On May 14 th the FFGC Floral City Garden Club will meet at 11:00 am at the Floral City Community House at the Town Center.

Citrus Beautification Award to Floral City Organizations

Members and visitors will bring their own beverage and lunch bag for enjoying at 11:30, followed by the business meeting at 12:00. Wearing masks and distancing will apply.
President Susie Metcalfe will preside as the Club recaps the successful Annual Plant Sale and finalizes plans for hosting the FFGC District V Meeting. There is still time to register to attend the District V Meeting to be held on May 19 th at the Inverness Golf & Country Club.

Send reservations to Kathy Lingusky at YarnWrangler@gmail.com or give her a call at (352) 56403704 by
the 10 May deadline.

A highlight will be a presentation of the Pride Award by Keep Citrus County Beautiful at 11am. This Award will be jointly presented to the Garden Club and the Floral City Heritage Council. The organizations have joined forces for the work initiated to beautify the corner of US 41 and CR 48 and for the floral sculptures added to the Town Center. The Heritage Council has installed the antique-style street sign along Orange Avenue in the National Register Historic District.

Following this meeting members and guests are invited to tour the gardens of two Club members, Susie Metcalfe and Carol Kanka. These members have waterfront property and are known for their well-kept landscapes containing a wide variety of plants. These civic beautification projects are being supported by Club fund raisers, and business and private contributions.

Donations are gratefully accepted to complete the US 41/CR 48 Corner Project and can be sent to F. C. Garden Club, Inc. at
P.O. Box 833,
Floral City, FL
34436 noting “Civic Beautification.”

At the gathering on May 14 th , Horticulture Chair Kathy Lingusky will share knowledge and lessons learned with the group. In her recent “Horticulture Hints” she was exclaiming the virtues of Epsom Salts for in-ground and potted plants. “Epsom Salts also known as magnesium sulfate, is made up of magnesium, sulfur and oxygen. It has a interesting history. Epsom is a small town in Surrey, England, just south of London, where the mineral was discovered during a period of drought in 1618,” says Kathy.

“A local cowherd’s man named Henry Wicker found that his cattle refused to drink from a puddle of water bubbling up in the middle of the town’s common. He tasted it and found that it was ‘bitter’ water. However, he also discovered that any wounds that the cattle may have had when they waded into the water seemed to heal more quickly than normal. The rest is history,” Kathy states. “Epsom, England, was soon to become a spa town, And the mineral is now all the rage in gardening circles on Pinterest,” Kathy continues. “I’ve had a fair amount of personal experience with the stuff, and I swear by it. I put it in every planting hole I dig and in every pot I plant.”

“Studies have been done on the mineral and they seem to suggest that its best use is that of a foliar spray – dissolve in water and spray on the foliage of the plant- and it is only necessary if the soil is low in magnesium. The only thing I have found that doesn’t benefit from its use is cacti. For some reason the cacti that I have used it on have died forthwith!” Kathy concludes, “Please keep in mind that this is only my opinion and anecdotal evidence. Nothing more.”
Kathy, also, shared in her “Hints” that she has had great success growing Campari’s tomatoes from the seeds of salad tomatoes she purchased from a local grocery store. She had not tried these before and it was an education for her. She thinks they must be disease resistant, don’t grow big or gangly and bear prolifically. Proof was in the eating since they taste just like the originals!

Only one caution was expressed and that was that the clusters get so heavy that they break the stem, so individual clusters need to be supported.
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Visitors and new members are always welcome at the FFGC Floral City Garden Club gatherings, so plan to attend our May 14th meeting. Visit the Club website at www.floralcitygardenclub.weebly.com

Incoming Club President Carol Wood may be reached at (813-235-3917 or carolwood@outlook.com.