Container gardening at its finest, courtesy of Charlie Nardozzi

BY NORA LEA REEFE - In his engaging and humorous presentation to the Boca Grande Garden Club on Wednesday, January 9,  at the Community Center, horticulturalist Charlie Nardozzi offered numerous ideas on recycled containers, what plants to put in them, and how to nurture them.  His talk described how to combine flowers and vegetables, and identified the newest products on the market to help them grow into beautiful container gardens.

He indicated that Gardener’s Supply was one of the best sources of materials and useful products.  To keep slugs and snails out of containers, he suggested putting copper strips around the top, and was really promoting the use of earthworm juice as a pesticide.  He even described how you could make your own!  With much emphasis on self-watering containers, he indicated that you could mix coconut fibers in your potting soil to keep it moist, and that you could fill the bottom of large containers with plastic water bottles with their caps on to create a nice solid foundation that water could flow through.  He also recommended a product called Captain Jack’s Dead Bug Spray, an organic Spinosaid, as a pesticide.View More images >>

Emphasizing his interest in using edibles in all his containers, he showed slides of examples that he was especially fond of.  One used rosemary, rainbow chard and edible pansies. He was a delightful presenter, with a casual style that easily engaged his audience.   In his slide show he demonstrated how to use a truck, a bicycle, and an old washtub, among other items, to create unique container gardens.  He also distributed lists of salt tolerant flowers and vegetables as well as heat tolerant flowers and vegetables.  At the tea after the meeting, he took orders for his various books, while Linn Berousek of Pomello Park Nursery sold orchids.  She donated a large unusual one for a raffle, which was won by Maribeth Cunningham.

At the meeting, Vice President Diane Johnson, filling in for absentee President Nora Lea Reefe once again, appointed a nominating committee to search for the club’s new leaders, and members were reminded to sign up for the Field Trip to Historic Spanish Point on Feb 2, and for the 15th Anniversary Celebration on Feb 13, as well as the overnight trip to EPCOT in March.  The next meeting on Feb 6 will feature internationally known floral designer Hitomi Gilliam.