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covered by the climbing roses and allamanda vine which,
would have been typical of the era.
In support of the Shreve Street History
Park garden project club members will be selling Amanda
 Jarrett’s book Ornamental Tropical Shrubs and
caladium bulbs Saturday, April 3rd during the
Historical Society plant sale.
Membership in the
Punta Gorda Garden
Club is open to anyone interested in civic beautification,
horticulture, landscaping, floral design and youth gardening
programs. Meetings are held at 1:00 p.m. the 3rd
Wednesday, September through May, at the First Methodist
Church Lenox Hall. For further information contact
Agnes West at 639-747
Teen Writing Club
The
Peace River Center
for Writers hosts two writing clubs for teenagers who are homeschooled.
Teen Writing Club meets at
11-12:30 a.m., on Mondays at Harvest Baptist Church, 590
Tamiami Trail, Port Charlotte. The other meets at 10-11:30
a.m. on Thursdays at the Punta Gorda History Park.
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Executive
Director Carol Mahler teaches the club. Listed in
Florida’s Artists Residency Directory, Carol
has taught writing workshops for students of all
ages in a variety of institutional and community
settings. |
Each week, the Club focuses on one
particular kind of writing. The teens start by
reading and discussing an example or model, and then
they write a first draft during the Club time.
Usually, they have enough time to also do a fun
writing activity with the other teens. Teens are
encouraged to revise what they wrote during the
Club, and submit it to Mahler for critique. Some of
those revisions will be featured here. |
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“Pineapples in the
Park” was written by Sergio Ferrante as a descriptive
paragraph. The model descriptive paragraph was from John
McPhee’s essay “The Grizzly.” A descriptive paragraph
explains the characteristics of a subject for a particular
purpose. It uses images (perceptions through one of
the five senses), and these images are organized using
spatial transitions, such as at the top, below, beside,
on one side, and so forth.
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Pineapples in the Park
by Sergio Ferrante
I recently learned what pineapple plants look like.
I first saw these plants at the Punta Gorda History
Park. They have spiky green leaves that grow out
like a palm tree. Whenever the wind blows the
pineapple plant rustles. If I touch the pineapple
itself, it is sharp and pointy. I was surprised to
find that pineapples don’t grow on trees. Before I
knew better, I thought they grew on pineapple palms,
but instead they grow on plants in the ground. |
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photo of "double"
pineapple by: Lynn Harrell |
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Attention Punta Gorda Clubs....
Do you want Punta Gorda Life to feature your club in
upcoming editions? If so,
send us your story and
include some photographs if possible. |
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The
garden at the History Park includes roses, annuals
and perennials that would have been grown in south
Florida during the late 1800’s and early 20th
century. The path, laid by club members, which
winds through the plantings, is from recovered Punta
Gorda street bricks. The fence and arbor will, in
time, be 
