September 7, 2017 | Doors open at 6:30 p.m. | Meeting starts at 7:00 p.m.
Under the Spell of Succulents
Presented by Roz Tampone
Have you ever thought of tantalizing your succulent whimsy? With Halloween and Thanksgiving just around the corner, I think you might like this craft. If you enjoy creating succulent containers, you’ll enjoy making this pumpkin succulent.
Materials:
• Clean 8-12 “ pumpkin with a concave top, remove stem (the more unusual the better)• Sphagnum moss
• Spray adhesive
• Clear gel glue-hot glue gun
• Woody seedpods, acorns, rosehips, nuts in shells
• Few clusters of red berries, pyracantha, red pepper, cottoneaster
• Assortment of small, colorful succulents
• Scissors
Succulents: Aeoniums, crassula, echeveria, graptosedum, haworthia, kalanchoe, assorted sedums Directions:
1. Coat the pumpkins bowl shape top with spray glue.
2. Press dry moss onto the glue to form a ½’ thick bed.
3. Using the hot glue gun, glue the bottoms of the succulent rosettes atop the moss, beginning with the largest succulents, a little off center and adding smaller ones as you work outward.
4. Intermingle with the other dried berries, nuts, cones and acorns.
5. Surround the center rosettes with smaller succulents like sedums.
6. As you add more cuttings, and dry items, aim for balance and variety.
7. You want to have an abundant look with no moss showing. Plus, an eclectic mixture of colors and textures.
8. Using scissors trim the excess moss. Once or twice a week, spritz the arrangement with water to refresh the leaves and moss. Do not let water pool in the top of the pumpkin. A cool, dry location is best. If you leave it outside, place it on a trivet, not on concrete, where air can circulate. Protect the pumpkin from frost. To salvage the succulents, take cuttings. Or, just set the pumpkin in the garden, You can even slice the top off and plant it.
Roz Tampone's Bio 
Roz Tampone was born and raised in Dobbs Ferry, New York. After receiving her
Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Education from SUC at New Paltz, NY, she and her
husband Pete, moved to the Reedley area in 1975. They expected to live in Reedley for
just a few years; but, 42 years later they are still in the Fresno area. Roz’s mom was an
awesome, vegetable gardener and she developed a love of plants from her.
After teaching Special Education and being an administrator in Sanger for 35
years, Roz retired in 2012. Roz and Pete have been Bonsai enthusiasts since the 90’s. But,
she is relatively new to succulents. She developed an interest in succulents after she
became a Fresno County Master Gardener (MG) in May 2013. Because of her love for
teaching, she read many books about succulents and their care, and decided she would
teach some of the Adult Education Classes (AEC) for the public. She became fascinated
with the easy care and different varieties of succulents. She also likes using succulents in
different containers and crafts that incorporate succulents.
She has taught succulent and other gardening programs for the Master Gardener’s
Smart Gardening Conference, Fresno Home and Garden Shows, AEC classes, Clovis
Botanical Garden, the MG Speaker’s Bureau, and now for the FCSS. In addition, Roz and
fellow MG Melanie Sarkisian, have also been teaching classes about how to make hypertufa
planters. She is delighted to share her presentation about general care of succulents,
common succulents, succulent containers, and special crafts using succulents to the FCSS.
For those that are interested, she and fellow MG Wanda Addision, will be doing a
free demonstration on How to Make a Succulent Pumpkin at the Garden of the Sun, on
Wednesday, Oct 25 from 9:30-11:00 AM. They will also be doing a demo at the Betty
Rodriguez Library on Oct 25 at 6:00 PM.
Dinner: No dinner scheduled prior to meeting. See you at the meeting.
Plants: Please stop by the sales table and see Susan Cook's sales plants.
