

Happy Holidays! 

Monday, December 5

Mullet Monday!

We added plants to the beds and did some pruning and weeding
at Mullet Creek Park

8:30 start-up 

Sunday, December 11th

Kiwanis Plant Sale on Main Street
8AM - 4:00PM

Donations topped $1200! 

************************************************

SHGC Christmas Party

Moccasin Lake Nature Park

Thursday, December 15
11:30 AM

Thank You to our Hospitality Team 

led by Jennifer Rothe 

for a Beautiful Party!

Sharen Kuckhan,
Karen Bredow,
Carol Zieres,
Linda Howard
Paula Harvey
Karen Isak 

You even worked through a tropical storm and a 

tornado watch! 

The decorations, centerpieces, food, program!

everything was truly magical.

Jennifer, you really know how to throw a party!

It takes a lot of time, energy and patience 

Thank You!

*************************************

An open letter to our members...

We are blessed with such an amazing group of volunteers. 

(I started to list you all by name but...) 

We have great talent in every position!

And the work being done by our "Folly Farmers" and the Twins in our gardens at Folly Farm and Mullet Creek is nothing short of amazing!

Thank you all! 

I am inspired by everyone's commitment to our projects to make Safety Harbor beautiful. 

Every day we are thanked by
visitors to the parks we garden.

I am so proud of every single member for their efforts making our club great. 

Congratulations to our "Person of the Year"

Nancy McClelland

Truly, well deserved!

Gary Sawtelle, Nancy McClelland, Leslie Zambito

Nancy is a fine example of the spirit of volunteerism that we have in our club. She is cheerful, hard-working and forever sharing her knowledge!

An unstoppable force in the pursuit of creating a garden for all to enjoy.

A Master of Folly, indeed!

Thank You!

And thank you to my wife, Celeste,
She is the reason I have been able 

to give my time and energy to our club. 

She is the garden of my soul.

Thank you, my dear, for your inspiration and support. 

*****************************************

 

 Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah,
Happy New Year
However, you celebrate 
I hope you experience holiday magic!

Looking Forward:

2023 is going to be a busy year
for our club.
 IMPORTANT DATES / ANNOUNCEMENTS

Sunday, January 8 

Sandy Huff will be celebrating her
80th trip around the sun!

Her husband Bill and crew are hosting an open house from 1 pm to 5 pm at their house located at 3530 Fairview Street, Safety Harbor. (If you get lost call Sandy at 727-420-6184)

There will be food and birthday cake with ice cream! 

Please come, either for the whole time, or whatever time you can spare. She doesn't need any presents, but a chance to visit with you will make it a precious day, so do bring a big smile.

 PS to help the party organizers, rsvp to Huffsandy@aol,com 
727-420-6184 

Extra guests are welcome.

Saturday, January 14th

2nd Saturday Plant Sale at Folly Farm
9-noon

Volunteers needed at 8:30 please  

SHGC Membership Meeting

Moccasin Lake Nature Park

Wednesday, January 18 

9:30 AM 

James B Stevenson

Education & Outreach Supervisor
Brooker Creek Preserve

 January topic “The Buzz on FL Pollinators”

 His specialty is Botany and Native Plants

James is an Extension Specialist with the University of Florida IFAS Extension Services in Pinellas County; he works out of the Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center in Tarpon Springs.  There he teaches classes on a variety of natural resource conservation topics, including plant identification, botany, entomology, ecology and particular groups of native plants such as orchids.  Exploring the natural world has been James’ passion since growing up in Clearwater.

He received his bachelor’s degree in Plant Ecology from the University of the South in Sewanee, TN and then worked in botanical gardens around the world, from North Carolina to Europe & Israel.  Before returning to Florida in 2006, James worked in the UK on his advanced degree at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and as the Assistant Curator at the University of Oxford Botanic Garden. 

Saturday, January 28  

Seed Swap

10AM - Noon

Folly Barn

Safety Harbor Garden Club is sponsoring a seed swap! This is an opportunity for gardeners to organize their seed collections and get rid of the ones they don’t want. 

Bring your seeds in envelopes, we will provide bins to sort them into. If you do not have seeds, still come, pick out your seeds and leave a cash donation in its place.

Saturday, January 28 

Volunteer Appreciation Cookout and Firepit

4:00PM- 6:00PM Gazebo Cookout

6:00PM Firepit 

A big thank you to all of our volunteers!

If you volunteered your time to our club, in any capacity, 

you are invited to come join the fun!  

Big Foot sighting?
No!
It's our very own giant gnome "Gnomeo"
Now under construction by Chris Dotson!

Thank you for a great year!

Safety Harbor Garden Club is Awesome!

  

 IMPORTANT DATES / ANNOUNCEMENTS

Monday, November 7

Mullet Monday!

We'll be adding plants to the beds and doing some pruning and weeding at Mullet Creek Park

8:30 start-up 

Saturday, November 12th

2nd Saturday Plant Sale at Folly Farm
9-noon

Volunteers needed at 8:30 please 

"FREE THE TREES"

Invasive plant mitigation along the trail

8:30am till Noon 

meet at the Folly Farm Gazebo

SHGC Membership Meeting

Moccasin Lake Nature Park

Wednesday, November 16
9:30 AM

The Delights of a Florida Winter Garden

Learn all about winter visitors to welcome to your yard with Master Gardener Liza.

For many gardens and gardeners, winter is a time of rest from the business of growing, flowering, fruiting, and weeding.

But in subtropical Florida, how do plants detect and respond to winter's arrival?

And, what are plants and gardeners busy doing in this delightful season?

Supporting migrating and over wintering birds is an additional service that Florida winter plants and gardens perform with bounty and beauty.

Refreshments 

Plant of the Month

Plant exchange  

SHGC updates
don't forget your name tag
and drinking cup 

The nursery is undergoing a makeover and it is really coming together.
next up? improved irrigation.

Michele, Karen, Leslie, Arlene and Sharen celebrate new groundcover addition in the nursery!

Janice developed a new and improved potting method in the Nursery Rows!

Our new helper in the Garden, Hunter, gets a t-shirt from Leslie, Gary and Colleen.

October plant sale was a huge success!

Rick shows the size of the torpedo grass he wrestled with in the garden he and Collen care for.

 

Colleen is happy with the burst of cooler, low humidity weather! 

The latest Garden to join the Folly Farm Gardens is called the "Pathways Garden". It's right out front along the fence line. We received a $1,000 city grant to plant all natives to help launch our Pollinator Pathways initiative. (Coming Soon)

Robert looks in on the planting of the new "Pathways" garden
along the front fence at Folly (bordering MLK). 

Chris waters in new plants in the "Pathways" garden.

Rebecca, Karen, Sharen and Julia work in the new Pathways Garden near the Folly entry sign.

Sydney and Shari helping out in the Pathways Garden

Alan and Dave add a Yaupon Holly to the Pathways Garden

Mullet Mondays continues... First Monday of every month.
Next up Monday November 7  

Carol at Mullet Mondays 

Jan is ready for action! Leslie suggests a garden that needs work during Mullet Monday.

Folly Crew dance yoga???

Our Folly Farm Fright Night event was a scary? scene near the pumpkin arch entrance to the scary trail...
Nice turn out from our members
and help from Cayden Renshaw and friends

Friday had rain and Saturday a generator malfunction,
but it was a really cool, fun event!
Our Zom-Bees looked great,
and the silhouette screen looked really good!
We had dancing and dismemberment both nights! 

Thank you and Kudos to the City Recreation Department for a great event and letting us join in! 

Hive warning sign.

"The Hive" was a big hit on Friday and Saturday night
at "Fright Nights" at Folly.

Kelsy, Brittney, Chris and Gary at Saturday night at the Hive! 

Cayden and his volunteer Zom-Bees get ready to frighten!

 Cayden and friends helped us out Friday and Saturday night.

Zom-Bees dancing in the Hive...

That Zom-bee can Dance!! 

See more photos on our Facebook page

SHGC Facebook Page

Thanks for all the support this month!