Friday, January 20, 2012

Recap - Galveston Gardening Happy Hour

The first-ever Galveston Gardening Happy Hour (GGHH) took place last night at the Wizard 2325 Church Street. The conversation was lively, the beverages cold and the hospitality outstanding, as about 10 Galveston Gardeners enjoyed an evening of info sharing and discussion.

It was especially nice of Dr. Wm. Johnson, Galveston County Extension Horticulturist, to cross the causeway for the event. I know William is an incredible administrator and leader but I sometimes forget what an extremely knowledgeable horticulturist he is. That became evident after the entire group was stumped by a lemon tree pest brought in for identification. We all looked at the affected leaf under the scope but it wasn't until William arrived that we had a positive ID - Citrus Blackfly. Dr. Johnson followed up with a link to this additional information
http://hawaii.gov/hdoa/pi/ppc/npa-1/npa99-03_citrusbf.pdf

Other topics of conservation included adapted plant materials for our area, garden success (and failure) stories, upcoming events, and even a debate on how to pronounce bulbine. Towards the end of the evening we gave away a few door prizes,  including 2 roses - Julia Childs and Red Drift. Fortunately, Dennis Jones, former curator of the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens Rose Display, was there to provide a detailed description of each variety. All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, leaving everyone in attendance asking - "when is the next GGHH?"

Lastly, a special thank you to Glynda Oglesby for making the Wizard available for this event. It was a terrific meeting place and we greatly appreciate her hospitality.