a tour of Gene Joyner's Unbelievable Acres Botanic Gardens for our members. The tour took place on July 25 in the evening, and our group was joined by 8-9 members of the Begonia Society. There were 34 people on the tour in total. The people were split into two groups by the tour guides (Larry Grosser and Jane Sample) so that everyone would be better able to hear. Bernard reports that the garden was very lush this year, the temperature was relatively mild, and there were no mosquitoes(!).
Our secretary Marci Green attended the North Carolina Herb Assoc. Wild Herb Weekend on July 21-23 in beautiful Valle Crucis, N.C. and had a marvelous time. There's too much info to go into here, but maybe she will have a report on that soon.
This month's program is a joint effort of four of our board members, and will prove to be informative and entertaining, I'm sure.
See you at the meeting September 26,
Your friendly neighborhood webmaster,
Mary
News from the Garden of Well Being/Herb Garden
It has been so hot and humid during the summer that it was very difficult to go out in the garden and work. I would get up at 6 am to push myself to be at the Mounts by 8 am and head for the Herb Garden. On the way there, my tool/supply bucket already got heavier and heavier. It was the heat.
I always enter from the front scanning what needs the most attention. Well, during the rainy season, all the plants and trees grew like they were on steroids. Since every bed needed attention, I started in the front since this is the door that invites the members and guests to this fragrant world.
The false Roselle has grown like a forest, its wonderfully green, 10 foot tall but no blooms, I am still waiting for them. The “true” Roselle is doing well and blooming. The culinary herbs, such as tarragon and basil peppers are doing well. However, the sage, rosemary and thyme did not make it through the summer. The mints are greatly suffering as well. I am waiting for cooler weather and then get new plants to refresh the herb garden.
The trees are doing well, some are too large and the intention is to cut them smaller, either in height or width. That is the job for the garden staff as I am not allowed to climb on a ladder. Thank God, I don’t have the same restriction at my house.
The various gingers are lush with growth. The cacao tree is bigger and more beautiful than ever with lots of cacao pods on the tree. It’s fortunate that the leaves are really large to hide them well. I remember when we first got the tree and it was still small, the tree already produced fruit and it disappeared. So the garden staff shrouded the little tree in orange netting. That stopped the theft. The vanilla orchid vine is doing better since there is more shade from the oak tree and surrounding plants.
Come out and visit the garden, I am there every Thursday morning and would love to see you.
Ingrid Menz