A Message From our President, Mike Morrison

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1 Tipton County Master Gardener s Garden Gazette March 2016 February 27, 2016 Editor: Paula Sweatt Inside This Issue: 1 Message From the President 2 Projects Report & Speakers 3 Mark Your Calendar 4 Gardening Series Highlights 5 Expo A Message From our President, Mike Morrison For those who are proponents of rodent-based meteorology, you were pleased to see that Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow on Groundhog Day. I'm not really sure how it's decided he did or didn't see his shadow in the midst of photographers and news cameras, but the message of an early spring is always well received. For those who favor what may be more scientifically based signs of spring, we are encouraged by the days becoming increasingly longer, bulbs peeking through the soil, and as I write this, the temperature forecast for the day is 72. While gardeners are always eager to welcome spring, this time of year also heralds a very busy time of year for our organization. The Expo Committee continues preparing what promises to be another successful event. On April 23, the Arboretum Committee will see the culmination of all their hard work as we dedicate the arboretum in Drummonds Park. We all convey our thanks and congratulations to these two groups, and to all the other groups who work with The Ruffin, Court Clerk's Office and the many other projects we manage. All of these and more are possible by the continued dedication and collaboration of our membership - that's each and every one of you! How proud I am to be a small part of this organization!

2 Drummonds Park Arboretum Project Update Project Reports The completion of our recent workday at the Arboretum meant we were ready to send our application to the Tennessee Urban Forestry Council for official certification. The forms were filled out, a narrative about the project was written, a photo collage was made, a brief website description was written, and all was mailed off, along with the application fee and the official list of our approved and labeled trees. We are waiting on pins and needles to receive word of our certification. Our Ribbon-cutting day is set for Saturday, April 23rd from Please mark your calendars and plan to attend this exciting ceremony. The organization, Keep Tipton County Beautiful will be holding their annual Earth Day Festival in conjunction with our event, at Drummonds Park. The Boy Scouts will be leading us in a flag ceremony, Brighton High School band members will playing the National Anthem and other area schools will hopefully be involved in our day. There will be guided tours through the Arboretum. Tipton County officials will be in attendance, along with the Media and the Tennessee Urban Forestry Council. Children s activities will include a Passport through the Trees scavenger hunt, face-painting and more. We will keep you informed of updates via . Please consider how you would like to be involved in this exciting project. This is an all-hands project, but if you would like to be on our official committee, please contact the project chairs; Roxi Phillips at or Melinda Tankersley This Month s Speaker: The speakers for our business meeting on March 3rd, will be Roxi Phillips and Melinda Tankersley, cochairs for the Drummonds Park Arboretum. This is the newest of the Extension Master Gardener community projects. They will offer an informative slide-presentation about the park, the work that has gone into the effort, and what the future holds for the project. They will give you a quick handshake with each of the officially labeled trees in the park. The Master Gardeners certainly have much to be proud of with this exciting contribution to our county, and attending this presentation will bring everyone up to date on this collaborative effort. Last Month s Speaker At February meeting, Mr. Mark of The Dabney Nursery presented program of the nursery. He gave information on propagation as well as plants to enjoy in various locations. Attendees enjoyed the fantastic photos of a just few of the gardens.

3 March CEU Opportunities available Memphis Area Master Gardeners SPRING FLING Friday & Saturday march 18 th & 19 th, am-5pm Millington City Beautiful Gardening Series Tuesday, March 15--6:30 p.m. "Growing Organic Vegetables and Blueberries" Alvin Harris--Local Organic Farmer Baker Community Center 7942 Baker Street, Millington Free to the public Websites to check out for the latest news and events To access OneDrive & sign in (see prior ed instructions from Beverly Moranville) The Tipton County Extension Master Gardener Program trains and maintains horticulture volunteers for the University of Tennessee (UT) Extension Office. The goals of this program are to increase the availability of horticultural information for their members and the community and to improve the quality of life for the residents of Tipton County through horticulture volunteer activities. For more gardening information or to join the Master Gardener Program, contact: The Tipton County Extension Office 111 West Washington Avenue Covington, TN

4 From the Gardening Series at the Museum On the 6 th of February Sherl Rose took to her soapbox with the passion of a warrior when bestowing her new presentation, Grandma s Flower Garden, to a packed room of gardening enthusiasts. February 13 th Doninique Bellott, shared with a room of gardening devotees an interesting and informative historical presentation. Gardens with Capacity Formal English Gardens

5 Confirmed Expo Vendors: Papercrete Little Hill Nursery CARE Tom Mashour Bayless Nursery Earthcrafts Keep Tipton Beautiful Rocky Branch Brighton FFA Tipton County Museum Eileen Montgomery Gourd Art Sherry Law Reclaimed Garden Art Dan Mercier Amsoil/Garden Fertilizer Tim Burress Butterfly Weeds Holcomb s Swings & Gliders Garner s Nursery Singleton Garden Art Fountains Please thank our confirmed sponsors: Baskin s Paul Parker Rose Construction, Inc.

6 Please note; I apologize for the lack of informative articles. Some content was unavailable at the time of this newsletter s publication. This is your newsletter. The editors would love to hear from you, so please submit anything of gardening interest. For example: Dates of events you are interested in because not everyone may be in tune to your resources for information. Articles you have read, which in your own words you may convey from your prospective. If there is something you d like to see an article written about, let us know and we will research it, but it may be written from our point of view (see, it is better if YOU express yourself). If you want the monthly contest back, or something similar for brief entertainment we are open for suggestions. So if you have anything at all please submit to our newsletter chair by the 22 nd of the month. BTW the October thru December contests were a hit with a couple of other counties. 3 winners of the Deadly Beauties were two MGs from our county and one from another), November s movie quotes 2 winners was from other counties, and December s three winners of the Oldies but Goodies Christmas movie quotes were Two from Tipton one not a MG at all. Please submit any news articles, calendar events, or pictures for the newsletter to Paula bohcre@rittermail.com by the 22 nd of the month. Paula will to the editor of the month! THANK YOU!