New Smyrna Beach Garden Club

06/23/2026

Have you reserved your spot yet? Butterfly Appreciation Day is almost here!

Visit the gardens on Wednesday, June 24, from 10:00 AM–Noon for a fun and informative program celebrating butterflies and the pollinators that keep the gardens thriving.

📍 Location: Brevard Discovery Garden
3695 Lake Dr, Cocoa, FL 32926

Hosted by the Merritt Island Wildlife Association and Brevard Discovery Garden, this free event includes:

🦋 Pollinator Gardening in Small Spaces
Sally Scalera, UF/IFAS Extension Urban Horticulture Agent, will share practical ideas for attracting pollinators to small yards, patios, and container gardens.

🦋 Butterfly Identification Tools & Resources
Rochelle Hood, Executive Director of the Merritt Island Wildlife Association, will review butterfly identification resources and demonstrate special close-focus binoculars designed for butterfly viewing.

🦋 Appreciating Butterflies
Retired Florida Park Service Ranger Ed Perry will discuss butterfly life cycles, food requirements, and species commonly found in our area.

🦋 Guided Garden Walk & Butterfly Count
We'll conclude with a walk through the Brevard Discovery Garden to identify and count butterflies throughout the garden.

🎁 Sponsor-donated door prizes will be awarded at the end of the presentations (must be present to win).

Admission is free, but registration is requested to help us prepare for the event.
Reserve your spot today: https://www.eventbrite.com/.../2026-butterfly...

06/22/2026

Great idea…. 💕

06/10/2026

On Thursday, June 4, Mary Heasley, Hope Jenkins, and Sue Schwulst had the opportunity to certify Judy Anderson’s butterfly sanctuary garden in New Smyrna Beach. Surrounded by host and nectar plants, we enjoyed visits from butterflies and even a hummingbird while sharing stories and gardening tips for attracting butterflies and other pollinators to our gardens.
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06/09/2026

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An Oak Hill Butterfly Garden project initiated in April 2025 came full circle on May 27, 2026. On a beautiful Spring morning at STEAM Station/Liberty Oaks Academy, Butterfly Gardening Certification Committee members Hope Jenkins, Mary Heasley and Julie Kirton joined Erica Garris - Operations Manager, Christina Antinori - Owner, educational staff, and several school children to certify their butterfly garden. A certification celebration was held in their award winning 600 square foot butterfly sanctuary. A once derelict in-ground swimming pool was now alive with Florida native blooms; most taller than the children who planted them in September 2025,

The Oak Hill school project represents more than landscape improvement. The butterfly garden has become a living classroom where their students can learn about native plants, experience pollinator activity, and expand their role as stewards of the environment.

The NSBGC is proud of this project and our ongoing relationship with STEAM Station/Liberty Oaks Academy; committed to help with garden maintenance, conduct pollinator educational programs, and promote the importance of planting native plants.

06/08/2026

HAPPY WORLD OCEAN DAY! 🌎🌊Did you know... Sea turtles travel throughout the world’s oceans and can be found in every ocean except the Arctic! Today also officially kicks off our favorite week of the year ! 🐢

Artwork by Lina Alicia M

06/06/2026

Manatees….

06/06/2026

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The Great Pollinator Census

The Great Pollinator Census is set for August 21st and 22nd in six (6) Southeastern states, including Florida…PLEASE BE A PART of THIS!!!
Why is this so important? Well, here is why, 30 % of our world food supply depends on pollinators…bees, moths, selected flies, butterflies, hummingbirds and bats, yes, even bats. As our world is going through dramatic changes like the construction of the new interchange on to I-95, pollinators are in major decline. We may just wake up too late, and we won’t be able to feed our growing population.

Our research communities, mainly our land grant universities i.e. University of Florida, as well as others like University of Georgia, Auburn, Clemson, Mississippi State and North Carolina State are doing major studies and need citizens’ input on helping to determine population trends.
So, what can you do, how long will it take and how do I get started, you ask? Here is the quick and simple answer; the morning of Friday, August 21st have picked out a flowering plant on your property or in your neighborhood, set for 15 or so minutes and record the number of bees, moths, butterflies, hummingbirds and flies that land on the plant using the form you will receive; do the same thing again on Saturday, August 22 and then send in or e-mail the information to the University of Florida!!! IT’S THAT SIMPLE!! Hey, kids also love to help!

Here is more of the specific details: Go online to; gsepc.org or you can get additional help by contacting the Florida Census Coordinator, Jeremy Rhoden, with the University of Florida via [email protected] with Institute of Food and Agricultural Science (IFAS) (352-671-8400). You basically sign up for the notice and the form, if all else fails, give Jeremy a call.
There is a paid course that is offered on the program that has a major focus on entomology. However, due to the timing of this notice, it may not be possible to enroll in the course in a timely manner but might be something to consider for next year.

My wife and I have participated in this a couple times, and it is fun, we help make a difference and we also learn a lot.
PLEASE GIVE THIS SERIOUS CONSIDERATION…Thank you!

Dave and Susan Bruce
Members of the New Smyrna Beach Garden Club

Citizen Science at Work

06/02/2026

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June Floral Arrangement placed in Oncology waiting room of NSB Advent Health Hospital…

This is Shirley, I met her many months ago at ADVENT, she is always happy and always smiling.She comes on the first wanting to chat, and I do, as long as she will. This is the reward for making these designs.

Bright bold sunflowers bring warmth and joy to any space. Have you ever driven across Kansas ? Miles and miles of sunflowers, waving at you in a gentle breeze. Sunflowers track the sun when they are young, a behavior called heliotropism. Sunflowers can grow up to 12 feet, and will produce about 2,000 seeds per head. Grown commercially for bird feed, dye and oil.

Maggie Hill Perry

06/02/2026

FYI…

👷‍♀️ With a three-month renovation of historic City Hall’s second floor now underway, our Finance Department – responsible for ensuring public services are funded, managed, and reported in a transparent, accountable way – has temporarily relocated to the New Smyrna Beach Garden Club at 2000 Turnbull Bay Rd.

Inquiries will continue to be accepted in person from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., by e-mail at [email protected], and by phone at 386-410-2650.

Dedicated as a cultural center in 1941, City Hall originally housed a public library containing more than 6,000 volumes, an art school, exhibition gallery, photographic dark room, and meeting space for cultural organizations. After the City Commission voted to take over a majority of the space in 1945, a new library named for Fred R. Brannon Jr., a recently deceased city attorney who had worked tirelessly to make it a reality, opened on Riverside Park in 1966.