FLEMING ISLAND — The Flamingos of the Fleming Island Garden Club kicked off their new season with a Weird, Wild, and Wonderful program by Master Gardener Care Valleau on Growing Unusual Plants.

We heard everything from duckweed (that green stuff that floats on top of ponds) to the great Sequoias of California and everything in between. Care is also known for her succulent expertise; she brought plenty to show us and some to donate to our raffle table.

During our business meeting, a topic for discussion was to brainstorm ideas to replace our annual spring Art in the Garden event. One idea was to join with the Art Guild of Orange Park on their spring Artists’ Studio Tours, a two-day event planned for May 16-17. We would set up our plants and hand-made items for sale at one or more of the artists’ studios. Another possible alternative would be a wine-tasting event.

Another topic for discussion was the District IV Fall Meeting, which will be held on Oct. 18 at St. Catherine’s Church on Kingsley Avenue in Orange Park and hosted by the Fleming Island Garden Club. The featured speaker will be Environmental Horticulture Agent Tonya Ashworth from the Duval County Extension Center.

We also discussed the Great Southeast Pollinator Census held on Aug. 23-24. The Great Southeast Pollinator Census is a simple citizen science project designed to collect data for two days in August to capture a snapshot of pollinator activity, presence, preference, and plant flowering phenology. It was designed to be doable by the general public, whether or not they knew the different insects.

For more information on this, check out gsepc.org. Our final order of business was voting to hire a new web admin. The motion was approved so you can read about us on our up-to-date website.

More upcoming events include GardenFest in Starke on Nov. 15 and the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs state convention in Jacksonville from April 9 to 12. This year’s theme is Back to Basics.

We meet again on Monday, Sept. 9, at the Fleming Island Library Conference Room at 10 a.m., at 1895 Town Center Blvd., on Fleming Island. Visitors are welcome.