Here’s the hottest news on the gardeners’ grapevine: We now have a dynamic gardening club in Costa Rica that’s growing every day. Thanks to the Internet and the dedication of Mariel Castañeda, we can enjoy interacting with other gardeners around the country through e-mail, chats and phone calls, and share gardening experiences as well as seeds and plants we’d like to exchange.
And the best news of all is that membership is free. Castañeda’s vision is to encourage, empower and support gardeners in Costa Rica. Her manifold goals are to:
–facilitate plant, cutting and seed exchanges;
–organize gardening book, magazine and catalog swaps and a gardening library;
–create a plant trial database for members regarding what is viable in Costa Rica; –plan visits to private and public gardens;
–invite speakers and offer workshops;
–facilitate foreign gardener exchanges (i.e., we host people, they host us);
–provide support to gardening enthusiasts who wish to start businesses;
–explore the possibility of creating a regularly occurring plant fair in the country;
–give opportunities for members and businesses to sell their plants and products;
–help gardeners obtain gardening space and/or agricultural land;
–share information on recipes and preserving harvests from the garden.
To join the Costa Rican Garden Club, contact Castañeda at mcastaneda@altigua.com or 2410-6096. Her trial gardens are at Altos de Antigua in La Palma de Puriscal, southwest of the capital (www.altigua.com).
We are also communicating via a chat group started by Fred Morgan. Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/crgardening to sign up.
I’ll be offering a monthly newsletter to members with more articles on gardening in Costa Rica. I hope you’ll join us online.
For information on tropical gardening in Costa Rica, visit www.thenewdawncenter.info or e-mail thenewdawncenter@yahoo.com.
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