Members of District IV Garden Clubs were busy this past Spring and are now looking forward to another fruitful garden club year as all our clubs move into the Fall months.

Several of us attended the annual State Convention in Ocala and cheered mightily as our own Jan Sillick, a member of the Garden Club of Jacksonville was installed as President of the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs. We are so proud of Jan and offer our Congratulations.

This year District IV won 9 Adult Awards and 20 Youth Awards. Jackie Host, immediate Past President of the Garden Club of the Lakes, won a well deserved Award #2 for Outstanding Service. The Garden Club of Middleburg won an Award for their Yearbook and for a Public Program. The Garden Club of the Lakes won for their Newsletter, for Tree Planting, for Publicity and an Award for Civic Development. The Garden Club of Switzerland won a Wildflower Award; Alligator Creek Garden Club won for Garden Therapy and Nancy Dodd from Ribault Garden Club won the Butterfly Conservation Award. Youth Awards were for studies on Birds, Shells, Reptiles and Amphibians, Garden Insects, Butterflies, Trees, Litter Control and Water Conservation.

The Spring District IV Meeting at Ravines State Park was held May 5th with record attendance. We enjoyed learning about the State Park System and the vital role of pollinators in our gardens. Kudos to the Garden Club of Palatka, the Garden Club of Switzerland, the Garden Club of Green Cove Springs and the Garden Club of the Lakes for a fun and educational “Picnic in the Park”.

Many District Clubs participated in National Garden Week by bringing plants and flowers to local businesses as well as the local fire department. The Garden Club of Callahan posted pictures of their floral deliveries on FACEBOOK and also had a booth at the Callahan Centennial Celebration. Members of the Pinocchio-Rose Circle of the Garden Club of Jacksonville celebrated by bringing plants to a charter member of their Circle who is almost 103. The Garden Club of Green Cove Springs is helping Habitat with landscaping plants and some Garden Club of Jacksonville Circles are planting at area Elementary schools. Ribault Garden Club is working with the

Sulzbacher Center at a Community Garden while the Garden Club of Alligator Creek honors local gardens through nominations made in the local newspaper. The Gardening Club of Hilliard continues with local plantings at their library, local Elementary school and at Buchanan Park where they planted 9 Crape Myrtles and landscaped the center bed. The Garden Club of St. Augustine held a successful “Garden Walk” this Spring and during the Summer will bring “Fun with Flowers for KIDS” to all 6 public libraries in St Johns County. The Garden Club of Palatka is partnering with their local high school to landscape the large entrance sign on Crill Avenue.

In early June, we organized a District-wide Leadership Training class a.k.a “Bootcamp for Beginners” that was open to all “new” leaders in our District. This event was held at the Garden Club of Jacksonville, where over 50 attendees learned about the ins and outs of the FFGC, how to conduct a successful meeting, some basic parliamentary procedure, as well as tips for financial record keeping and ideas for attracting and retaining new members. We plan to follow-up this session with a financial workshop in late February, 2012. We hope all clubs are making plans to attend the Fall District IV meeting which will be hosted by the Garden Club of Orange Park on Friday, October 7, 2011 at the Clay County Ag Center in Green Cove Springs. Save the date for “Harvest Thyme” and plan to come meet our State officers as they make their tour of the State. Don’t forget to also add GardenFest to your calendars. This annual event will be held Saturday, October 29th at the Saint Johns County Extension Office in St. Augustine. “Horticultural Tricks and Treats” will be of interest to many, so plan to bring a friend for a fun introduction to Garden Club activities. All clubs and circles are being asked to donate a basket for the FFGC State Convention May 10-11, 2011 at the Hyatt Riverside in Jacksonville.

Check the District and the State Calendars for other exciting events such as the “Gala in the Garden” on September 16 at our State Federation headquarters in Winter Park as well as Symposiums, Flower Show Schools and our individual Club Flower Shows. Please save the date of December 8, 2011 to join us for a virtual reality holiday home tour. Betty Moore, 3rd VP FFGC will moderate this program at the Garden Club of Jacksonville. She will "walk" us thru a house as District designers finish holiday decorating. The program will be from 10:00-12:00 followed by lunch. Tickets are $18 and all profits will be divided between FFGC and District IV. Bring all your friends for this novel "tour" and glean some great ideas for your own Holiday Home.

Hope you have enjoyed your summertime and are looking forward to another year as we all begin to KNOW, SOW and GROW!

Eileen Zebroski, Director
FFGC District IV 2011-2013