Calusa Garden Club plant sale to feature Staghorn ferns
Calusa Garden Club of Marco Island will host its Third Annual Plant and Thanksgiving Arrangement Sale on Tuesday, Nov. 21.
The event features over 150 plants grown by members and beautiful fresh floral arrangements perfect for Thanksgiving. This year, as luck would have it, the sale will feature over 35 exotic staghorn ferns, large and small, in addition to Charlette Roman’s wonderful orchids and hundreds of other healthy plants ready to plant in a landscape or display as décor in a home.
The good luck for Calusa Garden Club of acquiring over 35 staghorn ferns was due to a local couple, Diane and Dennis Charvat, who purchased a home on Isles of Capri. The Charvat’s new home’s front yard contained a large mahogany tree stump on which a multitude of staghorn ferns were growing. In August, Diane Charvat sent an Email to Calusa Garden Club asking if its members would like to have the staghorn ferns because the Charvats planned to re-landscape their new home.
Kimberly Korb Porter, president of Calusa Garden Club, sprang into action. She recruited Janice Engel, a garden club member whose staghorn ferns are a prominent feature of her garden, and they went to look at the ferns. Since mahogany is a very hard wood, Porter and Engel were unable to remove most of the ferns.
Then Porter returned with Debbie Kuhlman, Roger Kuhlman, and David Ponder, and armed with a large curved tree saw, they got to work. Their combined efforts yielded over 35 fantastic staghorn ferns. The original mahogany tree stump adorned with multiple staghorn ferns is shown in a photo. In another photo, Debbie Kuhlman and Kelly Ponder show some of the smaller healthy ferns.
Porter and Kuhlman worked to find temporary homes for the staghorn ferns. Several members volunteered to keep some of the ferns for two months, including member Donna Kay who is shown with one of the staghorn ferns mounted in a tree where it can receive water and needed shade. In addition, a friend of the garden club generously provided needed space for the ferns as shown in the photo of staghorn ferns on racks.
As a result, Calusa Garden Club will sell over 35 beautiful, healthy, exotic staghorn ferns at their Nov. 21, Plant Sale. The sale will take place from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the parking lot of Marco Lutheran Church located at N. Collier Boulevard and Holly Court on Marco Island.
Included in the plant sale are orchids, landscape plants, potted indoor plants for home decor, fresh floral designs for Thanksgiving, and amazing staghorn ferns.
Calusa Garden Club of Marco Island is a Section 501(c)3 organization and is a member of the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs. Membership is open to persons interested in horticulture, floral design and environmental matters residing 5 months or more in Collier County.
Calusa Garden Club of Marco Island meets the second Monday of each month, October through April, at Marco Island Branch Library. If you are interested in membership, please contact the Club at calusagardenclubcommunication@gmail.com, or go to the Calusa Garden Club website, calusa.org, and click on “Contact Us.” Visit the Club’s Facebook page, Calusa Garden Club, for news of club activities.
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