The Magnolia Messenger Fall 2018 ========================================= Plant Magnolia - Honor our Heritage and Create Our Legacy

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1 The Magnolia Messenger Fall 2018 ========================================= Plant Magnolia - Honor our Heritage and Create Our Legacy Dear Magnificent Magnolias, Greetings from Our Director Wow! What wonderful activities from our Magnificent Magnolia Garden Clubs! You are all AWESOME! It is obvious that your commitment to your communities is important to your garden clubs. Following our state theme Georgia s Heritage, Georgia s Legacy we have secured our heritage with our birthday present of 90 natives. Now we embark on our legacy. Continuing with our commitment, we will build our legacy by teaching in our communities. I ask that each club provide one activity that teaches conservation and/or beautification to a sector of our communities. This could be with children, our members, city workers, seniors or even soldiers. This activity would be from April 2018 until March of Some garden clubs have already done this. Be sure to send pictures to me so that we can present our Magnificent Magnolias at work with our commitment to building our legacy. Our Annual District Meeting will be in Americus on October 16 th. I look forward to seeing you there. We will present our new district awards at that time. Just a reminder: your club will participate in the meeting with one door prize, a silent auction item, and a maintenance fee of $25 payable to Magnolia District and given to Clare Jenkins. Many have already mailed this maintenance fee. As I have travelled throughout Magnolia District I have learned the true meaning of magnificent through our Magnolias. Magnificent means caring and commitment to our communities. The world does not know how effective our Magnificent Magnolias are. Their Communities know. The Magnificent Magnolias educate, conserve and beautify our district. The presence of these Magnificent men and women known as Magnolias truly represent the Garden Club of Georgia in our southwest corner of the state. I am proud to represent you and proud to be helping to Row the Boat with you. Jean O Shields

2 An Invitation from Our Director The Magnolia District of The Garden Club of Georgia, Inc. Cordially Invites You to Attend Our Annual District Meeting Honored Guest: Jane Hersey, President The Garden Club of Georgia, Inc. Featured Speaker: Sam Wellborn The Columbus Botanical Garden Tuesday, October 16, 2017 Coffee and Registration 9:00 a.m. Business Meeting 9:45 a.m. The Pope Center South Georgia Technical College 900 South Georgia Tech Parkway Americus, Georgia Registration details in Call Letter.

3 For Goodness Snakes By Eloise Doty Growing up on a farm in middle Georgia and trailing behind my daddy I can still hear his words of caution, Watch where you step. Though we were probably in a cow pasture the obvious was not what he had in mind. What he meant was look out for snakes. A National Wildlife Federation survey shows at least 20 percent of the U.S. population suffers some degree of snake fear. Most snakes cannot hurt you but again in the words of my daddy, They can make you hurt yourself. There are 46 snakes that have been found in Georgia. For a complete list of these 46 and an identification chart see the Georgia DNR website. Snakes are dry and scaly and have a forked tongue used to "sample" microscopic particles from the air. Snakes are reptiles and cold blooded therefore we see more snakes in warm months and they are active in the fall looking for winter quarters. Snakes have about a 2 mile range so your snake today may be your neighbor s snake tomorrow. Snakes serve a valuable purpose eating mice, rats, other rodents think of them as the buzzards of the reptilian world- - not pretty but necessary. Snakes have gotten a bad rap since Biblical times and most snakes you encounter will not be poisonous. However, there are 6 poisonous snakes in Georgia: the copperhead, the pigmy rattlesnake, the timber rattlesnake, the cottonmouth, the eastern diamondback rattlesnake, and the eastern coral snake. Not all six are found in all areas of Georgia. Learn to identify these 6. The Georgia DNR has an online pamphlet and a poster you can order. If your fear has subsided and you are still reading this remember it is illegal to kill non- venomous snakes in Georgia, a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and a year in jail. So I am going to just forget I saw your post on Facebook about the only good snake is a dead snake. So don t freak out when you see a snake it is probably just as anxious to get away from you as you are to see it go. Do not try to corner or catch a snake. What if the worst happens and you are bitten? The timber rattlesnake, eastern diamondback rattlesnake and cottonmouth do pose a serious threat to human life. Is it likely to happen? No, but what to do if it does? I found this helpful information on the Georgia DNR website.* I took enormous comfort in the fact you do not suck the venom out.

4 1. Stay Calm. Get the victim to the nearest hospital right away! Call 911 or the Georgia Poison Center ( ) immediately. 2. Try to identify the snake by sight only. Look for color, patterns and head shape. 3. Do not try to kill the snake; it could bite again. 4. Keep the victim calm and immobile (preferably lying down). 5. Keep the affected limb at an even level with the rest of the body. 6. Do not give the victim food, drink, or medication (e.g., pain medications, alcohol, etc.). 7. Do not use a tourniquet. 8. Do not cut the wound. 9. Do not try to suck out the venom. 10. Do not pack the wound in ice. Bites from non- venomous snakes should be washed with warm soapy water; a tetanus shot may be needed. *Courtesy of Georgia Poison Center Now as you go boldly forward in your garden remember in the words of Franklin D. Roosevelt, All we have to fear is fear itself. Seriously, do watch where you step and where you put your hands. The Cherokee Garden Library By Joyce Carreker If you haven t visited the Cherokee Garden Library at the Atlanta History Center, you may want to take a vacation- for- myself day and do that. The History Center, which sets on a 33- acre landscape, features eight beautiful gardens, the Swan House with both gift shop and restaurant and, of course, the Cherokee Garden Library. Unique artifacts and books, a Seeking Eden display, and really great events offer you some exciting learning experiences. Call Joyce Carreker, , or visit atlantahistorycenter.com for more details. And you may really want to purchase your own copy of Seeking Eden!! It s awesome!!!

5 10 TOP NATIVE HUMMINGBIRD NECTAR PLANTS By Martha Price Bee Balm (Oswego Tea) (Monarda didyma) - Type of Plant - perennial; Height - 1 to 5 feet; Blooms - June to September; Soil - moist to well drained; Light - full sun to partial shade. Buckeye, Red (Aesculus pavia) - Type of Plant - shrub or small tree; Height feet; Blooms - March to May; Soil - well drained, moist soil types are best; Light - partial shade to full sun. Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) - Type of Plant- short-lived perennial; Height feet; Blooms - midsummer; Soil - well-drained, moist to dry soil types; Light - full sun to partial shade. Columbine, Eastern (Aquilegia canadensis) - Type of Plant - short-lived perennial; Height feet; Blooms - late winter to early spring; Soil - well drained, moist; Light - partial shade to partial sun. Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) - Type of Plant - Perennial vine; Length - 16 feet; Blooms - mainly March - September, will bloom throughout most of the year in some locales; Soil - moist to dry soils; Light - full sun to light shade. Horsemint (Monarda fistulosa) - Type of Plant - perennial; Height - 1 to 5 feet; Blooms - June to September; Soil - dry to well drained; Light - partial shade to full sun. Jewelweed (Touch-Me-Not) (Impatiens capensis) - Type of Plant - Annual herb; Height - 2 to 5 feet; Blooms - May to October; Soil - well drained, moist; Light - shade to partial sun. Redbud (Cercis canadensis) - Type of Plant -shrub to small tree; Height - up to 35 feet; Blooms - late winter to early spring; Soil - dry to well drained; Light - partial shade to full sun. Sage, Scarlet (Salvia coccinea) - Type of Plant - Annual; Height - 2 to 3 feet; Blooms - from late spring throughout the summer; Soil - dry to moist well drained; Light - full sun. Trumpet Creeper (Hummingbird Vine) (Campsis radicans) - Type of Plant - woody vine; Length - 36 or more feet; Blooms - summer; Soil - moist to dry; Light - light shade to full sun. Help Hummingbirds and Other Native Wildlife If you are interested in helping hummingbirds, butterflies and other Georgia wildlife, earn certification in the Community Wildlife Project's Hummingbird Haven and Gardening with Georgia Native Plants initiatives. For more information contact: Melissa Hayes at or melissa.hayes@dnr.ga.gov.

6 10 NATIVE PLANTS THAT CAN BE USED IN CONTAINER BUTTERFLY GARDENS By Martha Price You do not need a large area to plant native plants that attract butterflies and other native insect pollinators. In fact, you can grow beautiful nectar and pollen bearing plants in some as small as a container. Here is a list of 10 native plants that can be planted in containers. These flowering plants can enhance the beauty of your yard while providing butterflies with a source of nectar, as well as pollen and nectar for honey and native bees. Wild Bergamot (Beebalm) - Monarda fistula - Type of Plant - perennial; Height - 1 to 5 feet: Blooms - June to September; Soil - moist to well drained; Light - full sun to partial shade; Wildlife Use - butterflies, songbirds, hummingbirds Spotted Beebalm (Spotted Horsemint) - Monarda punctata - Type of Plant - perennial; Height - <3' feet; Blooms - Middle of Summer; Soil - Sandy, well drained; Light - full sun to partial shade; Wildlife Use - native insect pollinators, hummingbirds Blazing Star (Liatris) - Liatris spicata - Type of Plant - perennial; Height - 2 to 3'; Blooms - midsummer to fall; Soil - average to poor, dry soil types; Light - full sun; Wildlife Use - butterflies (a favorite of monarchs), native bees Native Phlox (Garden Phlox) - Phlox paniculata - Type of Plant - perennial; Height - 3 to 6 feet; Blooms - summer - fall; Soil - moist; Light - full sun; Wildlife Use - native insect pollinators, butterflies (especially eastern tiger swallowtail butterflies), hummingbirds, songbirds Stokes Aster (Cornflower) - Stokesia laevis - Type of Plant - perennial; Height - 8 to 30 inches; Blooms - summer; Soil - moist, rich, well drained acidic sands; Light - full sun to light shade; Wildlife Use - butterflies Eastern Silver Aster - Symphyotrichum concolor - Type of Plant - perennial; Height - 2 to 3 feet; Blooms - late summer to fall; Soil - moderate to dry soil types; Light - full sun; Wildlife Use - native insect pollinators Black-eyed Susan - Rudeckia hirta - Type of Plant - biannual, often grown as an annual to short-lived perennial); Height - 1 to 3 feet; Blooms - summer; Soil - moist, organic to moderate soil types; Light - full sun; Wildlife Use - native insect pollinators, butterflies, songbirds (particularly American goldfinches) Purple Coneflower Echinacea purpurea - Type of Plant - Perennial; Height - 2 to 4 feet; Blooms - summer; Soil - well-drained to moderate

7 soil types; Light - full sun; Wildlife Use - butterflies (particularly common buckeyes), bumble and carpenter bees as well as other native insect pollinators Blue Mistflower (Hardy Ageratum) - Conclinium coelestrium Type of Plant - perennial; Height - 18 to 24 inches; Blooms - late summer; Soil - fertile soil types; Light - full sun; Wildlife Use - native insect pollinators, butterflies Annual Blanketflower - Gallardia pulchella - Type of Plant - perennial; Height - 1 to 3 feet; Blooms - early summer to fall; Soil - any welldrained soil; Light - full sun; Wildlife Use - butterflies and other native insect pollinators Magnolia District Special Projects Evelyna Keadle Rogers & Barbara Keadle Johnson One of the Magnolia District Special Projects is The Magnolia Challenge. Each garden club in the Magnolia District is invited to join in the challenge by sending in your pledge card agreeing to plant a Magnolia tree in a public place in your community. You are also asked to send us any newspaper articles about your planting. Clubs participating will be recognized at the District meetings, and clubs will receive a certificate of recognition. Your pledge card is included below. Please enroll your garden club in The Magnolia Challenge now. We thank you for your participation in this special project. The pledge card should be ed to rogers2767@bellsouth.net. (Please put Magnolia Challenge in the subject); or, pledge cards may be mailed to Barbara K. Johnson, 7695 Georgia Highway 37, Camilla, Georgia THE MAGNOLIA PLEDGE The garden club pledge to plant one or more Magnolia trees in a public place in our community as a part of The Magnolia District Special Project- The Magnolia Challenge. (city) President. Contact information for President (phone) Mailing

8 Oglethorpe Garden Club Butterfly Garden By Marilyn McLendon The Oglethorpe Garden Club celebrated its newly established Oglethorpe Garden Club Butterfly Garden with a dedication ceremony on May 31, 2018, at its site at the Oglethorpe City Hall. The members were delighted to have representatives of Magnolia District Board, city officials, Downtown Development Authority members, Chamber of Commerce representatives, friends, as well as children from the city library s summer reading program and their parents present. The garden contains nectar plants to attract pollinators, host plants to nurture five different caterpillars as they become butterflies, blooms just for beauty, a bench for time to enjoy and contemplate, and a special raised bed Kids Garden for children to discover and learn through hands on use. The garden is a work in progress, each season bringing new lessons to make it even better. Annette Wise, director and co- founder of the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail, spoke of appreciation for the garden being placed on the public trail. The sign marking it as such was unveiled for the first time. Marilyn McLendon dedicated the garden to all citizens of Oglethorpe, Macon County, and all others who choose to visit. It is to be a place to enjoy the beauty and miracles of nature, especially butterflies. Come visit at 100 Chatham Street, Oglethorpe Park in the parking lot, and you can t miss it.

9 Beautiful View Garden Club Aids Providence Canyon By Kay Hagler Picture Providence Canyon State Park s landscape as a life-scape video to watch grow, bloom, go dormant, and regenerate with the seasons. Whether you realize it or not, all landscape probably wants to make sense in nature and be organized according to natural laws. It wants to be vibrant and deliver a Wow! in the form of blossoms and color that help plants reproduce but also help draw us in with their beauty. That is what the nature of Providence Canyon does for its visitors. The Little Grand Canyon formally known as Providence Canyon located in the Magnolia District and near Lumpkin, Georgia, has benefitted from grants received to update the Bluebird Trail of the Canyon and to rehabilitate the landscaping around the information center. The Grants were received from Department of Natural Resources, Garden Club of Georgia Magnolia District, Beautiful View Garden Club and from the Friends of the Parks. Providence Canyon was recently filmed by CNN and PBS. As Breanna Walker, Interpretive Range, Florence Marina State Park and Providence Canyon State Park, stated, We will have to keep a watch for the showing date and times. Some of the films will be used in the newly updated information center. Due to many reasons, the blue bird trail and the landscaping around the Welcome Center has fallen into disarray. The lack of manpower and financial concerns with the parks is a continual struggle. Dr. Rebecca McNeil, Botanist and Chairman of the Parks and Public Lands Committee, has always loved Providence Canyon and trained her students from Georgia Southwestern State University there. The rare plumleaf azalea ( Rhododendron prunifolium), found only in southwestern Georgia and eastern Alabama, blooms in Providence Canyon from mid to late summer, in the largest known wild colony of this species. Geologists use the canyon for training. The Providence formation, also known as the Providence Sand, makes up most of the canyon walls. One hundred and nineteen feet thick, it was deposited during the Cretaceous period, about 67 to 70 million years ago per The Geologic Guide to

10 Providence Canyon State Park, Georgia Geologic Survey. The Canyon is well used for entertainment, education, and survival skills. The bluebird trail at the Canyon is a series of managed bluebird nest-boxes with immense rewards and educational value. Bluebird trails require habitats having low grasses where insects can be easily spotted. The nest-boxes were in deteriorated condition. Beautiful View Garden Club and Magnolia District contributed twenty hearty bluebird nest-boxes that should last in excess of 20 years due to their heavy durable wood construction. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will contribute the poles for the birdhouses and erect the new birdhouses. At the Welcome Center an overgrown brambled central landscaped site was plowed, weeded, trimmed, sorted, and replanted. There is still plenty of work to do with the total welcome area but with limited funds from grants a variety of native bushes and plants were installed. The site is a work in process but the initial work was started and is looking good. Near the entrance gates a small area was developed with magnolia and other plants to enhance the area. All together fifteen (15) Hemerocallis: Happy Returns (Lily), nine (9) Rhododendron Austrinum, three (3) Admiral Semmes (orange) & six (6) Florida Flame (yellow)), three (3) Magnolia grandiflora var Little Gem, eight (8) - one quart Lantana camara 'gold mound', lots of cow manure, and lots of Pennington seeds were installed. There is a great need for physical labor for the area as well as a need for plants. Think of what you will be dividing this fall and next spring that might be donated to the Canyon or to Florence Marina. The Rangers routinely travel to Columbus and the surrounding area and can possibly pick up or someone can drive to drop off plants at the Canyon. Think about it. Also, funds can be contributed to the project through Magnolia District, through the Providence Canyon site or through Beautiful View Garden Club. Donations are tax-free. There is a need for irises, lilies, perennials, bushes, trees, cow manure and perennial seeds. The list is long so whatever you would like to send would be great but do check with Breanna Walker, Interpretive Ranger, Florence Marina State Park and Providence Canyon State Park,[GaStateParks.org] Parks, Recreation and Historic Sites Division. (229) (229) Facebook Twitter Instagram

11 The Rare Plumleaf Azalea ( Rhododendron prunifolium) Save Your Pull Tabs for the Ronald McDonald House Please continue to support this Special Project and make our District NUMBER ONE at the 2019 State Convention in Columbus. Be sure to put your Club s Name, Town & District on your containers. Listed below are the District Pull- a- Tab Chairman s name, and phone number. If you need any further information or help, please contact your Magnolia District Chairman: Anne Brock, briarwod@windstream.net,

12 In keeping with the NGC theme, Plant America, Dogwood Garden Club in Americus planted daffodil bulbs at Lake Blackshear Regional Library last spring. Shown is Diane Sumner, who did most of the planting. Joyce Carreker provided the pine straw. Willie Maxwell

13 District Flower Show in Perry October 5, 6, & 7, 2018 are the dates for the annual District Flower Show held in conjunction with the Georgia National Fair in Perry. This year Martha Price, Magnolia District, is the Chair with Lyn Freeman, Camellia District, as the co- chair. The show is entitled, Celebrating the Best and promises to be a beautiful show with entries in design, horticulture, and educational exhibits from both districts. Consult the website for the Georgia National Fair for additional information. Save the DATE!!! The GCG 91 st Annual Convention, Gardening on My Mind, will be held April 16-18, 2019 in Columbus at the Convention and Trade Center on the river. We, the Magnolia District, are hosting! Each Magnificent Magnolia is needed. Our Chair is Clare Jenkins. Please attend and support this event.

14 The Camellia Garden Club of Cuthbert recently celebrated the 90 th Birthday of the Garden Club of Georgia. The event featured a Birthday cake with Happy Birthday, Garden Club of Georgia and included a reading of GCG history. The group signed a Birthday Card that was sent to GCG President Jane Hersey. Pictured above l to r: Camellia Garden Club President Bobbie Liggett; vice- president Jan Johnson; secretary Norma Hayes.

15 OUR MEMBERSHIP Membership is the life blood of all garden clubs. The Garden Club of Georgia, Inc. (GCG) has dropped below 10, 000 members and this effects Georgia s ability to receive two National Garden Clubs, Inc. for two deserving students. Each of these scholarships is $4, Magnolia Districts s membership declined by 58 members in 2016 and by 16 members in Magnolia District s membership for 2018 is currently 655 members in 29 clubs. Membership loss occurs for many reasons death, declining health, moving out of state, in addition to a myriad of other reasons. Our magnificent Magnolias can rise to the occasion to increase the district s membership thus increasing the membership of GCG. This chairman urges each Magnolia to extend an invitation to a friend, neighbor, church member, new retiree, new resident in the community, and former garden club members. You may find a prospective member in the local garden center or perhaps in line at the check out at the grocery store! Just look around and invite someone to the club s next meeting. Offer to take the person to the club meeting. Be creative in finding people who are prospective members. It is by each garden club member s recruitment efforts that new garden club members are obtained. In recruiting a new member, tell that person about the wonderful projects and programs that your specific club has worked on and accomplished. Talk about what is currently in progress and how that person s talents and skills can be utilized. Explain the many wonderful opportunities available through GCG.flower show, garden consultant, environmental, and landscape design schools; Expressions; quarterly Garden Gateways; our annual meeting/convention; Blue Star Markers; and all the other great projects leading to beautification, conservation, and education which are the goals of GCG. One of the best things about being a garden club member is forming new lifelong friendships

16 In addition to members for local garden clubs, we have the opportunity to have Subscribing Members. The fee for Subscribing Members is $25.00; more information about this membership and the membership form are located on GCG s website. Each of us knows someone who is interested in gardening but cannot be an active garden club member at the present time. Giving a subscribing membership is a way to honor someone and generate interest in garden club. A subscribing member may be a spouse, neighbor, child, other relative, county extension agent, FFA sponsor, the mayor/council members/commissioners, and the list goes on. Each one can help to gain more members for our garden clubs. There is a saying that each one can reach one. This chairman believes that each magnificent Magnolia can reach and find at least one more magnificent Magnolia! Faye Frazier 4 th Vice President Garden Club of Georgia, Inc. **************************************************************** To submit articles for the Winter Edition, please them to jbcliett@bellsouth.net by January 31, Janice Cliett, Magnolia Messenger Editor ***************************************************************** ROW YOUR BOAT!!