By Grace Rabano & The Clermont Garden Club
Every month, from September through May, Clermont Garden Club members loan plants to Cooper Library and Clermont City Hall to promote horticulture awareness and connect our community to Clermont Garden Club’s programs, civic activities, and community outreach.
Clermont Garden Club member, Grace Rabano, has loaned her aloe vera plant to the Cooper Library for the month of January. Aloe is a genus of flowering succulent plants that can be successfully cultivated indoors or out, and are very easy to maintain. The most famous one is aloe vera, with its peculiar and unique thorn-edged leaves. The thick leaves are filled with gooey flesh that stores water for survival in its native desert territories. The ‘mother’ plant can produce a lot of pups (offspring) and the most common way of propagating is to separate pups and to plant them in new containers. Aloe vera does well in sandy or loamy soil, which should dry completely between watering. The plant only needs watering every 15-21 days.
Clermont Garden Club member, Tina Worrell, has loaned her bromeliad plant to Clermont City Hall in a very unique planter. New gardeners learning how to grow bromeliads will find that the plant doesn’t need deep pots or thick potting soils. They do even better in shallow pots and may grow in low soil mediums such as orchid mix, a blend of bark, and other organic amendments. Water needs are easily met by filling the bromeliad ‘cup’ at the base of the leaves.
Clermont Garden Club members meet every third Wednesday of the month (September through May), except scheduled field trips, Holiday Luncheon and End of the Year Luncheon, at the clubhouse located at 849 West Avenue, Clermont, FL 34711. Meetings begin at 10:00 am. New members and guests are warmly welcome.
Clermont Garden Club is a 501 c3 nonprofit organization.
