Monthly Meeting

We met yesterday at Barry and Barry's home in Tampa. What a nice day for a meeting, getting together with old friends and meeting new ones. The Barry's are still working on their home, but it was very nice with lots of old world charm. The artwork on the walls really sets the tone for the house, and "the creation of adam", a personal favorite, was a welcome surprise coming in the front door!

The food was terrific as we have come to expect, although this month we had the luxury of a huge tray of sushi - hand made by a pair of our newest members. Ronald and Shiga really outdid everyone by providing such a splendid variety of food. I had never been courageous enough to sample sushi before, but I did try it and was pleasantly surprised! I don't know what I ate, but wouldn't hesitate to try it again!! It was delicious! Thank-you both, for the hard work and great addition to our potluck!

I got two plants in the raffle - a hybrid brugmansia and an unnamed heliconia. The brugmansia says it is a cross between pink and apricot varieties, so the flower should be interesting. I am anxious to have all of my trumpets bloom this year as they are coming back nicely after the freeze. The heliconia looks like it is a small variety, probably a psittacorum like Andromeda or Lady Di. Brian has a lot of different heliconias, so it could be something totally different from what I am thinking it is. Again, I'll have to wait and see.

I have finally decided to put in a new planting bed. I was unsure of what to do with the extra plants that I still have in pots on the patio, but I realized that they do need to be put in the ground. Rather than trying to squeeze them into the existing beds, I am going to create a new bed in the center of the yard, and incorporate the bird feeder and bath into it. My purchases at Green Thumb will solidify the design. So many plants shouldn't be planted in the middle of the yard because of wind damage and the like, but I think if I go for 3 foot tall plants I should be okay. The brugmansia should be okay on its own, and if it is a problem, I can always put up a false wall or screen to protect it. Again, a lot will depend on what I find at Green Thumb!

So much for now...Bryan