February, 2008

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Presidents' Message

It was a great Begonia Auction.  Thanks to all of you who brought plants to auction.  The plants Charles Jaros brought from Harmony were gorgeous, and Charles was the best auctioneer ever.  You have so much fun, learn so much, and spend so much when Charles is the auctioneer! Thanks, Charles.

Your board held an interesting meeting and has a lot to discuss at our next meeting.  We have been asked to host the 2009 ABS (American Begonia Society) convention, and we are seriously considering it.  It is a lot of fun and a lot of work to host a convention (say Nancy and Johanna, survivors of the 2000 ABS Convention, held here in West Palm Beach.) We'll lay out the pros and cons and what we need to do at our meeting on February 11.  And ask for your support.

We also would like to support Mounts by donating begonias to the Shade and Color Island at Mounts.  If you have a chance, stop by the island before the next meeting.  The Bromeliad Society has done a terrific job of helping to clear the island and planting bromeliads with the new trees donated by Palm Beach county horticultural firms.  The island is going to be beautiful when it grows in.  Doris Happel and Nancy donated some begonias, but the island needs more.  We'll discuss this on February 11 too.

Our speaker on February 11 will be landscape designer Tom Thurston.  Tom will talk about using begonia and other shade-loving plants in your south Florida landscape.  You can get to see one of the wonderful gardens he has designed on February 10, when we will hold a ramble in West Palm Beach.  We'll visit three member gardens.  See the announcement elsewhere in the newsletter for time and place to gather.

Our rhizomatous begonias are starting to flower.  It is about to be springtime in South Florida, and the best display of begonia blooms of the year.  Keep growing those begonias.
Nancy Cohen and Donnie Brown

P. S. From Donnie: I missed the auction, sadly, because I was feeling "puny," but I want to thank all the meetings' volunteers, clean-up and refreshments (Arlo Prior, Nancy Erneston, and Sandy Sklar).  Thanks!

February Meeting

Monday, February 11.  Doors open at 7 p.m., meeting starts at 7:30 p.m.  The speaker is landscape designer, Tom Thurston, who will talk about begonias and other shade loving plants in the landscape.
Refreshments:  Donnie Brown and Shawna Price, Barbara Bramwell
Raffle Table:  Cathy Burger
Exchange Table:  Bring a plant, take a ticket, and bring home somebody else's plant.  Please bring an attractive plant that you are proud to share.

Dues

Annual dues, $35 single/$37 family, are due now.  $25 of these dues goes to American Begonia Society, which provides many services among those being the bi-monthly magazine.

Begonia Society Ramble

Sunday, February 10 at Noon

Our first garden belongs to Arlo Prior and is located in West Palm Beach.  The second garden nearby is owned by her daughter Jenny and her son-in-law Philip.  Directions are on the email that provided the link to this newsletter.  If you need directions again, email Doris: dbhappel@bellsouth.net.

Enjoy the tour...bring a friend.

Speaker at Four Arts

On Wednesday, February 13, at 2:30 p.m.,
The Garden Club of Palm Beach will welcome Paul Alan Cox, PhD, executive director of the Institute for Ethnomedicine, an organization that searches for new cures by studying plant medicine and patterns of wellness and disease among indigenous people.  The lecture is free and open to the public; no reservations are required.  For more information, contact The Garden Club at 561-837-6635.

Johanna's note: I have heard DR Cox three times and have enjoyed each program.  He used to be associated (and may still be) with the National Botanic garden. 

Propagation Parties

Propagation Parties are one of the most valuable benefits of membership in our chapter.  They are free and open to both new and long-time members, and this is a great way to build your collection of begonias.  Everyone gets to plant two trays of cuttings.  While doing that, you will learn how to propagate canes, rhizomatous, and other begonias.  You will learn the names of beautiful plants.  In a matter of weeks you will have new plants to move to a bigger pot or put in your landscape.  Plus, you get a garden tour and the chance to make friends with other begonia lovers.

The first prop party will be March 15 at Johanna's house, and the second one will be April 19 at Doris' house.  Details to follow next month.

Website

Many thanks to Lynda Evans, who has taken over as our webmaster.  She has moved our web page to a different server, and we will no longer have to pay a monthly fee.  Our new web address is www.begoniasocietypbfl.org.