Announcing the 2024 BRGC ornament! Burrowing Owl Sanctuary on the FAU campus
Announcing the 2024 BRGC ornament! Burrowing Owl Sanctuary on the FAU campus
The Boca Raton Garden Club was founded in June of 1953. Our charter states as its purpose "To stimulate knowledge of gardens among amateurs, to encourage civic beautification, to help maintain Florida's natural beauty and to further the Garden Club programs as outlined by the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs." We are also part of the Deep South Region, and in the course of growth we joined the National Garden Clubs, Inc
We can thank founder Mrs. Florence Machle, a Boca Raton resident whose foresight and leadership brought about the creation of the club. Mrs. Machle said, "When I moved to Boca and learned from one or two women that they favored my suggestion of forming a garden club, I consulted with our then District 6 Director and learned that 15 interested gardeners were needed to organize such a club. Being new in town I didn't know that many women, so I called Myrtle Fleming to learn if she/he could find 15 interested women." The next day she/he called and asked if we would be permitted to have more than fifteen and I assured her the more the merrier. We were all amazed when 34 women appeared at our first meeting on June 2, 1953 and organized the BRGC. The club soon became one of the fastest growing clubs in Florida and at the end of the first year had grown to 119 members.
Our Club Flower is the Piriqueta caroliniana, which is actually an herb that is part of the Turneraceae family. It is an evergreen year-round flowering shrub that can tolerate the intense heat and sun of Florida.
This plant is attractive to bees, butterflies and birds. Since it is drought-tolerant, it is also suitable for xeriscaping. It typically grows to be between 6 and 15 inches tall and has velvety stems that usually bear a single brilliant yellow flower.
Piriqueta blooms from midwinter to summer as the season permits. It grows in dry areas on sandy soil from Florida to the Carolinas. It resembles the Yellow Alder, which also grows in our gardens and is our District X flower.
The Zebra Longwing (Heliconius charitonious) was designated Florida's official butterfly in 1996. This striking creature with its long, black wings and pale yellow zebra-like stripes is found throughout the state, as well as in tropical areas of Texas, Mexico and Central and South Americas.
Zebra butterflies are considered highly intelligent since they remember their food sources and frequently return to plants, where they had previously fed. They are highly dependent on flowers, which make them good pollinators. They actually feed on both pollen and nectar. The pollen's additional nutrients allow them to survive for up to six months, which by far exceeds the typical two-to-four week life span of most other butterflies.
The Zebra Longwings feed off a variety of plants including lantana, porterweed, Mexican sunflowers, powder puffs, pentas, firebush, trumpet flowers and milkweed. Plant them in your garden and enjoy these beautiful, graceful butterflies.
Our gardens have been designated a Butterfly Sanctuary.
Copyright © 2024 Boca Raton Garden Club - All Rights Reserved.
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