Tuesday, March 25
11:00 am - 2:30 pm

 

Make sure you have this on your calendar and invite all your fashion forward friends - or those who need a push in that direction! You don't need to be a Garden Club member to attend. The donated ticket price of $30 includes lunch and will help raise funds for the Garden Club projects in coming years. Dillards will be showing their clothes and our own ladies will be modeling. Please call Cheryl Stokes (464-0814) for extra tickets. 

A $150 Visa gift card and the gorgeous centerpieces from the tables will be raffled off and the Silent Auction room will be filled with wonderful donated items that are 'just what you needed'.  There are always lots of gift certificates from restaurants, spas and local services which help all of us. Come early so you can write your name on the items you want before you go in to lunch. This is always a great event so plan to join us for a great day among good friends. Get your friends together and reserve a table.  Or make some new friends when you sit at any random table that day!

If you have any questions about the Home and Garden Club please call our membership chairs - Anne Kleuppel @ 519-5368 and Lee Ann Phillips @ 519-6931.  They will be glad to chat with you and welcome you to any of our meetings.

Deercreek Home and Garden Club
Trip to Cummer Museum Gardens

 
Tuesday, March 11
9:15am to Carpool


March is Garden Month at the Cummer and we are leaving Deercreek to enjoy the magnificent gardens at the Cummer Museum.  Our gardens took a hit this winter and we're looking for some inspiration! Our docent-led tour is scheduled for 10 am so we will meet in the pool parking lot at 9:15 if you would like to drive together. The admission and docent tour will cost $12.  When the tour is completed you will have time to poke around the museum and the gift shop. It features hand blown glass, jewelry by local artisans, Meissen porcelain, wearable art and books on art and the gardens. You can get started on your Christmas shopping for next year!

The museum is located at 829 Riverside Ave. It has been a city centerpiece for as long as I've lived here so I looked up a little history to see how it came about. In the 1900s Arthur and Waldo Cummer moved from Michigan to build houses on either side of their parents, Ada and Wellington Cummer, on the banks of the St Johns River.  They ran the Cummer Lumber Co. while their wives, Ninah and Clara, masterminded the gardens surrounding all of the homes.  In the 100 years since then the gardens have been expanded and are now listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  The English Garden, planted in 1910, boasts a magnificent wisteria-laden cypress arbor that peaks at Garden Week in March and we'll get to see it!  Hundreds of azalea bushes blaze among the reflecting pools which frame the view to the Italian Garden that showcases Ninah's collection of Italian marble garden ornaments.   In the 1960s, some of the gardens were used to build the new museum building housing her extensive art collection and this has been a wonderful addition to Jacksonville.  If you haven't been there lately, look at www.cummer.org to see all of the programs and events offered.  They have art classes for all ages plus classes in floral arranging and the History of Western Art.  They offer docent led tours, classical concert series and informative lectures.  The programs are created to enhance your knowledge, enjoyment and appreciation of the collections and featured exhibits - both in the Art Museum and in The Gardens. Click on the Garden Month program list to see all of the wonderful events being offered in March.  You can pick up a rain barrel at the Plant Sale, take a tour, make a terrarium, have tea, attend a book signing with cocktails, send your kids to an art class or listen to Motown Music in the Gardens!

If you can't join us for the Field Trip this time, you can still go online to www.cummer.org/gardens-history for a wonderful interactive garden tour with photos of the different areas.  But then you would miss going to lunch with the group afterwards!  We're going to the 'Derby on Park' restaurant at 1068 Park St in Riverside for our Field Trip Finale. Please let Mary Louise Selzer know if you plan to come with us so that she can give the restaurant a final head count. Call her at 363-1618 or mlselzer@comcast.net.  We have a reservation at 11:45-12 and you are welcome to join us at the Cummer or just meet us for lunch. But the Gardens are going to be glorious and what better time to see them than during Garden Month?


Photos from our February event All About Orchids







...more photos on our website

 
The Deercreek Women's Alliance will be hosting a golf  tournament this year as a way to raise money for the charities we support.  Since established in 1999, the DWA has donated to numerous charitable organizations, RITA (Breast Cancer Research in Jacksonville), The Salvation Army, Jacksonville Zoo, Children's Home Society, Dreams Come True, Jacksonville Humane Society, Ronald McDonald House, PACE, Daniel, Wolfson Children's Hospital, WJCT Reading Program, Hubbard House, The Bag Ladies, Books-a Go Go. The Bag Ladies and Mandarin Food Bank are some of our recent projects.

We're hoping that you will be willing to join us as we host our 'Shamrock Scramble' at Deercreek Country Club on Sunday, March 16, 2014.  We need hole sponsors, donations or prizes.  We have several levels of sponsorship, either business or personal.

All of these sponsorship levels give you a sign with your name at one of the holes and printed in our program. Consider buying a block of these for employee prizes or gifts to vendors.  Or perhaps you'd like to be our "Beer Sponsor".  It is St. Patrick's Day after all!  Please let us know what level of sponsorship you've chosen by March 11 so that we can get your signs made and the programs printed. Include the information you want on the sign with your check, made out to Deercreek Women's Alliance.  If you have coupons or cards to advertise, we can include them in our "goody bags".  Feel free to pass this on to anyone who might be able to help us with our tournament.  Sponsor a hole, donate a prize, be a hero and donate a pot of gold or sign up to play with us.  All are welcome!

Please contact Debbie Grosnick with your response at:
9949 Orchard Hills Road
Jacksonville, FL  32256
904-363-2927
dngrosnick@gmail.com

 
By: Natalie Jackson

Wednesday, March 5
DWA 15th Birthday Back Porch Celebration
All Deercreek ladies are invited to join the party as we celebrate the founding of the DWA in March of 1999. Drinks, snacks and birthday cake will be served on the back porch of DCC clubhouse.  The attire is casual and the merrymaking begins at 6:30pm   This will be the perfect time to renew your or join the DWA memberships and friendships.

Sunday, March 16
Shamrock Scramble
You don't have to be Irish to join in the fun of this golf outing! There will be lots of surprises and plenty of prizes up for grabs.
CLICK HERE for registration form

April 1-13
Diaper Drive for Wolfson Children's Hospital
 
If you are a parent, you know how quickly a baby can go through a package of diapers. Wolfson Children's Hospital is in need of diapers of all sizes.  A bin will be at the guardhouse for dropping off donations.  
For more information contact Mary Stelbrink at 363-2360.

PACE Center for the Girls

 
If you are a teenage girl or the parent of a teenage girl, please consider donating clothes that are no longer worn to the PACE Center.  Vicki Khan would be glad for you to drop off clothing donations to her home at 10148 Deercreek Club Road East.

Mandarin Food Bank

 
The Mandarin Food Bank helps to feed over 20,000 needy members of our Jacksonville community each year.  They rely heavily on donations to keep their pantries stocked.  So, the next time you purchase nonperishable BOGO items (buy one/get one free) at the grocery store, please consider dropping off your extra ones at Carmen Kelly's home for delivery to the Mandarin Food Bank. Carmen's address is 10139 Bishop Lake Road, W. She may be reached by phone at 519-0622.

Put That Saw Down!

Proper pruning techniques for shrubs and trees


As a Forestry major (Virginia Tech, class year not disclosed) I like to get a little technical, so here goes. Each tree and shrub has what is called a "habit". A habit is the overall shape of a mature specimen of the tree, shrub or plant. A pine tree has a different shape from an oak for example. This natural shape is typically the most beautiful form of the tree. Most trees and shrubs, if left undisturbed, need little intervention from the property owner unless it shows obvious signs of disease.

However, we all see yard waste every week in almost everyone's home in Deercreek. So why all the branches if the experts say don't prune (much)? There are many valid reasons for pruning including removing dead limbs or branches, removing suckers (new small branches near base of trunk) or pruning dense interior branches. Other valid reasons to prune are for safety reasons e.g. low branches over sidewalks or home maintenance such as branches near or over your home.

In Deercreek and all around Jacksonville the most egregious unnecessary pruning is being done to Crepe (crape) Myrtles. As you drive through the neighborhood and golf course you'll see the topped Myrtle shrubs. Maybe the decision to top has something to do with misunderstanding the plant. Is it a tree or shrub? Well it can be both, it depends on the species/cultivar. How large should it get? That also depends on the species. Some grow to 6 feet and some to 36ft.

Many of these lovely blooming plants originally from China, were put in place 15 years ago when Deercreek was developed. Now their large size and poor placement put many homeowners in a bind. What to do with that unruly thing? Sometimes the placement may be so poor and ill planned that the Crape just needs to be completely removed. However the Crape should never be "murdered" that is, topping it to a predetermined height. If healthy, experts say Crape Mrytles need little pruning. Spent blooms don't even need to be removed during the summer. And if you must prune, never prune in the Fall or Winter as this reduces the hardiness of the plant. Pruning should only remove suckers (from base and interior), interior branching that is crossing or rubbing and optionally spent blooms. There are plenty of "how to" articles from high quality garden websites including state extension service websites on how to properly prune Crape Myrtles. Just google "crape myrtle pruning".

Too late! This may be your response if "crape murder" has already hit your plant. There are rehabilitation options. I'm rehabbing my formerly topped Crape Myrtle but pruning back the multiple stems per branch to a single stem and then removing the "knuckles" that have formed from the repeated toppings over the years. I received this advice from local certified arborist, Charles Florida (who is from Michigan, go figure). It may take a number of years for the plant to recover but it will be worth the wait when the plant returns to its natural habit and blooms beautifully. If a very large Crape has been topped it may never make it back. Removal then becomes the best option.

How about other types of shrubs and trees such as the Live Oaks in Deercreek? Again, be conservative when it comes to pruning. You can never put that branch back on! The habit of the Live Oak branching is to grow down then back up. If you've seen mature live oaks (such as at the Cummer Museum) branches typically head for the ground then go vertical. Clearly this species wasn't a great choice for above sidewalks and in smaller yards. Pruning will be necessary for safety and space reasons. For larger trees I strongly suggest consulting a certified arborist prior to any significant pruning not only for making the right cuts but for homeowner safety reasons as the trees are dense and very heavy.

So while there are valid reasons for pruning, don't go running for the chain saw! Consult a certified arborist or a authoritative website on the web such as Florida Extension or Texas Extension. Your lawn guy may think he knows how to prune but some of the worst "prunes" I've ever seen have been down by overzealous and overconfident lawn guys. They can cut the grass, but a trained arborist is your best bet for pruning the tree or shrub properly. There are over 50 certified arborists available in the Jacksonville area, you can search at this website. (http://www.isa-arbor.com/faca/findArborist.aspx).

Let me know your thoughts on this article and future topic ideas. Email me at dccliving@gmail.com.

Peter Davis is a new resident to Deercreek and a Maryland native. His day job is as an eBusiness Project Manager but he's a farm boy at heart.