Kathleen Bolanos, of Bayside Drive, has been recognized as February 2023 Selection of the Month by The Garden Club at Palm Coast. She lived in Tennessee before moving to Palm Coast in 2019. In Tennessee she owned 79 acres of farmland near the Tennessee River. She moved to Palm Coast because of her love for Washington Oaks Gardens State Park, where she volunteers at the greenhouse.
She is an organic gardener, pulls her own weeds, uses no chemicals, and grows food crops and concentrates on providing a suitable environment for pollinators. She enjoys growing many plants from seed, particularly her vegetables.
The front entrance has several potted succulents, bromeliads, jade, red dragon flower, ground orchid, bird’s nest fern, aloe, flapjack, and lipstick plant. The center island has several bromeliads mounted on a palm tree and other bromeliads planted in the ground as well as a princess flower. The front yard contains blue and coral porter weed, several shrimp plants that she propagates and has in several gardens, along with mint for a ground cover. There are pagoda plants, lipstick plant, small potted ponytail palm, bougainvillea, bleeding heart vine, assorted baby sun rose and thornless crown of thorns.
Native plants abound with Carolina jasmine, scarlet sage, button sage, lantana, scorpion tail, creeping sage, Maypop passion vine, coral bean, salt bush, and beauty berry. Several beds have her hand made beautiful pottery planters, pottery dolls and fountains. At night she has lighted wine bottles for her edging.
The large back yard has various bromeliads, variegated liriope, several fruit trees, red maple, Chinese fringe tree, and an orchid tree to name a few. She had an impressive vegetable garden with tomatoes, lettuce, kale, arugula, peas, beans, asparagus, onions, peppers, beets, cucumber, watermelon, and plantain. Submitted by Nancy Iandoli
