The Garden Club at Palm Coast has recognized Debbie Lueckert of Casper Drive as September 2024 Garden Selection of the Month.
Ms. Lueckert, moved with her husband and 2 young sons to Palm Coast from Michigan in November 1980 to be with her family. Her parents were early residents of the ITT’s Palm Coast. Her husband was an ITT real estate employee, and Debbie was a kindergarten schoolteacher, where she finally retired 15 years ago. Now, she spends her time gardening.
Their landscape came with various palm trees such as queen palm, bismarck palm, areca palm, fan palms, and trees like weeping drake elm, 3 white birds of paradise, crape myrtles, and a Norfolk Island pine. The areca palm has a large staghorn fern nestled under its canopy along with dusty miller and red and white mandevillas.
Their front door welcomes you to beautiful pots of red anthuriums (aka Flamingo flower which supposedly symbolizes love, passion, and good luck), also fuchsias (the exotic flowers attract Hummingbirds and other pollinators), peace lilies, and a lush green tractor seat plant.
Throughout the landscape there are various flowering plants, such as: red gardenias, bougainvillea, angel wing begonias, and coleus, and for plants there are split-leaf philodendron, elephant ear, bottlebrush, and a money tree to name a few.
It needs to be mentioned that in the pool area, Debbie has an orchid pergola with over 50+ gorgeous blooming orchids (or as she says “too many”) as well as an octopus air plant, Turkish rope and mondo grass grown for ground cover.
Lastly, while in Michigan a fellow teacher gave her a Jade plant, which is still healthy and growing in her garden. Since earth science is a special learning area, each kindergartner received a Jade leaf, which we potted and cared for taking home at year’s end. As a high school student, one of her former students entered her plant and won “First Place” at the County Fair. Debbie says there may be over 800 Jade plants “out there”.
Thank you Debbie for enhancing the beauty of our community!
Submitted by Nancy Iandoli
Selection of the Month Committee
