INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — From those interested in dressing up their homes with orchids to others wanting to be more water conscious, Keep Indian River Beautiful’s Green Thumb Clinic generated a small crowd at the Indian River Mall on Saturday.
“We’re trying to bring awareness,” said KIRB Executive Director Vicki Wild, adding that the clinic was aimed at helping people help the environment by being more “green.”
To that end, the Florida Master Gardeners set up a booth laden with various brochures and handouts on how to make lawns more Florida friendly, how to fight off pests naturally and encourage pollination.
Master Gardener Arzella Hatfield said several people stopped by the booth with samples of bugs they’ve found in their gardens, hoping to find out what it was and how to get rid of it. Others brought leaf samples for identification.
Some even brought potted plants into the mall, trying to find out what’s ailing their plant.
“It’s summertime,” Hatfield said, “so we get a lot of insect questions.”
Bob Progulske, of Sebastian, came out to the mall Saturday to buy his son a new pair of shoes. What he wound up with was an armful of handouts from the Master Gardeners on how to convert his traditional lawn into a more Florida friendly one, using native, drought-tolerant plants.
“Conserving water is important,” Progulske said, adding that he’s in the process of removing the non-native species from his yard and planting natives in their place.
Progulske works for the US Fish and Wildlife Service in the Everglades Restoration program, so protecting the environment is key for him.
“Water resources are really in peril,” he said, and conserving water by planting natives helps to not only preserve water resources, but helps save money.
Along with the Master Gardeners, Bio Green was on hand to discuss alternative ways to spruce up lawns and fight off pests.
Bill Steward, a spray technician for the Vero Beach Country Club, works for Bio Green, a company that specializes in all-natural organic fertilizer and insecticide.
“We’re great for the canals,” Steward said, explaining that the fertilizer used in Florida doesn’t contain phosphorous or potassium.
Phosphorous is naturally abundant in Florida soil and is seldom needed as an additive in fertilizer, Steward said.
The nutrient is often to blame for algae blooms and other negative impacts to waterways, including the Indian River Lagoon.
Steward spent the Saturday handing out literature about Bio Green’s services and signing people up for a drawing for a free lawn treatment.
Down the way from the Green Thumb Clinic’s booths, volunteers got their hands and arms and smocks dotted with paint while decorating large rain barrels. The barrels are used to collect rainwater that’s then used to water gardens.
It’s a way to make use of what nature provides and save on water bills at the same time, according to Wild.
One volunteer who was heavily speckled with paint was Melanie Neach. She painted a barrel for someone who bought the barrel but didn’t have the artistic inclination to paint it herself.
“The lady likes flowers,” Neach said, explaining how the barrel had come to be covered with various flowering plants.
Along with the plants, Neach snuck in a chain of painted ants along the bottom and glued on a small spider.
“I like to sneak things in that are fun and unexpected,” the painter said.
Proud rain barrel owner Diane Devine sat back and watched as artist Judy Burgarella put on the finishing touches of her marine life inspired barrel.
“Oh my goodness, it’s beautiful,” Devine said as Burgarella spun the barrel around.
Devine, who doesn’t paint, was taught how to do seagulls and small fish, which she added to the seascape.
“We don’t get that much rain,” Devine said of the Vero Beach area, so the barrel would serve as a way to capture what bit does come.
Retired Osceola Magnet Elementary School Principal Susan Roberts took painting a rain barrel into her own hands having never painted much of anything before.
“I’m so excited to have one, too,” she said of purchasing the barrel. Roberts was busy painting large flowering plants around the sides of the barrel, noting that she hoped it would blend with her garden.
Keep Indian River Beautiful’s next event is scheduled for Aug. 11 at the Indian River Mall. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. artists will be displaying their “up-cycled” pieces of work made from repurposed items that would otherwise have been recycled or trashed.
Artists and vendors are still wanted. Those interested in participating are encouraged to contact KIRB by calling (772) 226-7738 or visiting www.KIRB.org.