INSIDE Lunch n Learn. Awards Night. Plant Sale. Upcoming Workshops. ... in honor of Evelyn Isbell. WMGA Newsletter.

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1 WMGA Newsletter... in honor of Evelyn Isbell May 2018 Hello my Gardening Friends, I hope since the Spring Plant Sale you are getting some much-needed rest! Ha, who am I kidding! We all know Master Gardeners do not rest when the weather is perfect outdoors. If you are like most people you are busy with a garden, weeding your flower beds and making some wonderful plant selections for your yard. Let s not forget about our lawns. There is always something for us to do. If you run out of things to do in your yard we have plenty of things to do at the Botanical Gardens and Landmark Park. Speaking of the gardens, we have a few projects on our to do list. We will have work days and I encourage you to come help. If you cannot work outdoors, please consider calling people for work days. We need to have a team working on the pot rack. If you have ideas on how we can make our pot rack better, please come share. We need some new ideas! We need help in our shrub area. Phyllis needs a shady area built in her area while it is nice outside. The summer is just around the corner. We are teaching a Junior Master Gardener class at the Botanical Gardens. It will be a short course over the summer. We are set to teach boys and girls at Aunt Katie s Community Garden during the summer. Teachers have signed up, but we do need assistants. Please sign up to help! I am very grateful for all the volunteers we have in Wiregrass Master Gardeners Association. I wish you all could have been at our State Conference in Birmingham. With it being in May there are graduations, weddings and other events going on keeping people away. This Conference was held all in one place. It was a little pricey but well worth it. The tours I took on the first day were awesome. I was on the bus going to three different gardens. The first one was Railroad Park. It is on 19 acres filled with ponds, walking trail and plenty of flowers. I was able to identify a plant no one on my bus knew. The next stop was Floss Furnace. We visited Grandmother s Garden. All heirloom plants were put in raised beds. The roses were sweet smelling and the mulberries were delicious. Our last stop was Jones Valley Teaching Garden. This is a huge operation and plenty of volunteers. They work with the schools and provide herbs and vegetables along with teaching the children. Other groups were touring the Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Aldridge Gardens. All the gardens on the tours can be seen. Please check out these beautiful gardens the next time you visit Birmingham. By the way the plant is a Rudbeckia Goldstrum also known as a Black Eyed Susan. Speaking of plants, we need to replenish some of ours for our Fall Plant Sale. Before you know it, September 15th will be upon us. If you need to divide some plants in your yard and share with WMGA give any plant parent a call for a dig. If you dig and bring to the gardens let one of us know. All plant parent contact information is included on the last page of the newsletter. INSIDE Lunch n Learn Awards Night Plant Sale Upcoming Workshops Turn the page for more from our President... 1

2 Thank you all for being such a wonderful gardening friend! We have a couple of volunteer opportunities coming up on May 19th and 20th. The Daylily Festival is Saturday May 19th from 10am to 3pm. The festival is free. If you can volunteer let Glenda Heney know. The Dothan Area Botanical Gardens have 2018 Spring Home Garden Tour on May 19th 10am to 5pm and on May 20th 1pm to 5pm. Tickets are $15.00 and are available from Helen-Sue Kemp and Lucy Edwards. I want to let you know of the passing of Steve Jacobson s Mom on May 9th. Please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers. Please remember to check on our members. Give them a call! I hope to see you all soon! Life is a Garden, dig it! Devonne May Greenhouse Work Day May Daylily Festival, 10:00 am 3:00 pm May Spring Home Garden Tour 10:00 am 3:00 pm May Spring Home Garden Tour 1:00 pm 5:00 pm June Lunch n Learn Pest Control, 12 noon June WMGA BOD DABG, 9:30 am Do you have an event you d like added to our monthly calendar? If so, send it to Chuck McManus (William.mcmanus34@gmail.com) Lunch n Learn-Pest Control Don t miss our next Lunch n Learn program. Grab a friend and bag lunch and meet us at the Houston-Love Memorial 12 noon June 12th. Please take note of this new date. Drinks are provided. Thanks to Carol Hardin and Dale Shaw for planning such great programs. Hydrangeas Colors One really neat thing about french hydrangeas is that their flowers will actually turn color depending on the acidity or the alkalinity of the soil. If you have acid soil, the flowers will turn blue. If you have alkaline soil, they'll turn pink or red. And if your soil's neutral. You'll get half and half. But what if you don't like the color of the hydrangea you had? You got pink, but you wanted blue? All you have to do to change the color of that pink hydrangea to blue is make the soil more acid. And you can do that by getting a bag of garden sulphur, sprinkling it around the bottom of the plant, watering it in, and that will acidify the soil. And you'll get blue flowers, but on the other hand what if you have blue flowers and you really wanted pink? In that case, get yourself a bag of lime, sprinkle around the base of the plant, water it in and it will change the color to pink. Now dont expect the color change to happen over night. It usually takes an entire growing season to work. So what happens if you don't want to go out to the garden center and get a whole bag of sulfur and whole bag of lime what can you do then. Well you can go to the garden center and get these two products. One of them is called color me blue. If you want pink they will have one called color me pink. What if you have a white hydrangea can you change that to pink or blue. No you can not. White ones dont change. 2

3 May Spring Garden Checklist June Fruits and Nuts Continue spray program. Keep grass from around trees and strawberries. Peaches and apples can still be budded. Shrubs Newly planted shrubs need extra care now and in coming weeks. Don t spray with oil emulsions when temperature is above 85 degrees F. Annuals and Perennials Late plantings of bedding plants still have time to produce. Watch for insects on day lilies. Roses Spray or dust for insects and diseases. Fertilize monthly according to a soil test. Container-grown plants in flower may be planted. Prune climbing roses after the first big flush of flowering. Bulbs Summer bulbs started in containers may still be planted. Do not remove foliage from spring flowering bulbs. Do not let seedheads form on tulips and other spring flowering bulbs. Miscellaneous Mulch new shrub plantings if not already done. Avoid drying out new shrub, tree, and lawn plantings. Vegetables Plant heat-loving and tender vegetables. Start cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and celery in cold frames for the fall garden. Plant tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and sweet potatoes. Fruits and Nuts Layer grapes and continue spray programs. Thin apples and peaches if too thick. Shrubs Lace bugs may be a problem on azaleas, pyracanthas, dogwoods, cherry laurels, and other shrubs. Water as needed. Fertilize now. Keep long shoots from developing by pinching out tips. Take cuttings from semi-mature wood for rooting. Annuals and Perennials Keep old flower heads removed to promote continued flowering. Plant garden mums if not already in. For compact mums, keep tips pinched out. Watch for insects and diseases. Bulbs Foliage may be removed from spring bulbs if it has yellowed and is becoming dry. Watch for aphids and thrips on summer bulbs. Miscellaneous If scale insects continue on shrubs, use materials other than oils. Set houseplants on porch or outdoors in shade and pay close attention to the need for water. If desired, air layer houseplants. Vegetables Plant beans, fieldpeas, pumpkins, squash, corn, cantaloupes, and watermelons. Plant tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and sweet potato vine cuttings. 3

4 Wiregrass Master Gardeners Association presents 2018 Lunch & Learn January 2 & February 6 March 6 A Year of Gardening what, when & where to plant Landscaping April 3 Container Gardening May 1 Succulents & Houseplants June 12 Bring a LUNCH & bring a Friend! Free Admission Drinks Provided Pest Control September 4 Herbs October 2 Native Plants 12 1 pm Community Room Houston-Love Memorial Library 445 North Oates Street Dothan, AL Extension 4

5 Daylily Art & Garden Festival The festival is free. If you can volunteer let Glenda Heney know. Headland's newest event is an expansion of one of it's oldest. The Daylily Art & Garden Festival is May 19th and features artists and a Youth Art Show inside the park of Headland s beautiful downtown square with farmer s market and garden-related vendors situated on the perimeter. Entertainment in the gazebo, children s art and gardening activities and gardening demonstrations round out the day's activities. Local daylily growers Bush Gardens offer garden tours nearby thoughout the day. News on State Awards Gold Badges, over 1,000 volunteer Hours: Lisa Enfinger Jane Klosky Platinum Badges, over 2,000 volunteer hours: Faye Carnley Judy Clardy Phyllis Poole Ruby Advanced Star over 4,000 Volunteer Hours: Devonne Ellis Emerald Advanced Star over 6,000 Volunteer Hours: Tom Boyle Cheryl Hatcher Top Hours of the State: Devonne Ellis Congratulations to all our winners! 5

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7 Dothan Area Botanical Gardens 2018 Spring Home Garden Tour A two day stroll through five homes, some with urban gardens and some in rural areas. Everything from sunny and shady gardens to a "wooded" garden and yard de'cor, including statuary and a garden with Asian influences will welcome participants on the tour. Saturday, May 19th 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. Sunday, May 20st 1 P.M. to 5 P.M. Tickets: $15.00 each Tickets are available from Helen-Sue Kemp and Lucy Edwards Tickets may be also purchased at the Dothan Area Botanical Gardens or any member nursery. In case on inclement weather, tickets will be considered a non-refundable donation to the DABG The DABG Spring Garden Tour will highlight one of the nurseries offering a 10% discount on all plants purchased by DABG members. This year's nursery will be P.C.'s Nursery. Thank you for supporting the Dothan Area Botanical Gardens by attending this year's Garden Tour. For more information on becoming a DABG member, contact the Gardens office at (334)

8 WMGA Contacts 2018 WMGA Board of Directors Officers: President:... Devonne Ellis Vice President... Steve Jacobson Secretary... Carol Taylor Treasurer:... Connie Ford Board Members: Board Member at Large:... Judy Clardy Membership Chair:... Tom Boyle Ways & Means Chair:... Helen-Sue Kemp Communications Chair... Chuck McManus Programs Chair... Janice Egolf Projects Co-Chairs... Faye Carnley Lisa Enfinger Immediate Past President... Beth Arnold Plant Parent Directory Annuals: Devonne Ellis Lisa Lopez Bulbs: Judy Clardy Perennials: Cheryl Hatcher Faye Carnley GrCovers/Vines/Grasses: Barbara Jowers Herbs: Linda Westphal House Plants/Tropicals/Succulents: Connie Ford Barbara Knight Shrubs: Phyllis Poole Trees: Ralph Byram Vegetables: Helen-Sue Kemp Charon Hodges Our Mailing Address: Wiregrass Master Gardeners Association P.O. Box 9376 Dothan, AL ACES Lucy Edwards Home Grounds Regional Agent Dale County Extension Office: (334) Mobile: (334) Visit our DISCLAIMER: The Wiregrass Master Gardener Association (WMGA) believes this information to be correct and accurate. Neither the Association nor its members accept responsibility for errors or omissions that may be made. The WMGA makes no warranty expressed or implied with respect to the material within. 8