Horticulture extension agent Larry Williams speaks to Destin Garden Club
Residential horticulture extension agent and Master Gardner Coordinator with the University of Florida, Larry Williams was the guest speaker for the March meeting of the Destin Garden Club at the Destin Library.
Williams has served for over 30 years, helping residents maintain beautiful lawns, landscapes, and gardens. He has an informative article that regularly appears in The Destin Log. He attended the University of Georgia, earning an Agriculture and Agriculture Education degree and a Master of Education from the University of West Florida.
This month’s program consisted of a slide show on “Larry’s Favorite Landscape Plants,” along with a few vegetable garden plants. One of the presentations was about the American Beautyberry bush, which takes full sun or light. It is a graceful shrub with arching branches showing violet-purple fruit clusters along the stems. A fantastic bit of information was that one can make jelly from these fruits.
Another was of the Natchez Crepe Myrtle tree, which has an extra benefit in that when the lighter outer bark peels away, the underneath shows a spectacular cinnamon-colored brown bark. Blooms white, grows to 30 feet. If you try the native azaleas, they will enjoy a bit of shade during the hot summers.
The fig tree produces edible fruit, gives the garden a tropical look, and is a quick grower to 30 feet in full sun.
Another one that Larry liked was the Phlox paniculata, or the perennial or Summer Phlox, which has showy flower clusters. There are so many different types of Phlox it is hard to narrow them down. However, this one comes in shades of white, lavender, pink rose, and even red.
The Pine Cone Ginger grows to 6 feet tall, but to me, the delightful show comes from the 3-5 inch cone that turns a brilliant red in late summer for several weeks.
In the citrus division, Larry showed the fragrant Satsuma, a tree hanging with hundreds of fruits in the late fall and winter, almost seedless and a host plant for the Swallowtail butterfly. So, if you find a black, somewhat smelly clump nestled in the branches, leave it alone because it is probably the caterpillar of the Swallowtail.
For those who love peas, look for the Whipporwill Pea and be ready to trellis it up to 8-feet tall, covered with more peas than you know what to do with.
Upcoming events
On April 16, a member’s meeting and a tour of Carol Tylers’s private garden will be held. The club has a lot of activities coming up soon.
On April 27, the Garden Tour Party at the Destin Library is celebrating 21 years of the club creating and maintaining the library’s gardens. Beginning at 9:30 a.m., a lecture by Dave Gordon, Pollinators, 10 a.m. Children’s Storytime, 10:30 a.m., Butterfly in Motion trailer, 11 a.m. crafts for kids, tours of the library gardens, and a Bonsai display.
Mark your calendar for the May 11, plant sale. For more additional information, annecollins933@gmail.com.
Club offers $1,000 scholarship
The Destin Garden Club is offering a $1,000 scholarship for an Okaloosa or Walton County student pursuing a career/degree in Agriculture or Horticulture at an accredited Florida college or university. The student must be enrolled in pursuing areas such as Landscaping, Nursery or Garden Center Management, Horticulture, Forestry, Ground and Turf Management, Parks in Natural Resources, or other agriculture or horticulture fields. A minimum of a 2.5 GPA is required. The scholarship award may be used for school-related expenses like room and board, books, or tuition fees.
The application deadline is May 1. To obtain or submit an application, call Daquiri Champion at 850-582-7062 or contact her at Champion.daquiri@gmail.com.
This column was provided by Laura Hall, a member of the Destin Garden Club.