After being forced to take a year off during the pandemic in 2020, the Garden Club of Jacksonville’s Blooms Galore & More came back with a bang in 2021.
The weekend started with a Preview Party on April 9, when about 150 people had the the first pick of plants and vendor offerings, along with a glass of wine, music by Swing Bone, and food truck offerings from Junkanoo Shack.
On April 10, about 1,000 people strolled through the campus-wide event.
Sprout Sale
Garden Club members donated plants they grew themselves to raise money for the nonprofit. Volunteers spent all week collecting, sorting, labeling, and pricing the plants in preparation for the sale. Guests who bought items at the Sprout Sale could take advantage of a plant valet to retrieve their purchases in their vehicles.
Green Market
Dozens of vendors provided environmentally themed products and services:
- Bee Friends Farm
- Duval Audubon Society
- Fay & Kay
- Glass Works
- Gourds Gone Wild
- Heart of Jacksonville African Violet Society
- Jacksonville Arboretum & Gardens
- Jim Love
- Joni Leonard
- Kim Guzzone Collier Artwork
- Kram Kran Photo
- Lisita Designs
- Little Black Box Baked Goods
- Lunar Harvest
- Native and Uncommon Plants
- North Florida Daylily Society
- North Florida Green Chamber of Commerce
- Pet Wants
- PlantLife Creations
- Root Natural Soaps
- San Marco Chz Fry Coalition
- Sophie Dare Designs
- The Herban Bee
- Tisket A Tasket
- Topsy Toffee
- Tower Gardens
- Wild Birds Unlimited of Jacksonville
Garden Club Academy
A looping video of Garden Club virtual programs played in the Club Room. The Garden Club launched this series of virtual programs in May 2020 through a grant from the Jessie Ball duPont Fund.
This Rocks!
A kids zone on the front lawn included nature-themed crafts, lawn games, and a comfy living room completely constructed of hay bales.
The event was sponsored by Standard Feed & Seed, signage sponsor Mark George & Associates , and those who donated to Garden Club Executive Director Denise M. Reagan’s 2020 birthday Facebook fundraiser:
- Karen Rinaman Barakat
- Lauren Baxter
- John Burr
- Caryl Butterley
- Debbie Rood Byrd
- Susan Caven
- Barbara Colaciello
- Ti ffany Robinson Davis
- Carole L. Fader
- Lisa Goodrich
- Rachel Kenneth
- Mark Douglas McCombs
- Bobi Johnson McGinnis
- Hope McMath
- Brooks Anne Hayes Meierdierks
- Gary T. Mills
- Kathryn L. Moore
- Aschelle Morgan
- Liz Morgan
- Robin Patton
- Nancy Nyquist Powell
- Kyle Sieg Yazbec
- Alicia DeWitt Somers
- Carl R. Stano
- Ed Stansel
- Marilyn Young
- Molly Strain Zickuhr