Greenhouse Notes. Charlie Finley. good gardener, good friend. We shall miss him! President s Notes: Summer Steve Taylor President, CMGA

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1 Greenhouse Notes A quarterly newsletter for Coastal Master Gardener Association members. President s Notes: Summer 2015 It seems like I am running as fast as I can and still can t seem to keep up. I m not complaining. Everyone is busy in their gardens and the landscape market is wild right now. Trust me; that is a good thing. All around us we see the cycle of life moving at full speed. It is with sadness that I note the passing of our friend and fellow gardener, Charlie Finley. Charlie passed away May 26. Please keep Ellen and her family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. On a brighter note, a good friend anxiously awaits the arrival of a newborn baby boy this week. New life springs eternal! If you step outside and look around, new growth and color surround us. My gardens are growing like crazy, as I am sure yours are. Some of it is weeds that need to be dealt with, but the rest is glorious and makes me smile. The CMGA is seeing a similar pattern. We welcome new members from the MGEV class of Congratulations! You successfully completed the classwork and are now working to complete your volunteer hours. We have several great projects you can join and hope you are having fun! County Extension Agent Dave Linville retired in March and the search is on for a replacement. In the meantime Jackie, Susie and Tonya are doing a great job of filling the void until the position is filled. Please do not hesitate to contact them if you need any assistance ( ). Change is all around us. As gardeners, we should know and appreciate that better than most. This is our season of growth. Enjoy it, and actively participate in it. Get involved! If one of our projects grabs your attention, make the call and join the team. If you have a project that is not yet on our approved list, let us know. We will work with you to get it added to the list and publicized. There is much work to be done and more help lightens the load. Get out there in the dirt and enjoy the scenery. Sometimes life happens in unexpected places or opportunities. Don t miss it! See you in the garden, Steve Taylor President, CMGA Charlie Finley good gardener, good friend. We shall miss him!

2 Cody Adams Brent Levy Paul Arkwright Maureen Mezei Linda Artley Constance Nead Sharyn Baggett Bryan Patricia (Patti) Newman Bryan Laura Ballock Constance Parramore Mary Benton Anna (Betsy) Rabun Susan Derrickson Evelyn Redcross Liberty Kerry English Michael Rendeiro McDonald Fawcett Bryan Frances Gail Rogers Liberty Ben Foreman Mary Schwalb Julie Gillart Amanda Sedgwick Danae Goldberg Peter Simmons Bryan Edward Hahn Beverly Simmons Bryan Ellen Hatcher Sylvia Smith Edie Hockspeier Karen Sobol Martha Welsh Congratulations and welcome to the wonderful world of plant swaps, hands-on experience, and contacts who provide horticultural information on beyond Google. Not to mention some great fun doing things with people doing what you like to do while benefiting others.

3 Bonaventure Update Spring has really been very productive for our camellia project this year. The recently planted air layers have thrived in this mild weather and put on substantial quantities of new growth. We ve also planted three High Society camellias, courtesy of Doug Webb, at the Gaston Memorial, which is the first thing you see coming through the gates at Bonaventure. They have replaced some very sad looking hollies on a site which deserves more attention due to its historical significance. Air layering has been a major focus this year and two new homeowners have allowed us to make air layers of the beautiful specimens in their gardens. There must be close to a hundred new air layers taken recently which will be checked periodically throughout the summer and will then be potted after root formation. Although going to the store and buying plants can give you instant gratification, propagating plants through various methods is truly a more rewarding experience. It also gives you the advantage of seeing how individual plants react to various conditions throughout their life cycle, something a tag won t tell you. Although we did have several air layering field trips, we have still managed to spend quite a few hours at Bonaventure doing all of the usual maintenance duties. The camellias grew but so did the smilax, wisteria and other invasive plants that need to be kept in check. April showers bring summer drought around here so we will need all of the help we can get to water and fertilize our expanding inventory of plants. We re presently meeting on Tuesday mornings at 9am on Mullryne Way the first street to the right of the front gate so anyone interested in earning volunteer hours or simply want to learn about camellias and Bonaventure can meet us there. If you need more information you can contact Doug Webb at or douglaswebb@bellsouth.net or you can contact me at or richardgsommers@comcast.net Thanks to Doug Webb, Dennis Ronning, Ron and Belinda Jacob, and new MG Danae Goldberg for their many hours of help. It does truly make a difference. Also, for anyone new to Savannah, or anyone for that matter, the Bonaventure Historical Society gives free tours the second Sunday of each month which are extremely informative and may help you understand why we do become so dedicated to this particular cemetery. Check the community calendar in the local newspapers for further info. Jane Morel Sommers

4 The SACGC Botanical Garden The gardens have never looked better. They re overflowing with color and inviting visitors to take a walk to the pond to see what the turtles are doing today. The pavilion has been the setting for several beautiful weddings already. Wedding coordinator Betty Ward reports that weddings are booked every weekend through the fall and even a few are reserved in Harry s roses were in full bloom in April. Although the storm and rain damaged them, they very quickly came into bloom again. Harry s magic gives the Garden four blooms throughout the summer and fall. The walk to the pond through the Fragrant Rose Collection is a sensory delight everyone needs to experience. The Rose Festival on May 2 included arts and crafts, food, plants and roses, roses, roses. Hope Barton and her Master Gardener crew led visiting children in making very clever botanical-related crafts in the Children s Garden. Master Gardeners helped with an Ask-a-Master Gardener table and plant sales. The Garden thanks them for their invaluable assistance. The latest addition to the Botanical Garden is a brick circle flanked by three beautiful blue butterfly benches and large pots brimming with colorful flowers. The Compassionate Friends, comprised mainly of parents whose children have died, created this garden as a memorial to their loved ones. A dedication of the garden and a butterfly release was held on May 17. (See a virtual tour of the Garden on including a shot of this memorial garden.) A contingent of Master Gardeners from Mississippi are visiting Savannah in June. Their itinerary will include a stop at the Botanical Garden on the afternoon of June 10. If you d like to meet them, come join us in a tour of the Garden. The Botanical Garden is always in need of volunteer help. The Garden is an approved site for MG credit, of course. A group of workers is at the Garden every Saturday morning from 8 to 12. Harry tends the roses most every Tuesday and volunteers are there on other days of the week as well. We d love to see you in the Garden. Pat Ryan

5 Old Jail in Darien The progress at the Old Jail in Darien is moving forward in excellent ways! During a very productive day earlier this year, a hearty group of Master Gardener volunteers gathered to beautify the area. They trimmed and fertilized over 50 roses and planted numerous native perennials, such as tickseed, liatris, swamp sunflower, asters and echinacea. The island in front is now full of blooms and attracting many out-of-town visitors to see the beauty and value of this kind of gardening. Of course, there s lots of beauty and value on the inside of the Art Center and Museum too! The Master Gardeners who braved the cold were Bill Massey, Ronald Elcock, Gail Rogers, Diane Gustafson, Linda Tierney, Sue Hamlet, Shirley Brown and Ginger Pruden. Our goal is to continue to weed the area as we move closer to Fall planting days. Contact me if you'd like to help! Ginger Pruden ginpruden@darientel.net Coastal Wildscapes CWS has so many wonderful functions during the year. You don t have to be a member to attend many of them, such as the Lunch & Learn "Wetland Birds of Prey" on July 16th, but if you are a member, you can attend them all! Check out their website for upcoming programs and events -

6 Coastal Master Gardeners Association - PROJECTS Projects Committee: Faith Sadley (Chairman), Hope Barton, & Pat Ryan We had an Ask-a-Master-Gardener Booth at the rose festival held at the Savannah Botanical Gardens on Eisenhower. Several MGs volunteered and there was a very good turnout for the event. In May we paid out the grants for the Sol Johnson High School Vegetable Garden and the Midtown Miracle Garden. I would love to see some pictures on these projects. Report from MG Sue Hamlet on the Sparrow Field Pollinator Garden (you'll remember the CMGA made a grant to purchase milkweed for the berm.): "I received the three trays of milkweeds from Monarch Watch on May 19th. We got 32 each of tuberosa, incarnata, and perennis - they looked great, very full and sturdy. they were planted the next day into beds on the Pollinator Berm and I'm happy to report that yesterday we spotted a second stage Monarch caterpillar on the A. perennis (aquatic milkweed). Asclepias perennis This is an important project that we hope will help in understanding what is going on with pollinators. If you are participating in a project that perhaps CMGA could help with, please let me know. Master Gardeners are always looking for new projects to get involved with and we may also be able to help with the funding. You can contact me at flsadley@comcast.net. Faith Sadley The Pollinator Berm at Sparrow Field on Skidaway Island is developing into quite an attraction for winged creatures - and two-legged creatures as well as flowers on the 93 species of plants are creating a spectacular late spring display. Fiitz Clarke digging a new bed for milkweed The majority of the plants added to the 150-yard berm over the last two years by a group of 2013 Master Gardeners are native to the Southeastern United States. A number of plants were chosen because they are host plants for particular butterflies. For example, three pawpaw saplings were planted in hopes of attracting the zebra swallowtail. If we are lucky, the pipevine will attract the gorgeous blue pipevine swallowtail. Cloudless sulphurs can lay their eggs on the abundant partridge peas that grow naturally in the field or on the Christmas senna added this spring.

7 Continuing our association with monarch research, we have planted 6 species of native milkweeds and will be monitoring the larva and reporting to the University of Minnesota. It was exciting to discover a monarch caterpillar on one of the newly planted Aquatic milkweeds (Asclepias perennis). The tropical milkweed (A. curassavica) that was cut back in November has resprouted and will provide plenty of food for hungry larvae. It will be interesting to see if the monarchs have a preference of one species over another for laying their eggs. Several plants that have been deer resistant in the past, such as Bog Sage, are being nibbled. We are trying to consider the intrusion as just natural pruning. Most seem to be recovering from the foraging. We have been happy to welcome four members of the 2015 Master Gardening class to the Berm. Keeping ahead of weeds in the 150-yard-long garden is a challenge that requires many hands. So welcome to Maureen Mezei, Danae Goldberg, Marti Welsh, and Linda Artley! Diane Gustafson planting Asclepsia tuberosa There are 25 families of plants at the Berm, with NUMEROUS species in each, most of which are native to this area. For more information about the Pollinator Berm contact Sue Hamlet (hamletse@gmail.com). Tybee Maritime Academy With the help of the Coastal Master Gardeners, the Tybee Island Maritime Academy raised-bed project got under way last August. The academy is a public charter school in its second year of operation and received a grant from the CMGA. MGs Hope Barton, Ann O'Leary and Susan Ason have been working with the school. Here are some of the results (which would certainly make Bugs Bunny very happy):

8 Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens Spring and hints of summer are in the air at CGBG! The new Visitor Center has been beautifully landscaped and there are a few new Garden areas to enjoy including our beautiful Formal garden, the Trustees garden and coming soon, a White garden for weddings and other special events. If you haven t been recently, please come see us and all the beautiful additions. A special thank you to all our Master Gardener volunteers who helped teach Roots & Shoots this season. We had 1007 students through our program and the new programs were very well received. We will have another teacher training this fall if you are interested, please let us know and we will put you on the E- mail list for information on training sessions. Happy Summer from the CGBG staff! Liz Lubrani, Outreach Coordinator Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens elubrani@uga.edu Chica and Carl Arndt live in an old plantation home on the westside of Savannah. The original house (ca. 1809), in which they live, is surrounded by much of the old landscaping, with more plants added during the home's restoration in the 1940s and 50s. The Master Gardeners were given a fascinating tour and historical narrative a few years ago. Here are some updates: During the Kite Festival at Scott Stell Park in February, a kite flew into our yard and landed on a chestnut rose bush. The Festival is held by Savannah's Indian community and open to the public. Here, our tomcat perched on the edge of an old claw-foot tub. At one time The Farm had a herd of cattle and the tub was repurposed as a watering trough. Chica Arndt MG '99 If you would be interested in touring the old farm, reply to this and we can see if Chica would be willing to enthrall you with sights and interesting history of this property.

9 Programs Committee: Paula Wheatley (Chairman), Cheryl Drwiega, Elizabeth Lewis, Liz Lubrani The annual picnic held in May was well attended with a number of new Master Gardeners from the classes held this year. Thanks to Liz Lubrani for managing all the plans and securing food and drinks for the picnic. The following programs are planned for the remainder of 2015: July September CMGA General Meeting Andrew Morris from Savannah Hydroponics & Organics Tuesday, July 14th, 6:00PM Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens CMGA General Meeting Forestry by Gail Westcot of the Warnell Center Tuesday, September 8th, 6:00PM Hospice Savannah, Eisenhower Drive Saturday, September 12th - Forestry Field Trip with Gail Westcot of the Warnell Center -More Information to follow. November CMGA General Meeting Tuesday, November 10th, 6:00PM Herbs by Sheri Goodwin from Savannah Farms Hospice Savannah, Eisenhower Drive We need members to sign up for refreshment duty. Refreshments are paid for by the association up to $ Members are responsible for planning and bringing refreshments. It is usually too much to expect one person to do everything so we like for at least two people to sign up for each meeting. We need one more person to volunteer for July 14th and one person for September 8th. Contact me at pl_wheatley@planters.net or The programs committee welcomes and is encouraging anyone with program ideas or interesting speakers to come forward. In addition, we can schedule field trips and hands-on workshops. Let us know where your interests lie. Paula Wheatley

10 Seasonal Yummies - At this time of year we are highlighting Organic Potatoes! Nancy's Potato Soup aka Vichyssoisse (A soup by any other name...) My potatoes in the garden are grown, as everything else, organically. I have just discovered that Krogers carries organic potatoes, as does the Forsyth Park farmers market (at times). They are blooming now and I am beginning to dig them to cure and store, and one really good way to use them is in a potato/leek soup... hot or cold (which is called vichyssoise, and delightful on a hot day!) The preparation is wonderfully simple... Saute about 2 cups leeks in about 2 tablespoons melted butter in a large cooking pot Add about 4-5 cups diced potatoes and 4 cups chicken broth and simmer until tender (about 15 minutes) Let cool slightly and then pour the mixture into a blender and blend until smooth (or with a few chunks for texture) Season with salt and pepper (white pepper if you have it) and add 1 cup heavy cream if desired - totally optional. You can add green onions and regular onions in addition to the leeks - but you MUST use the leeks. Serve chilled as Vichyssoise, or hot as a wonderful soup. Minced chives are an excellent garnish. Enjoy! Nancy Tamarack Anyway, Say, kids, what time is it? It's Hypertufa Time! There are several of you out there who might not remember those first immortal words. Those of you who do remember - did you know Howdy had a sister named Heidi? Or that Clarabell went on to become Captain Kangaroo? True stories. Freya Zipperer has offered to host another hypertufa session at her place. If you are not familiar with the term: Hypertufa is a lightweight anthropic rock made from various aggregates bonded together. Hypertufa is intended as a manufactured substitute for natural tufa, which is a very porous limestone rock favorable for plant growth. We have used round or square forms (cardboard or plastic) to make things like pots, or large leaves such as elephant ear or palmetto fronds which make lovely birdbaths or yard ornaments. We are in phase 1 of the plans for this. If you are interested in participating, please respond to this so we can get an idea of how many would be involved.

11 SPRING Mystery Plant Aesculus pavia Red Buckeye Imagine flying up to 500 miles across the Gulf of Mexico when you only weigh as much as a penny. That's the challenge facing the ruby-throated hummingbird as it migrates every spring and fall to and from its homes in North and Central America. The trip takes 18 to 24 hours, and the tiny bird does it nonstop. Growing a red buckeye tree, with its bell-shaped flowers that bloom just as the hummingbirds arrive back up north, is a great way to help them refuel. The Georgia Native Plant Society named it "Plant of the Year" for It is natural to the coastal plains of Georgia. (You can find out more at Lynn Schwartz, class of 2009, guessed this, and when I can get together with her, will receive something lovely for her garden. (Note: McDonald Fawcett, class of 2015, ed me to say that if you placed the cursor over the picture, the picture name shows up! From now on, it will only say 'Mystery Plant' for all you clever high-techies.) SUMMER Mystery Plant There is a prize for the correct guesser It might be exotic seeds or a unique plant, or an absolutely cutesy gardener's doo-dad. Answers should be sent to mm_mccurdy@msn.com. That s an underscore between all those mmm s

12 CMGA Website: Facebook: On-going Volunteer Opportunities Contacts Coastal GA Botanical Gdns... Tina White CGBG Roots & Shoots... Bonaventure Cemetery... Jane Sommers Botanical Gardens... Diane Calhoun... Downtown Extension Office... Tonia Rudrow Susie Edwards CGBG Greenhouse Plantings... Bob Izzo Habitat for Humanity... Jay Volker Native Planting... Pat Ryan Old Darien Jail... Ginger Pruden Owens-Thomas House... Theresa Feldstein Savannah-Ogeechee Canal... Linda Thrift Savannah Tree Foundation... Dolores Engle Board Members President... Steve Taylor Vice-President... Howard Turner Secretary... Frances Smith Treasurer... Amy Rhodes Past President... Chris Arthur Directors Website... Jeanette Byrd Programs... Paula Wheatley Membership... Hope Barton Comms/Newsltr... Carol McCurdy Publicity... Open Projects... Faith Sadley Members at Large... Ronald Elcock Louisa Sigman (Note: All Area Codes are 912)