4/18/10
Garden workshop has been busy! Last month we made pots and this month we made a potting bench. I have to extend a big thank you to Molly for hosting several of our meetings. We have a great series of free classes coming up in June. Check out the calendar of events for all the info!
1/17/10
I am SOOO glad we finally have some warm weather. Hopefully some of your plants made it through the crazy freezing weather.
We had our first Garden Workshop meeting of the year at Molly's house. As usual she was a great hostess and everyone brought something delicious to eat. Great ideas were exchanged about what we would like to accomplish this year. Our February meeting will be a lot of fun; we will be making planters to fill and sell at our annual plant sale in May. They are light-weight and easy to make and you can customize them in a lot of differnt ways. Hope you come and join us!
12/14/09
Wow! Garden Workshop has been busy the past few months and I haven't had a chance to udate you.
In October, we did some landscaping around Historic Kenwood's dog park and Seminole park. We planted many shrubs and trees, including hawthorns, jasmine and crape myrtle. After all the work, we relaxed and enjoyed a picnic in the park. Over the next couple of weeks, a few people took turns hauling water to each park and giving the new plants a drink. Then mother nature cooperated and gave us some good rains. Please take a walk or drive to either of our parks and check it out.
The canned food drive provided food for some less fortunate families for Thanksgiving; thanks to all who donated.
We adopted a family, that without our help, would not have any kind of Christmas. We provided them with a Christmas tree, lots of presents and food for the holidays and beyond.
Just as we did last year, we made some monetary contributions to local charities: ASAP, Blooming Place for Kids and CASA. Helping these charities that help needy kids, women and families is our way of giving back to our community and helping our neighborhood grow.
Thank you to all the hard working HKGW members and those of you who bought plants, gave canned food or donated your time or money to help make the holidays a little brighter for those less fortunate.
Happy Holidays and a wonderful new year to all of you!!!
9/26/09
The Garden Workshop is having a canned food drive to help those less fortunate around the holidays. Please bring your canned goods you would like to donate to the next HKNA General Meeting, on Thursday, 10/1, beginning at 7pm at Hospice, corner of 1st Ave S & 31st S. Thanks in advance for all your help!
9/19/09
Once again, the Garden Workshop has been hard at work. We couldn't get done all we wanted to at Albright United Methodist Church in March so we went back for more. We pulled out all the old plantings in front of the breezeway; some were diseased and some were just old and tired. In their place, we planted a variety of attractive, low maintenance plants and mulched the area. We also trimmed up some of the existing shrubs to clean and brighten the whole grounds. Please drive by and take a look (corner of 5th Ave N/28th St) when you get a chance. It is a key intersection in our neighborhood and we enjoy helping to beautify at least one of its corners.
5/24/09
WOW! What a great group of gardeners! We were a little unsure a couple of months ago as to how many plants we could have ready for our plant sale. But as always, this group toiled endlessly and we had a fantastic array of plants for sale last Saturday. It was a beautiful day and the sale was a success. Special thanks to Tom and Kim for the amazing variety and number of plants they brought. The money raised will go to benefit local charities and continue to grow the neighborhood.
Please check out the great pix that Laura and Bill shot on our HKGW Photo page!
4/20/09
Yesterday we had our monthly HKGW meeting at Kim and Tom’s house, where we met to learn about container and alley gardening, as well as canning. They made it all seem so easy and their gardens are lush and fruitful. The best part was each of us left with our very own garden in a pot, that Kim and Tom had so graciously potted up for us. Some fresh herbs and veggies were also exchanged.
Don’t forget our 4th annual HKGW plant sale is just around the corner, at the Albright United Methodist church, on Saturday, May 16th. If you have any plants or cuttings you would like to donate to the cause, please contact us. Hope to see you there!
3/23/09
Spring has sprung! It has been and will continue to be (at least for a few weeks), perfect gardening weather. So get out and get dirty!
In case you weren't with us getting dirty this past Saturday, you need to drive by and take a look at the new and improved landscaping around Albright United Methodist church (corner 5th Ave N & 28th St). We weeded, trimmed, created new beds, mulched and planted some colorful, hearty new plants. The memory garden received a facelift and is more comforting and much more memorable now. The biggest change is to the area around the HKNA sign where a brand new bed was created; it is filled with jatropha, purple fountain grass, crown of thorns and liriope. We planted a similar grouping around the signpost along the I-275 exit ramp in January last year. Thanks to all who participated! It looks fabulous! Check out the pix that Sue/Bill took that I posted on the HKGW photo page.
2/17/09
I know, I know! I have been a total slacker since December. That darn day job! Hopefully you and your plants survived the holidays and the cold weather we had. I don't know about you but I am ready for spring!
The Garden Workshop had a very informative meeting in January. David Harris taught us all about bamboo and provided cuttings to anyone who wanted one. We challenged each other to see who could grow the biggest bamboo by the plant sale in May. Some of us will be happy to just keep them alive. Mine is looking pretty sad but it is still alive and hopefully will start sprouting soon.
Speaking of the plant sale....if you have any plants in your garden that are getting too big or that you don't want or that you would just like to share with us, please give us a shout or come to one of our meetings. Someone can come over and take some cuttings to get some nice new plants growing for the sale.
Our next meeting is 9am this Saturday at Molly's house, 801 22nd St N. Hope to see you there!
12/21
Seasons Greetings from Sweet Pea!
Most of us are so busy all year long we don't get a chance to spend enough time with the people we really care about! Let them know how much you care and take the time now to send that snail mail card or an email. Or pick up the phone and talk to that friend or family member that has been on your mind. I hope all of you have a warm and wonderful holiday! And take a little time to smell the roses...and maybe plant one too!
12/21
It has been a busy year for the Historic Kenwood Garden Workshop!
The year began with our plantings around the street sign on the off ramp of I-275 at 5th Avenue. It only took a couple of hours for us to turn the plain sign into the focal point of that area. Garden workshop volunteers made regular watering runs until the plants got established, as well as stopping by to weed and trim occasionally to keep it looking fabulous.
Then our focus switched to our annual plant sale. Many weeknights and Saturdays go into making these plant sales a success. Thanks again to Sharon and Allen for allowing us to use their back yard as a nursery as we divided plants, made cuttings and got a wonderful variety of plants potted up and ready for sale.
A few times during the year, we put all the HKGW member names into a hat and the lucky winner gets a garden makeover. Cat and Tim were the lucky winners this year and we created a water garden for them one morning. We did a lot of digging for the pond and the trench for the electrical and many members who had water gardens brought cuttings to get them started.
Garden workshop members and other HK neighbors donated items for our yard sale in October. We would like to thank our wonderful neighbors at the Albright United Methodist Church, on the corner of 5th Ave N & 28th St for so generously allowing us to use the church parking lot for both the plant and yard sales.
Using the monies we raised, we were able to make donations to local charities and families. A Blooming Place for Kids and ASAP’s Brighter Season for Children each received $800 which will help to make the holidays much brighter for some needy children. We also adopted a family and were able to buy mall gift cards for each of the kids, a Publix gift certificate and a well deserved massage and facial were donated by Marcia for the mom. Susan and Terry have donated a Christmas tree, and best of all, Vincent is cooking an entire Christmas dinner for the family!
CASA made us aware of another needy family and we were able to purchase a much needed crib for the baby, thanks to donations from some good people who aren't even HK residents or gardeners, but who wanted to spread some holiday joy & love.
HKGW members enjoy seeing the fruits of their hard labor going back into the community, helping to make our neighborhood grow!
11/5
Sweet Pea would like to thank all of you that participated in our HK Garden Workshop yard sale on Saturday, 10/18. There was quite an assortment of items for sale, from furniture to holiday decorations. The treasure hunters who stopped by were very pleased with the bargains they got. The money raised will go to local charities and needy families to make the holidays a little merrier.
10/2
Hi again! Sweet Pea here with some news about a great Florida Native Plant Sale this weekend.
Panels Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society Plant Sale
Sat. Oct. 4th, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Brooker Creek Preserve @ Environmental Education Cntr, 3940 Keystone Rd, Tarpon Springs
Entertaining & Informative Programs:
10 am "Using Natives to Attract the Right Kind
of Wildlife to Your Yard"
11 am “Getting Started With Natives: How to
Incorporate Native Plants into an Existing Landscape”
Wildlife-friendly plants & fall-blooming wildflowers on sale
Children’s Activities
For information about this event and our other activities,
please visit our website PinellasNativePlants.org
or call our info line: 727-544-7341
It should be a beautiful weekend so get out and enjoy the weather!
9/10/08
We have been very lucky this year (knock on wood) and have not received any really bad weather from the tropical storms and hurricanes (yet). Our neighbors to the south in the Caribbean have not been so lucky. A fellow gardener, Laura Schaus, has asked that I share the following with you.
Bahamas Habitat - volunteer opportunity
Relieving Disaster, Promoting Community
http://www.bahamashabitat.org/wordpress/?cat=93
Many of you know that I am actively involved with the local Panels
Habitat for Humanity organization and Bahamas Habitat as well. I
spent a week in February this year on a construction related project
in Eleuthera Bahamas. This was a life enriching experience for me.
Hurricane Ike has badly affected the most southern Bahamas island of
Inagua. Donations of food / clothing / construction supplies are
needed now. Volunteer teams to help with recovery / construction
efforts may soon become another need in Inagua.
Please visit this site and share it with others who may also be
inclined to help: http://www.bahamashabitat.org/wordpress/?cat=93
9/9/08
I am sure you have heard by now that our very own CF Hawkins is now a manager at Savanna's Nursery, located at 2601 34th St S. Many of you were there for the great sale over Labor Day weekend. If you have not been to Savanna's, you should check it out. CF says there are new and exciting things on the horizon!
8/25/08
Hi! Sweet Pea here!
Sorry it's been so long since I've written but I have big news so mark your calendars!
You know all those things that have been collecting dust in your closet or garage? The ones you can't decide if you should keep or sell? Well, now is your chance to get rid of them and help those less fortunate at the same time.
The Garden Workshop is having a rummage/yard sale on Saturday, 10/18, beginning at 8am. It will be in the Albright United Methodist Church parking lot on the corner of 5th Ave and 28th St N.
HKGW members will be at the church Friday night from 5:30-8:00 pm to collect your goodies.
October is the perfect time for some fall cleaning and to start thinking about lending a helping hand to make the holidays a little more cheery for those in need.
Please check out the HKGW home page for more info.
TTFN!
5/17/08
Hi! Sweet Pea here.
Have you heard? The 4th Annual HK Garden Workshop plant sale was another fabulous success!
It was a dark and stormy morning...just kidding...although the skies were threatening. Despite an occasional sprinkle, plant people came out and were pleased to find a wide variety of beautiful, healthy plants from which to choose. Our resident green thumbs outdid themselves this year, not just with the fabulous plants but also with some wonderfully creative garden art and used/rehabbed tools. It was great to see some of our fellow HKGW members that we hadn't seen in a while, as well as neighbors, friends and friendly strangers. It is this support from all varieties of warm hearted plant lovers that enables the Garden Workshop to continue to grow the neighborhood by supporting local charities and helping those less fortunate.
Remember, all those plants are home-grown from cuttings and divisions and donated plants. If you have any plants in your garden that are getting too big or maybe that you just don't want anymore, we would love for you to share with us. Please give us a shout or come to one of our meetings.
TTFN!
