Wisteria Garden Circle

Monarch Season

Leisa Pichard — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 17:41:11 +0000

Since many of you have children and are interested in butterfly gardening, I thought you might be interested in what’s happening with the monarch research that happens each year about this time. My friend David Cook works for Fish and Wildlife and keeps me in the loop. If you’d like to get in touch with him about participating, please let me know and I’ll hook you up. Below is the text of his email announcing the monarch season:

Hi Monarch Enthusiasts:

It’s becoming monarch time at St. Marks! The monarchs are wending their way south and typically have a peak migration through St. Marks between mid-October and mid-November. Last year we had banner days on Oct 29 (counted 1100, tagged 912) and Nov 3 (counted 1564, tagged 1513). I’m a little delinquent in contacting you, but we still should have plenty of opportunities to enjoy this year’s migration.

We’ll try again this year what we did last year – count and tag on Saturdays and also on mornings associated with cold fronts – in order to maximize the numbers tagged. We’ll color the tags blue again this year, in the hopes of receiving more sighting reports of St. Marks-tagged monarchs. There are still plenty of questions about where these butterflies are overwintering and how they get there. Over the years we’ve had a relatively low number of tag recoveries from central Mexico, and the St. Marks monarch migration pattern is still largely unknown. On the days following tagging at St. Marks, we hope to encourage people west and south of St. Marks to watch for blue-tagged monarchs and provide information on the route they’re taking. If you or your friends live or travel along the coast, or visit the coastal parks, please keep an eye out for monarchs with blue tags!

If you are interested in joining in on the monarch counting and tagging project this season, please let me know. If you don’t think you can this year, but want to remain on my e-mail list, please let me know that, as well. If I don’t hear from you I’ll go ahead and drop you from the list. On the same token, feel free to invite others to participate; no experience is necessary!

Schedule thus far:

Saturday, Oct. 11 First tagging day BUT we’re hosting the Wakulla Green Guides group, so I only need a couple of experienced taggers to join us.

Saturday, Oct. 18. Tagging day. I will be out of town so Bruce Ballister will lead. Volunteers needed.

Friday, Oct. 24, day before the Monarch Festival. We’ll count and capture monarchs, and if there aren’t that many, we’ll keep them for tagging demonstrations the following day.

Saturday, Oct. 25. Monarch Festival at St. Marks. Counting, tagging, and all manner of fun activities until 4 p.m. Contact the Refuge at 925-6121 if you have questions or want to help.

Saturday, Nov. 1. Tagging day.

Saturday, Nov. 8. Tagging day.

Those are the Saturdays scheduled thus far; one or two more might be added into November if monarch flights are strong and we have tags left. Again, we’ll ALSO plan to monitor incoming cold fronts and tag monarchs the next morning – that could be any day of the week!

If you know you’d like to join in on a specific day or two, or if you might be available for ad hoc tagging on days associated with cold fronts, please let me know. Also, if you’re interested in trying to track down tagged monarchs along the coast W or S or St. Marks on the day following tagging, let me know that as well!

Tagging day basics: Meet at the St. Marks gate by 6 a.m.* (when it opens) and proceed to the lighthouse parking lot. Drive carefully – there’s lots of wildlife at that hour! The leader will meet you there with the equipment, tags, etc. You need to bring: good flashlight or head lamp, shoes you don’t mind getting wet, NO bug repellent. Very highly recommended – long pants and long-sleeved shirt. If there aren’t many monarchs, the counting/tagging session takes about 1.5 hrs. If there are lots, then we’ll be there a while. Of course, you’re welcome to come and go as necessary.

*[Beginning Nov. 8 we’ll be on standard time and meet at the gate by 5:15 a.m.!]

Field Trip to Wakulla Unit of St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge

Andrea Johnson — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:34:19 +0000

This event comes from the North American Butterfly Association:

Wakulla Unit, St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
Sunday October 12
9:00 a.m. EDT at Park ‘n’ Ride on FL 363 (Woodville Hwy.) if carpooling
10:00 a.m. EDT at Wakulla Beach Rd.

We will scout for butterflies at the Wakulla unit of the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge on Sunday, October 12. This is a wooded area where we may see species such as Appalachian Browns, Broadwing skippers, and glassywings.

Please wear headgear to protect you from the elements and comfortable footwear. Bring bug protection in case biting insects are a problem. Please bring water and lunch (no picnic facilities.) Don’t forget to bring close-focusing binoculars and field guides if you have them.

Directions to Carpooling Site

Carpooling is always encouraged. If you plan to carpool, please meet at 9:00 a.m. EDT at the Park ‘n’ Ride parking area on the west side of Woodville Highway (FL 363) south of Tallahassee near the St. Marks Trail.

Directions to Wakulla Beach Road

Wakulla Beach Rd. is south of Tallahassee on U.S. 98 about 3 1/2 miles west of Woodville Highway (FL 363).

From Tallahassee, take FL 363 (Woodville Highway) south to U.S. 98. Go west on U.S. 98. After you cross the Wakulla River bridge (about 2 1/2 miles from your turn onto U.S. 98), go another mile and you will see Wakulla Beach Rd. on your left (Triplett Rd. on right). If you see Spring Creek Highway, you have gone too far. Turn south (left) onto Wakulla Beach Road and travel about one mile until you see a hunting check station where we will meet. See map.

Volunteers Needed

We are looking for volunteers this Saturday at St. Joseph Preserves to staff the Hairstreak Chapter’s exhibit and answer general butterfly questions. Other volunteers are also needed to assist the Preserves staff.

On October 25, we will also be needing volunteers at St. Marks Wildlife National Wildlife Refuge to assist with the exhibit at the Monarch Festival.

If you are interested in helping at either of these events, please email or call Bill Boothe at (850)643-2583.

Monarch Festival

Be sure to circle October 25 on your calendars as the annual Monarch Festival at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge is fast approaching!

Gardening Innovation at its Finest

Julanne Rutten — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 01:49:56 +0000

Many of you may remember my sister-in-law Mary who has attended several Wisteria meetings. Mary and I share a love of gardening, and when we get together, conversation always turns to what’s blooming in the garden, what’s worked, and what hasn’t. I always learn something new.

Mary has always been innovative and resourceful, and now she’s really come up with something cool. Despite the fact that she owns both a tractor and a tiller, she’s developed a completely natural method of tilling, fertiliizing and debugging.

The Piggy Plow is a mobile pig pen that you move around your garden and secure with corner stakes. Feed and water your swine daily (and throw in a ball for their entertainment) and they’ll naturally plow and fertilize the soil. Leave it for a few days, then move it to another hard spot in the garden. You’re ready to plant!

The Mobile Chicken Fertilizer, Scratcher and Debugger is even easier. Slide this chicken pen around your garden with a rope. Not only will the chickens fertilize your garden area and loosen the soil, but you can kiss all of the garden pests goodbye. Take that stinkbugs!

As far as I know, Mary hasn’t made plans to market these beauties, but I think she should!

Lincoln Fall Plant Sale

Leisa Pichard — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:55:47 +0000

I’m sure you remember the wonderful program and plant sale Jim West of Lincoln High School gave at our end-of-the-year party at Peggy’s. Jim recently sent the list of plants for the fall plant sale. As you know the money raised from these sales goes to help fund the horticulture programs at Lincoln. The sale will be October 2nd and 3rd from 9:00 until 4:00 at Lincoln. I’m attaching the plant list and prices here. You can fill it out and email it to Jim at westj3@mail.lincoln.leon.k12.fl.us

plant-sale-october-08-1.doc

Wildflowers

Leisa Pichard — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 17:46:02 +0000

HI all. A few years ago we had a program by Joanna Booth on Florida wildflowers. Her nursery, Salter Tree and Herb Farm cultivates native wildflowers and collects seeds for various purposes, one of which is to supply the Florida Department of Transportation with seeds to disperse on Florida’s roadways.

Joanna recently sent me an announcement regarding availability of wildflower seeds. Below is the text of her announcement. Her seeds can also be bought at Tallahassee Nursery and Native Nursery.

Fall is for planting wildflowers!

Contact: Salter Tree and Herb Farm

Mail Order and Wholesale

Consultations available.

Help preserve Florida’s native plant diversity! For more information on plants or to request a current price list, go to: http://saltertreeandherbfarm.com

for consultations email: joanna@saltertreeandherbfarm.com

A Fun-filled Garden Circle Year

Julanne Rutten — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 23:23:42 +0000

I added all the Garden Circle events to my Outlook calendar. I’m hoping to work at the HOPE House a few times and I can’t wait for our great lineup of Wisteria meetings. We have a lot of talent within our circle and some really neat people. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone.

Perennial Pruning, Courtesy of Fay!

joanir — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:36:34 +0000

It’s been too hot and humid this summer to get out and do that necessary pruning, to keep up with growth in our Tallahassee gardens. Thanks to Storm Fay, that was taken care of for me. Once she leveled the perennials, it was just a matter of going out with a heavy hand and releasing some frustrations. Things will grow back fortunately, since summer is not quite over just yet.

So, no whining when we get too much rain. We accomplished two things with Fay. Our lakes look like lakes again, and she did our pruning for us as well!!!!!

Creating a vine screen

lauram — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:33:23 +0000

After obtaining the supplies more than two months ago, Dave and I finally constructed a vine screen in our backyard. We used (3) 4×4 posted and some hog wire we recycled. The plantings included passion vine and pink honeysuckle, which look a little scraggly. These were purchased from Jim West at our last meeting in May. Hopefully they’ll take hold and grow. When sinking the posts, we cemented them with quickrete to add stability.

Not Your Mother’s Garden Circle

Julanne Rutten — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:32:00 +0000

When was the last time you went to a garden circle meeting with punch and cookies and everyone brought a laptop? I always thought garden circles were little old ladies who went to lunch every month and sat around talking about gardening, their ailments and grandchildren. Times they are a changin’. Go Wisteria girls, leaders of change!

The evils of deer

Heidi — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:30:54 +0000

Does anyone have any remidies for deer? They are eating my roses, thorns and all, down to the ground. They also eat the bird feed straight from the feeder. They lounge on my lillies. I have tried everything from the “Deerproofing Your Garden” book, and I am out of ideas. Please help!!

Thanks

Heidi