Giving the botanicals their due
SPRING HILL –
Carlos Dermosheghian was lost.
The Lutz-area plant seller needed to set up his vendor booth Friday morning at the Nature Coast Botanical Gardens, but he needed directions.
He thought he was close, so he approached at least six different people at the 7-Eleven near the corner of Spring Hill Drive and U.S. 19 and asked them where the gardens were located, he said.
No one knew.
A woman had to look it up on her global positioning system. The gardens were around the corner less than 200 yards away. He couldn’t believe it.
“It’s a nice park,” said Dermosheghian, who was still selling his plants the following day. “The grounds are very nice.”
He saw upwards of 80 people there Saturday morning, but there was little traffic Friday. Dermosheghian was disappointed there weren’t more people in and around Spring Hill who knew about the gardens.
Both he and Dennis Gretton, who had a vast display of herbs a few feet away from him, have had a string of tough luck. The fall season has been off to a sluggish start, mostly due to the economy, they said.
Organizers were encouraged by the larger crowds Saturday. They are contemplating hosting their bi-annual plant sale Saturday and Sunday rather than Friday and Saturday.
“I think we had a lot of traffic,” said Doug Brainard, past president of the Spring Hill Garden Club.
“One of the goals is to try and get more people to see the gardens,” said Jim Erickson, another past president of the club.
“That goal was met today,” answered Brainard.
More events are expected to be held at the gardens, which are located at 1489 Parker Avenue.
A quilt show will take place Oct. 24 and a weed-out at the waterfall is scheduled for Nov. 7.
The Holiday at the Gardens will be held Dec. 5 and a public poinsettia planting will take place Dec. 12.
Kathy Lockwood is the current president of the garden club and also is the nursery manager. The Michigan native was a skilled tradeswoman for the Ford Motor Co. before retiring in 2002 and relocating to Spring Hill.
She didn’t know anything about gardening or Florida native plants, but acquired a love for botanicals soon after her first visit in 2004. She signed up to be a volunteer and eventually became one of the major forces behind expanding the gardens.
An automatic sprinkler system is expected to be installed in the coming months and she also hopes to acquire grant money to help pay to make the gardens more wheelchair-accessible, Lockwood said.
“We’re fortunate in Florida where we can get plants blooming for 10 months out of the year,” she said.
On Saturday, most of what she sold included butterfly-attraction bushes and orchids.
Those who do know about the place are repeat customers. They visit the nursery to buy plants and-or enjoy the serenity of the botanical gardens.
“I wouldn’t know what to do without this place,” said Charlene Moore, of Spring Hill. “They have people here who go digging in their own gardens to get something for their customers.”
Reporter Tony Holt can be reached at 352-544-5283 or [email protected].
