Our June speaker, Kara Krueger is a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Environmental Horticulture Extension Agent for Palm Beach County. She joined UF/IFAS Extension in November 2022, and in her role, Kara works with residents, Homeowner Associations, and landscape professionals to provide education and programs on Florida-Friendly Landscaping™, landscape best management practices (BMPs), and general horticultural issues. The goal is to connect landscape professionals, homeowners, and other residents to the importance of environmental stewardship through our landscapes. She has extensive knowledge of plant selection, landscape installation, and maintenance. Kara earned her Master’s in Environmental Horticulture from the University of Florida and then worked for a private landscape company specializing in high-end estates for nearly nine years.
Program Description
South Florida’s climate affords us the opportunity to grow productive, functional land-capes. Many common, and some not-so-common, herbs can be grown in ground here in Florida. Everything from trees to ground covers, we will talk about how to incorporate herbs in the landscape and expand the usefulness of your garden.
Your board members enjoyed telling you everything we learned about the IHA Herb of the Year Chamomile in May, and we hope that you enjoyed hearing about it. Many thanks to Ingrid Menz, Roland Gaudet, KC Foster and Marci Green (and yours truly) for their contributions to this effort.
Most of us are pruning our landscapes in preparation for summer, and planning what changes we may want to make, which is why we are happy to have Kara Krueger, Environmental Horticulture Extension Agent, as our presenter this month. It‘s always good to have a professional perspective, no matter if our yard is huge or postage-stamp size.
Remember that this meeting will be the last before our July and August summer break. We will resume regular meetings in September.
News from the Garden of Well-being
Even without the support of rain, the repaired sprinklers in the garden have been working and everything is doing well. The plants that were donated from the Spring sale have been planted and are well established. The roses are blooming despite the heat. The false roselles are healthy and we’re looking forward to them blooming in the fall. The bigger plants like the hedge and the yerba mate tree have been trimmed and are looking wonderful. People who visit seem to really enjoy the garden and are lingering to learn more about our plantings.
If you are planning to visit the Mounts Botanical Garden this summer to see the Garden of Well-Being, keep in mind that they have shifted to their summer schedule: Tuesday through Saturday, 9:00 - 3:00 (last entry at 2:00 p.m.)
Bernard Pages and Tom Hewitt are planning a plant photography workshop in July. This will not be a regular meeting, so no tasting table, raffle or newsletter, but it should be an educational workshop. According to Tom, “Join us for a presentation on various gardens, drawing inspiration on how to improve our own gardens. Monet’s Garden, as well as smaller private gardens will be featured.” If you think you will be in town in July and might be interested, do check in with Bernard at the sign-in table.
For our September meeting, Ingrid Menz is working with our member and talented Indian chef Uma Bhatti on a program about herbs used in Indian cuisine. There will be a sample for tasting (yum!)
Several of our Board members are working on bringing back our Gifts That Grow workshop next October. More news on that as we progress. We are working on a variety of entertaining and educational activities for the fall season. More news in September!
This should be a fun meeting, and will give us some ideas about updating our plantings in the fall.
