Sprigs & Sprouts. October Limestone. County. Master. Gardener. Association. A letter from President Carole Barron,

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1 Limestone County Master Gardener Association October 2013 Sprigs & Sprouts A letter from President Carole Barron, Let me start my saying how much I appreciate each and every one of you. It has been such a pleasure getting to know some of the newer members and interns this year and getting ideas and input from them as well as our long term members for building a stronger group. We started reporting "individual projects" at our meetings as a way to see just what everyone is up to on their own, a gardener always learns from other gardeners. The plant sale in April was a huge success, thanks to all of you. It is so wonderful to see everyone pull together to support what we love the most, plants! Some of us are potting up plants now for next year s sale and others are dreaming up garden related items to build and donate. This year we did not plant a 'Community Garden' but we did build a Demonstration Garden at the Visitors Center in Athens. This project is easier to maintain and has been very well received by the public. Come and take a look at it soon! Another project this year has been the Ask A Master Gardener booth at the Farmers Market. It was good to see so many people stop by for information and show interest in our organization. Last year we decided to enter a Scarecrow in the Scarecrow Trail at the Huntsville Botanical Garden and what a fun time building him was. Just seeing him wearing Jim Ladner s hat made all that stuffing worthwhile! Since our last newsletter we lost one of our Master Gardeners that we all held close to our hearts. Tommy Hutton was an asset to our group as well as a dear friend to all who knew him. He is greatly missed, but we continue on to make him proud of this group of gardeners. Thank you again for all of your support and efforts. Carole Barron Photo by Jim Ladner MG since

2 Meet Carole Barron by Tom Ress, MG since 2008 This article was written before Carole started her 3rd year as President of the Limestone County Master Gardeners Association. Carole Barron is embarking on another year as President of Limestone County Master Gardeners Association and, if this year is anything like the past two, we can expect another active and lively year of projects, outings and get-togethers. Her dynamic leadership is infectious and LCMGA events are fun and friendly affairs. Carole s love of gardening stems from a very early age when her grandmother, who lived with her family until Carole was seven years old, fostered her gardening interest. Carole remembers her grandmother growing beautiful flowers and brightening up their house with fresh flower arrangements. Her husband, obviously a very perceptive and romantic type, continued this flower tradition and spoiled her by bringing her flowers and roses from time to time. After their first child was born, for her first Mother s Day he bought her a rose bush and told her that since we were starting a family, he might not always be able to buy her a rose, so this way she would always have one whether they could afford it or not. She still has that rose bush 37 years later. Despite the early head start from her grandmother, as an adult her gardening got off to a rocky start. Her first gardening efforts were mostly trial and error--some things worked but most things did not. She dove right in, spraying her back yard with Roundup and haphazardly digging holes and sticking plants in the ground. Perhaps sensing that she needed help, she dropped by the Extension Office and met Doug Chapman, who was over the MG program at that time. He recommended that she take the Master Gardener course and in the spring of 2003 a new Master Gardener was born! As with most of us who become Master Gardeners, her gardening style has changed and she is now able to knowledgably pick and choose the types of plants she wants. She likes maintenance free plants and says that hydrangeas are among my favorite plants, along with the decorative grasses and perennials, as well as Japanese maples. In a statement that perfectly captures her love of gardening she says that It is so exciting to uncover plants in the springtime...just like seeing old friends again. I have a small wildflower garden that is pretty short lived and is not very showy but I love seeing how they are doing and if they have multiplied any. Becoming a Master Gardener made her realize that there are many resources out there to help with any type of problem or question one may have related to gardening. She learns from other MG's too says that it is a real benefit to be in an organization with so many knowledgeable and sharing people. She is proud of the fact that there have been challenges met during her tenure without losing members. One of the major challenges she sees with LCMGA is continuing projects with the small number of members and she would like to see every member do what they can, when they can--but most of all, enjoy it. She has encouraged MG meeting attendees to share what we have been doing on our personal projects, an idea which has sparked a new interest in sharing ideas and knowledge among us. Carole says the worst part of being President is feeling responsible if a project does not go well but the best part is that she gets to interact with all of the members and always know what is going on. Characteristically, she says that the members of LCMGA make it easy to be President. Her goals as President for 2013 are to bring in more members and get more of our present members involved in making decisions on how we can grow as a group. Accordingly, she is looking forward to some great meetings and programs this year and hopes that all members will attend and enjoy them. Apart from LCMGA, Carole stays busy with family, including her three grandchildren. She likes to travel with her husband and loves to cook and entertain with friends. 2

3 LCMGA 2013 FALL GRADUATES My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. H. Fred Dale (gardening books author) Limestone County Master Gardener Association has three graduates from the October 29th Tri-County Master Gardener Fall 2013 Graduation. Photos on this page by Andria Cummings Jenny Bowen says My yard is my haven. She has been working on the Triangles Project and loves the Ask a Master Gardener project on Saturdays at the Farmers Market in Athens. Tracy Winkler (center first row) loves seasonal flowers in her garden. She convinced her friend Becky to join the MG class with her. Becky McFall (center first row) enjoys working her landscape, I just like to dig! She has always had a garden, remembering her parents garden fondly, and says gardening is therapeutic. She gave up the book club this year to take the MG class. Master Gardener Classes Classes begin in January & August at Belle Mina, Mooresville Rd, Limestone County For a 13 week course, Apply to: Ken Creel, Regional Extension Agent, 819 Cook Ave, Huntsville, AL Phone About 55 people attended the Fall 2013 ceremonies including volunteers from each county in the tri-county area. LCMGA volunteers pictured are Donna McMillan, Patricia Frey and Joni Gruber. 3

4 Master Gardener Planting Beds (triangles) at Hwy 31 and Hobbs St. Many thanks to the volunteers who helped with planting fall and spring flowers, setting up the sprinklers, and keeping the weeds down to a manageable level. The lantana and mounding zinnias did very well through the summer. I thought the yellow/orange mounding lantana, planted on the back row of the south display bed, would grow tall enough to be a third tier of plantings. Instead, they didn't get any taller and thus were basically hidden from view all summer. The periwinkles never did get established, so they all eventually died off in the heat of the summer. by Bruce Fulton, MG since 2005 The Limestone County Master Gardeners sign continues to be used at the triangles when work is done there. The sign was also used at last year's pretty fall decorations on the front lawn of Jerry and Kathryn Davis s property. The mulch from the Athens Street Department s mulch pile has not been utilized yet this year on the planting triangles, which was probably one of the main reasons for so many weeds this year. One other was all the rain we had. I am planning on heavily mulching the triangles after the fall planting, and after the barberries are once again cut back to the ground. Visibility of oncoming traffic was an issue for motorists due to the height of the holly and barberry shrubs. To correct this situation, I cut back the hollies, and cut the barberry plants to the ground. The barberries came back nicely even after such a sever cut. The plan is to keep the height of plants/shrubs at the triangles to a max of 18" to 20". The barberries will be cut back to the ground each year to keep them at an acceptable height. I am considering eventually replacing the barberry with low-growing perennial shrubs that have good year-'round color, like dwarf loropetalum. I would be interested in other suggestions. One of the strategies for the triangles is to keep introducing perennials to the planting areas, to reduce the number of annuals required, thus reducing the labor and cost. The asters added last year look like they will provide a good splash of fall color to the triangles. The Stella d'oro daylilies planted this year should get established and put on a show next year. Another strategy is to further define the planting areas for annuals by using liriope to frame annual beds, and to try planting monkey grass in the areas that are hard to reach with the sprinklers (north and west points of the north triangle), or areas prone to be driven on by motorists. I am open to and would appreciate any suggestions or constructive criticism concerning the planting triangles at Hwy 31 and Hobbs. Jerry Boyd has offered several suggestions about the use of pre- and post -emergent herbicides, and some sprays, etc. to rein in some of the toughest weeds, like nut sedge. I hope to use more of these in the future. Also, Jerry and Carole reminded me of the benefits of heavy mulching for weed control. Thanks again for all your support. Ideas from the LCMGA Facebook page new in Thanks Michele Custer! Repurposing 24/7 What to do with those broken pots? 4

5 THE WHEELBARROW by Joni Gruber MG since 2006 This time saving, serviceable, hand-held bucket with only one front wheel, is arguably the most useful tool in our garden shed. I fill the wheelbarrow with plants, tools, dirt, fertilizers, water and any other thing that will beautify a garden bed, then wheel it over in just one trip. When finished, it s pushed away from that bed with empty pots, torn up bags, & dirty tools. Job done, it gets hosed down and put it in the front of the shed because that handy prize is always the first out and last in. Since at least ancient Greece, as long as it had a wheel, a bucket or flatbed and handles, we have been using the wheelbarrow to haul things from one spot to another. In the olden days it was used during wars and battles to haul ammunition and injured soldiers. When fleeing a battle zone, the wheelbarrow carried the oldest, youngest, and frailest inhabitants away to safety. In researching information of the wheelbarrow s past, I found the Internet mentioning records as far back as BC in an inventory list from the temple of Eleusis (in Attica, near Athens, Greece), among other machines and tools, 1 body for a one-wheeler (hyperteria monokyklou.) The one-wheeled vehicle is also mentioned in the 4 th century AD as adopted by the Romans and from there into the Byzantine Empire. Further research by professionals is still needed to plot its path of existence through time, but it was found in Europe after having been transported from China through the normal channels of importing goods. The English and French historians find the wheelbarrow referenced in science sources between 1172 and 1250 AD in construction, mining, agriculture and in illustrations of its use. By the 15 th century, the wheelbarrow was more commonly used but still mostly limited to Europe, and China. Pictorially, there are more numerous etchings of one-central-wheeled carts pushed by Chinese workers or pulled by Cows. Another was the now universal one-front-wheeled push cart. Both were transporting people, hauling construction materials or used in harvests of the fields and gardens. The most interesting use was found in Chinese records in the 6 th century where onewheel sailing carts were used and later seen by Andreas Everardus van Braam Houckgeest. In 1797 I saw a whole fleet of wheelbarrows each of them had a sail...made of matting the sheets join the shafts...and can thus be manipulated by the man in charge. These remained in use into the 20 th century for the movement of people and goods on both land and sea. As gardeners, we move nearly everything we use with our handy barrow, and as we find in history there is more than one purpose for this tool. Even when they get old and rusty and full of holes, we don t throw it out. We still use it in the garden, a sort of final resting place, as a planter with more beauty than ever. Housing the colorful flora bursting from its vessel is its last chore. LCMGA Christmas Party 2013 at the historic Donnell House 601 S. Clinton St., Athens, AL December 9th 6:00 PM 8 PM 5

6 Photo by Carroll Adams KALB Tree Giveaway, February 16, 2013 at Big Spring Park. Thousands of trees were given away to replace trees lost in the April 2011 tornadoes as part of the Alabama Tree Recovery Campaign. Other sponsors included Arbor Day Foundation and Forestry Commission with LCMGA volunteers. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people. Franklin D. Roosevelt LCMGA 2013 Project Demonstration Garden Big Spring Park Athens Photo Above & Left by John & Donna Cotton MG s who had the major responsibility of making the Demonstration Garden happen: Jerry & Kathryn Davis and John & Donna Cotton LCMG s in the above photo left to right: Donna Cotten, Donna McMillan, John Cotten, Roberta Ress, Patricia Frey, Kathryn Davis, intern in Fall 2013 class, Karla Knight, another intern in Fall 2013 class. It s great to see the interns coming to LCMGA projects! 6

7 LCMGA 2013 Meeting Recap LCMGA Meetings Every second Monday of the month At noon. Call for info Master Gardener Helpline: GROW (4769) January February - Officer s Meeting - Theme: Make your own valentine about your Love of Gardening. Speaker was Karen Voelker on Zen Gardening March - St Pat s Party with Speaker Denise Woodring of Green Thumb Garden Consulting talking about Rain Gardens April May - Plant Sale Preparation - Evening Picnic meeting at First Nat l Bank w/speaker Bill Chappell, President of the Huntsville Rose Society June - Day Lily month with speaker Mrs. Faye Tribble, a special education teacher who gardens at the greenhouse with her students. July August September - Gardening for the Birds with Herb Lewis & Pot Luck - Pot Luck lunch with Phillip Oliver, who presented a talk and slide show of his garden in Florence from its beginning. This talk followed a field trip to his garden earlier in the year (May). - Evening meeting at the new Demonstration Garden at Big Spring Park. Eloisia Stokes spoke about Winter Gardening October November December - General meeting, committees yearly review - Voting for new officers - Evening Christmas Party and Officer Installation Limestone County Office of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System LIMESTONE COUNTY MASTER GARDENER ASSOCIATION (LCMGA) 1109 W. Market Street, Suite A, Athens, AL (256) limestonemg@yahoo.com 7