Spanish Trail District Meeting was Held at the White House Hotel, Biloxi

The Spanish Trail District of the Garden Clubs of Mississippi, Inc, held a meeting at the White House Hotel in Biloxi , on September. 30, 2015.  Our guest speaker was the director of the Pascagoula River Audubon Center, Mark La Salle.  Gulf Hills had five club members attending.

 Our own Sue Manley received state recognition as Gardener of the Year.  Sue loves gardening and serves as chairman of the Gulf Hills Memorial Garden committee.  Congrats, Sue.

 Above image shows the Gulf Hills president with Garden Clubs of Mississippi President, Debby Cooper, accepting the award for Sue.  Sue had just stepped out of the meeting.

Pictured above are several of the many beautiful Fall themed center pieces that Gulf Hills Garden Club members Beth Margherio and Julia Hartridge created for our table decorations.

Here we have Margaret Noblitt, dressed in her seasonal finery, inviting everyone to the State Convention here on the Gulf Coast, April 11-13, 2016.  The Ocean Springs Garden Club will be the host club this year.

If you would like to see more images from this meeting, please visit the Snap Fish photo album of 

Charla Jordan,

GCM Publicity Chairman/Photographer

   

To view the album please click on the Snap Fish photo album link above and then look to the right of the page, where the  yellow "create an account" button is located and click below it where it says "view this album as a guest".  It will take you directly to the album of 129 photos that Charla Jordan took of the meeting.

2015 Gulf Coast Spring Pilgrimage Brochure is off to Press!

The 2015 Gulf Coast Spring Pilgrimage brochure is off to press and should be available this coming week!  The image above shows part of our creative production staff taking a last final look at the mock up of the brochure.  It was a lot of work, but it was worth the effort!   

For further information please contact:

MS. Peyton Readman

Receptionist

Mississippi Gulf Coast Regional Convention & Visitors Bureau

P O Box 8298 ~ Biloxi, MS 39535-8298

2350 Beach Blvd, Ste A ~ Biloxi, MS 39531

228-896-6699 ext. 224; 1-888-467-4853 ext. 224

Fax: 228-896-6788

peytonr@gulfcoast.org, www.gulfcoast.org

Gulf Hills Garden Clubs Presentation of Lagerstroemia Indica AKA Crepe Myrtle

Lagerstroemia  Indica or Crepe Myrtle as it is commonly referred, was originally native to the East Indian subcontinent, South East Asia, Northern Australia, and parts of Oceania.  The genus is named after the 18th cent Swedish merchant Magnus von Lagerström, who supplied Swedish botanist, Carolus Linnaeus with plants.

First imported to England from China in 1759.  Unfortunately, it was discovered that this plant would not easily bloom in England, due to the cooler climate.  André Michaux plant explorer and botanist to King Louis XVI  introduced both the Crepe Myrtle and the Camellia here in America at Charleston, South Carolina, around the mid 18th century.  The exact is disputed by sources, but some say 1747, others 1786, but it's enough for this article that it was mid to late 18th century.

Crepe Myrtle was an immediate hit early on here in the southern part of the United States!  It did not take very long before plants were being off loaded on ships in the harbors of Mobile and New Orleans.  It spread to gardens throughout the south very quickly.  The early appearance Crepe Myrtle in the deep south makes this a very traditional southern heirloom garden plant. So remember that Crepe Myrtle is perfect for almost any period Southern garden.

A funny aside for me, is that I always thought that many Crepe Myrtle had been named after Southern towns. Catawba, Biloxi, Natchez, Osage, Miami , etc.  It seems that the Latin name Lagerstroemia Indica may have been misunderstood by some and hybrids of this plant were named after Native American tribes, to include Arapaho, Chickasaw, Pecos, Seminole, Sioux, and Zuni
There are about 50 species  mostly deciduous and even a  few evergreen, trees and shrubs.  Some may grow up to 30 ft tall full size trees and others can stay under 1 ft in height and they come in every size in between.

Typical size categorizes are:

Very Dwarf ; 1 - 2 feet Mature Height,
Chickasaw

Dwarf; 3 - 6 feet Mature Height,
Bourbon Street

Semi-Dwarf; 5 - 12 feet Mature Height,

Acoma

Small Tree; 10 - 20 feet Mature Height,
Near East

Tree; 20 + feet Mature Height,
Biloxi

Average Water Needs; Water regularly; do not over water. Once established they are not very demanding with the water.
Unlike the azalea, camellia, and gardenia, which pine for acid soil, crepe myrtle are not fussy about soil and will flourishes in just about any type.

No wonder it ranks as the South’s most popular (and desirable) ornamental tree.
There are a number of good articles on the Southern Living.com website.

The Texas A&M University Horticulture website has a lot of extremely useful information about Characteristics of Crape Myrtle Varieties

I hope this quick article( an excerpt from a presentation at our last meeting)from the Gulf Hills Garden Club will be helpful to gardeners and that the Crepe Myrtle will continue to be a standard plant in traditional southern gardens.

Our January Gulf Hills Garden Club Meeting at the White House.

 

The White House Hotel in Biloxi,MS

The Gulf Hills Garden Club met yesterday for a breakfast meeting at The White House... No, No, not that one, the newly restored historic "White House Hotel", in Biloxi, MS.   

Michael Brunson, owner of Flowers Forever and Gifts, Orange Grove, MS, gave a demonstration on using dry materials in flower arrangements and shared information on how to dry flowers.  Plus he demonstrated how to created a delightful Mardi Gras wreath. 

The Treasurer reported that we are on target with this year’s budget. 

Our Membership chair placed the names of two new individuals in nomination for membership.  These members were voted in and she will send them a letter and yearbook.  They will be invited to the next meeting in February.

  

The Garden Committee presented their plans for the remainder of the year.  They will be having a meeting to hear all the suggestions from members.    

Watch for the meeting email with information concerning the date and time of meeting. 

The Pilgrimage Chair reported on the plans for Gulf Hills.  She also had raffle tickets available for The original Marge Bailey hand painted chair as featured on The 2015 Gulf Coast Pilgrimage home page.  

Tickets will be available through any member of the Gulf Hills Garden Club, or through members of the  Mississippi Gulf Coast Council of Garden Clubs. 

Next Meeting Will Be February, 19, 2015.  Place and Time to be Announced.