January 10th, 2011 2011 Garden Club Calendar
The 2011 Garden Club Calendar (Frangipani)
The Garden Club of Trinidad recently launched its 2011 calendar through which it raises funds to cover operational expenses as well as to carry out charitable projects, including providing a bursary for a student doing agricultural studies at the University of the West Indies and to do landscaping at churches and other places.
The 2011 calendar—the launch of which took place at the St Ann’s home of member Dr Johnny Lee—pays tribute to three Garden Club members, Judith Procope, Joanna de Gannes and Chris Talma, who passed away within the past year.
De Gannes was considered a first-class landscape designer and was also known for her floral arrangements, some of which won this nation silver and gold medals at the annual Chelsea Flower Show in London, England.
Procope, too, was a regular participant in the aforementioned flower show and, along with de Gannes and other team members, brought home medals. She was one of the founding members of the Garden Club and established a monthly guide to gardening, simply titled the Garden Diary, and specifically tailored for Trinidad and Tobago.
A member of both the Garden Club and the Horticultural Society, Talma was a pioneer of local garden-scaping, creating many unique designs through his company, Foliage Design. Talma was especially known for his large-scale designs.
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- The 2011 Garden Club Calendar (Frangipani)
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- January: Surrounded by green tones, this broad swath of cool blue is a paradigm of balance. The unusual Parkinsonia aculeata, also known as Jerusalem Thorn or Mexican palo verde, makes for a peaceful focal point with its delicate foliage and tiny yellow flowers.
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- February: A suburban shade garden is the perfect home for a burbling brook. This rambling water feature provides an ideal ecosystem for humidity loving ferns, costus, and lilies. Cool and soothing, this tranquil respite helps support a healthy variety of insects, birds and fish.
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- March: White “bread and cheese” begonias with their delicate flowers are the perfect foil to a clump of yellow crinum lilies in a bed where alocasias rub shoulders with acalyphas and blue-grey river stones form a natural verge.
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- April: The lovely colours of this garden epitomise the ideal of a tropical garden. Moisture loving caladiums thrive when placed alongside lantanas and bougainvillea in a supported environment that is certain to offer regular fertilising and an abundant supply of water.
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- May: A statuesque yellow poui Abebula serratifolia is the crowning glory of this splendid forest garden. Heliconias and variegated gingers are all liberally showered by the saffron blossoms of this dry season beauty which can attain heights of up to 150 feet.
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- June: An unusual blend of maidenhair ferns and caladiums gives a light airy feeling to a cool corner. The Giant Maidenhair fern Adiantum trapeziforme is combined with its smaller cousin Adiantum raddianum to provide an unusual backdrop to the “Elizabeth Dixon” and “Candidum” Caladium hortulanums.
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- July: Vibrant red stemmed sealing-wax palms Cyrtostachys renda provide both colour and texture against a river rock pool expertly accented with an admirable collection of bromeliad specimens. The complementary accent of a bright blue pot adds a Mediterranean colour punch to this unusual poolscape.
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- August: Green and white variegated costus with its spiral turns provides an interesting contrast to a bank of pachystachy. In the background, the bells of the peach brugsmansia give hints of colour and perfume, adding further charm to the landscaping around the signature estate copper.
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- September: Bright yellow lantanas, pink impatiens and brightly patterned caladiums prove irresistible to butterflies, hummingbirds and humans alike. This small urban space is transformed by colour, height and texture into a wonderful outdoor retreat.
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- October: Long, wide beds provide the perfect environment to showcase this impressive tropical palm collection which stands sentry along the undulating pathways of this lush garden.
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- November: Bamboo, bromeliads, and varying succulents are perfect choices around this serene pond, the centre piece of this Asian inspired garden. A backdrop of silver-leaved Bismarckia nobilis palms adds both privacy and drama to this very private space.
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- December: This cascading bougainvillea is the ideal tropical arch with its pink and orange blooms. Bright yellow crinum lilies, the green and yellow foliage of variegated ginger Alpinia zerumbet and a border of lilac roheos add texture and colour along this charming path.
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- Memorial page, honouring Joanne de Gannes, Judith Procope and Christopher Talma.
