By Elaine Hogan
The Clermont Garden Club has chosen the yard of Tina Worrell at 1004 Everest Street in the Summit Greens subdivision. Tina has been a member of the Clermont Garden Club for over 20 years and brings her vast knowledge of plants to our monthly meetings as well as clippings from her yard for us to grow in our yards.
Her front yard is only the beginning of plants that bloom and grow from front yard to backyard and all around the house. You can find Pencil Cactus (Euphorbia), Zinnias (a member of the Asteraceae family), Blue Daze (Volvulus), Sunflower (Helianthus), Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow (Brunfesia), Siam Tulips (Curcuma)) and much, much more as well as a water feature. A variety of Bromeliads (Bromeliaceous) brings additional color to her plantings.
White Crepe Myrtle, Candy Stripe Crepe Myrtle and a Lilac Crepe Myrtle (Lagerstroemia) are just three of her various trees. Tina has no idea where the Lilac Crepe Myrtle came from other than nature decided her yard was a great place to deposit the seed. Other trees around her yard include a Fig Tree (Ficus), Eucalyptus Tree (Myrtaceous family), Jerusalem Thorn Tree (Parkinsonia), Plumeria (Apocynaceae) and Peach Tree (Prunus).
Continuing around to the backyard, you enter a peaceful setting with another water feature—a brook passing under a small wooden bridge surrounded by lush plants. There is Brazilian Cloak (Medazepams), a Coral Tree (Fabaceae) and a Loquat Tree (Eriobotrya Japonica) that was started from a seed from Bok Towers. One more plant that needs mentioning is the Vanilla Orchid (Orchidaceous). It is the source of the vanilla flavoring used in perfumes and cooking. To say that only the surface has been touched is accurate. We are very lucky to have Tina as a member of the Clermont Garden Club.
