There are many telltale signs that fall has finally arrived in Gainesville. The students have returned to campus, the football season is well underway and most mornings are not quite as hot and humid. For those of us who love camellias another obvious sign of the return of fall is the presence of buds on our plants. That also reminds us that September is still a good month to fertilize camellias and to perform some selective debudding to encourage larger blooms. Because we are currently in a prolonged dry spell, adequate watering is also essential to insure a robust bloom later in the year.
On September 15 the first quarterly meeting of the newly organized Board of Advisors of the Wilmot Botanical Gardens took place. The principal purpose of the board is to help insure the long-term sustainability of the gardens. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Kelly Sharp, Associate Vice-President of Finance and Administration, Office of Health Affairs who provided a general overview of the garden operations. The meeting was attended by representatives of the six colleges that comprise the UF Health Science Center along with several at large board members. The director of the gardens provided an overview of the 70-year history of the gardens along with a brief review of the development of the sustainability initiative. The meeting closed with a description of the fall plant sale offerings followed by a tour of the BJ and Eve Wilder Therapeutic Garden led by our assistant director, Mr. Jim Stribling.
The online component of the 2025 fall plant sale at the gardens is well underway and the preliminary results suggest the likelihood of another robust event. The 2-day onsite sale at the gardens scheduled for October 10th and 11th will offer a wide variety of camellias, azaleas, ornamental shrubs, fruit trees, edibles, succulents, grasses and last but not least some very interesting native plants. As always the proceeds from the sale will support both the maintenance of the gardens and the therapeutic horticulture program. We ask for your continued support.
Construction of the BJ and Eve Wilder Therapeutic Garden located just north of our greenhouse continues (Fig. 1). Recent progress includes installation of an irrigation system for each of the ten garden planters and construction of the garden shed. Final grading followed by laying of sod around the periphery of the garden was completed in late August and additional landscaping is planned for this fall. An interesting and somewhat unique feature to be installed in the garden momentarily is an antique cast iron well pump that will serve as a source of water (Fig. 2).
We are grateful for the support we have received for this project from several sources including the BJ and Eve Wilder Family Foundation (Ms. Karen Scott), Drs. Nancy and William Mendenhall, Mr. Ken Reed and the Sunrise Rotary Club of Gainesville. When completed this project will represent the ninth specialty garden in the Wilmot Botanical Gardens.
We are looking forward to seeing everyone at our October plant sale!
C. Craig Tisher, MD
Director, Wilmot Botanical Gardens, College of Medicine