* Garden
Vol. 19 Issue 11
Buzzzz *
Central Alabama Master Gardener Association
November 2009
Notes from Rick Beauchamp
County Coordinator
Master Gardener Class Appreciation
On behalf of our Master Gardener class that is winding down thanks is extended to our volunteers for providing delicious refreshments, grading tests, duplicating handouts and providing moral support. Your help is
most appreciated!
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Vegetable Research for Nutrition
We are seeing major changes in our vegetable breeding research. For awhile now, we have seen vegetable
research follow rose breeding work of concentrating on plant disease resistance. Now we are seeing nutritional values not only content of vitamins and minerals but of antioxidants and other health protectors.
We are in the age of the “nutriceutical”. By that we mean a food that improves or safeguards health is
here. Virtually every vegetable, herb, spice, and fruit is being examined for its content of health promoters
and breeders are seeking to enhance these contents. Many of our carrots today contain three times as much
beta carotene as varieties available some 30 years ago. We are seeing tomato selections that are now labeled
“lycopene rich tomatoes”. Some sweet corn with enhanced content of the calming hormone melatonin.
Korean breeders are working to develop apples that have high levels of antioxidant phytochemicals plus an
enhanced shelf life. Researchers at Texas A & M have developed sweet peppers with increased lutein, a preventer of macular degeneration.
China has researchers working on low calorie substitutes for cane sugar. An oriental vine called Momorida
grosvenori has fruits that supply a sweetener called mongroside V which is 300 times sweeter than sugar. And
furthermore, this compound suppressed carcinogenesis in mice and reduced oxidative stress in the body.
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Liriope Research
We know that liriope and ophiopogon provide wonderful groundcovers for the South. They are tough and can withstand extremes.
Louisiana State University researchers have evaluated many of our old
and even new selections of lilyturfs. At the research station they were
grown in full sun and sandy loam soil, and fertilized in early spring and
midsummer.
The best all around performer was Liriope ‘Super Blue’, followed by
‘Cleopatra’, ‘New Blue’, ‘Marc Anthony’ and ‘Emerald Goddess’. Some
popular cultivars such as Liriope ‘Big Blue’ were low rated in several
categories. The widely sold Liriope ‘Evergreen Giant’ was very susceptible to root rot. Ophiopogon ‘Chrystal Falls’ suffered sun scorch in summer. Plant habits vary among species in both genera: some are clumping, others spread by rhizomes. There are some good variegated cultivars. And selections of Ophiopogon
planiscapus ‘Ebony Knight’ and ‘Nigrescens’ have almost black foliage. Cultivars of Liriope muscari have
white, pink, blue lavender or purple flowers spikes that resemble grape hyacinths. There is one species of
creeping lilyturf, Liriope spicata that is extremely hardy and makes a thick turf but is very invasive unless it is
planted in very poor soil that is sun baked.
Garden Buzzzz
Page 2
Hydrangea Pruning
From time to time we get asked about when to do hydrangea pruning. Well it
depends on which hydrangea. For the French hydrangea, prune immediately after
the blooms fade to shorter stems and remove spent flowers. If you cut them back
hard in fall or winter, you’ll diminish next year’s bloom. Now those repeat
bloomer selections are the exception. They can be pruned in fall and they will still
bloom the following year. Oakleaf hydrangeas usually need little pruning. The
best time to cut them back is in early summer, after the flowers change from white
to a dusty rose.
President’s Message
By Bob Brown
I would first like to thank Maria PW for her hospitality and program at our October CAMGA meeting.
The old house at Lanark was and is a great place to have our monthly get together. The work that has been
done on the house is remarkable. Also, everybody got a chance to see the new heirloom gardens behind the
house. It was a beautiful day. Thanks again, Maria.
At the meeting we discussed a public service project for this Christmas. It was decided we would support
the Elmore County Food Pantry. The pantry gives a 50 lb. box of food to those who have been documented
by DHR, Community Action or People That Care. A jar of peanut butter is included in each box because of
its nutritional value. Each CAMGA member and each intern is asked to donate 2 jars of any size or brand of
peanut butter. Bring your jars to (1) the November 17 CAMGA meeting, or (2) to the Extension Center, or
(3) to the Christmas party December 8. If you would like to donate more than two jars, please feel free to do
so ! A note is that Winn Dixie, Publix, and Walgreens frequently have a buy one, get one free on peanut butter so watch the sale newspaper inserts. I will load up and take all of the jars to the Food Pantry after the
CAMGA Christmas luncheon. People at the Food Pantry have been notified of our upcoming contribution.
Our bulb sale was a success and thanks to everybody, who in some way contributed in the sale. All bulbs
were eventually sold and a good amount of money was made. Thanks to Mary McCroan for the wonderful
job as fund raising chair. Mary, over the past several years, got our spring plant sale established successfully
in Wetumpka and also added money making bulb sales in the fall. Mary decided she wants to take leave of
the fund raising business and concentrate on other CAMGA projects. A big “Thanks” goes to Mary for her
super dedication organizing our plant and bulb sales.
I am looking for a volunteer to become our new fund raising chair. If two people would like to take over
our fund raising efforts and work it together, that would also work. Please let me know. I’ve done this chair
before, and I recommend it. It’s one of the better chairs because of all the help you will receive.
Our CAMGA November program will be attendees presenting any gardening tips or garden related suggestions for fun projects. This will be a show and tell of what our gardening creative members get involved with.
A sad note is that one of our devoted CAMGA members, Don Whorton, passed away October 25. Let’s
all keep his wife, Janice, and the rest of the Whorton family in our thoughts and prayers. Don was not able to
participate in CAMGA as much as he wanted to during the last couple of years because of illness. Don, until
bad health, loved to work in his attractive and well designed gardens that contained a variety of creative elements.
As an Elmore County Commissioner, Don helped direct an amount of the county budget to help fund the
mission of the extension center and CAMGA projects such as our learning gardens. Thanks, Don, and we will
miss you.
Until next month,
Bob
Garden Buzzzz
Page 3
Library News by Barbara Wallace
The gardening year is winding down, but there is still so much to do!! I think in the
south the enjoyment of gardening has no end. Pansies and bulbs should be planted or
soon to be planted, raking and mulching leaves for all
those garden beds is a must and this is also the best
time to get that soil sample sent off so that there is
time to amend the garden this winter. Granted it is not
the same pace as spring and summer, but the excuse to
be outside (if you need one) is still there.
I decided to do something a little different this last book I bought;
thought I might excite some of you to start an herb garden after reading a
wonderful cookbook on using herbs. I found this book at Petals From Past
and couldn’t resist!! The Herbal Kitchen, Cooking with Fragrance and
Flavor by Jerry Traunfeld. There are recipes from appetizers, entrees and
desserts using many of the herbs we already have in our garden and some
we should add. Many recipes use basil, rosemary, lavender, thyme and
many others. Can you believe it, there is also a recipe for dog biscuits!!
Know you all will enjoy this book.
Have you ever had that either special spot or that difficult spot in the
garden that you wondered what would be the best tree, shrub, perennial or annual to plant? The Book of Lists
by Lois Trigg Chaplin will answer so many questions, spark new ideas and save money and time by avoiding
planting the wrong plant in the wrong place. Need to know evergreen plants for screens and backgrounds,
what plants will thrive on a slope, and what to plant in those shady wet (or dry) spots?? This book is a wonderful resource and can answer all those questions. Happy gardening.
OFFICER NOMINEES FOR 2010
President-Bob Brown
Vice President-Judy May
Secretary-Anida Wishnietsky
Treasurer-Becky Ashurst
Advisory Council Representative-Jean Allred.
Spotlighting Volunteers
By Brenda Naftel
In the past month, the following individuals worked at the MG Community Learning
Gardens: Brenda Uhlig, Betty Firman, Dawn Cermack, Liz Hansen, Nancy Tribble,
Rhona Watson, Rick Ohlson, John Butler, Linda Griebel.
Thanks to Jane Mobley, Linda Griebel, Liz Hanson, Brenda Uhlig, Candy Jones,
Dawn Cermak for your help with weeding and prepping and planting of the
ornamental kale, snapdragons, violas, and pansies at Wetumpka Elementary
School!
Many volunteers helped prepare for our bulb sale. Check page 6 for pictures of all who participated.
We are very thankful to Maria Pacheco West for providing the wonderful program about the heirloom garden project behind the older house at Lanark. She also graciously provided the refreshments at our meeting.
Garden Buzzzz
Page 4
CHANGING VIEW IN MG COMMUNITY LEARNING GARDENS by Linda Griebel
The vegetable plot is virtually dying, but a few plants are hanging on. Most don’t like the cooler
weather. We have left some of the large okra pods on purpose. Seems that Bob Brown has a decorating project for which he intends to use them. Due to the volume of things that need to be done, we haven’t tried
planting fall vegetables yet and may have waited too late for most things. However, winterizing can still be
useful in this area whenever we can get around to that task. We owe gratitude to Rick Ohlson who brought his
tractor with front end loader attachment since he moved the cement footings away from the fencing. He also
bush-hogged the tall grass and we can now go to the mulch piles easily.
In the past month, we have managed to clean up a lot, but more remains to be accomplished in order
to put our gardens to bed for the winter. Weeding and mulching remain the highest priority. All of this abundant moisture has been both a blessing and a boondoggle. Plants and weeds have really blossomed! My personal thanks to the following volunteers who have helped: Brenda Uhlig, Betty Firman, Dawn Cermack, Liz
Hansen, Nancy Tribble, Rhona Watson, Rick Ohlson, and John Butler.
As the year winds down, we need to start looking forward to what will create interest in the gardens
next year since Jane Mobley and I will be doing a presentation at the AMGA State Conference in March 2010
on the uses of the learning gardens and the connection to our educational thrust. We will offer tours of the
gardens to those interested. It would be really nice to be able to show off our hard work and to have lots of
interest in the gardens early in the New Year. The gardens need YOU on Friday, November 30; Monday November 9; Monday November 30; Tuesday December 15- 8:30-noon.
Garden Buzzzz
A Thanksgiving to God, for his House
BY ROBERT HERRICK (A THANKSGIVING POEM)
LORD, THOU HAST GIVEN ME A CELL
Wherein to dwell,
A little house, whose humble roof
Is weather-proof:
Under the spars of which I lie
Both soft, and dry;
Where Thou my chamber for to ward
Hast set a guard
Of harmless thoughts, to watch and keep
Me, while I sleep.
Low is my porch, as is my fate,
Both void of state;
And yet the threshold of my door
Is worn by th' poor,
Who thither come and freely get
Good words, or meat.
Like as my parlour, so my hall
And kitchen's small;
A little buttery, and therein
A little bin,
Which keeps my little loaf of bread
Unchipp'd, unflead;
Some brittle sticks of thorn or briar
Make me a fire,
Close by whose living coal I sit,
And glow like it.
Lord, I confess too, when I dine,
The pulse is Thine,
And all those other bits, that be
There plac'd by Thee;
The worts, the purslain, and the mess
Of water-cress,
Which of Thy kindness Thou hast sent;
And my content
Makes those, and my beloved beet,
To be more sweet.
'Tis Thou that crown'st my glittering hearth
With guiltless mirth;
And giv'st me wassail-bowls to drink,
Spic'd to the brink.
Lord, 'tis Thy plenty-dropping hand
That soils my land;
And giv'st me, for my bushel sown,
Twice ten for one;
Thou mak'st my teeming hen to lay
Her egg each day;
Besides my healthful ewes to bear
Me twins each year;
The while the conduits of my kine
Run cream, for wine.
All these, and better, Thou dost send
Me, to this end,
That I should render, for my part,
A thankful heart,
Which, fir'd with incense, I resign,
As wholly Thine;
But the acceptance, that must be,
My Christ, by Thee.
Page 5
SUCCESS
How do you measure success?
To laugh often and much,
to win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children; to earn the
appreciation of honest critics and endure the
betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others;
to leave the world a bit better, whether by
a healthy child, a garden patch,
a redeemed social
condition, or a job well done; to know even
one other life has breathed easier
because you have
lived – this is to have succeeded.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
American Philosopher, Essayist and Poet
1803 to 1882
Submitted by Rick Beauchamp
and Carol Pugh
In memory of
Don Whorton
Deepest Sympathy to the Family of
Don Whorton
Don Whorton of Wetumpka died October 26, 2009,
at his home at the age of 65 after a long illness. Funeral services were held at 3 p.m. October 28, at First
United Methodist Church of Wetumpka.
Don was the owner of one of the largest and most
productive dairy farms in Alabama for 30 years and
the recipient of many awards, honors, and recognitions, including the Alabama Jaycees Outstanding
Young Farmer in 1974. He was elected as Elmore
County Commissioner for two terms serving from
2000-2008.
He was a current member of the Board of Trustees
of the Central Alabama Electric Cooperative and was
an active member of the First United Methodist
Church of Wetumpka. He was a faithful Master
Gardener and will be greatly missed.
Garden Buzzzz
Page 6
Master Gardeners met to sort and label bulbs for our fall bulb sale.
Below: Everyone who attended the outdoor classroom work day in September enjoyed a
relaxing afternoon at Darryl Gwilliams’ house afterwards. Some even cooled off in the lake !!
Garden Buzzzz
Page 7
OCTOBER 2009 MINUTES
The October CAMGA meeting was held on October 20, 2009 at Lanark, Alabama Wildlife Federation Headquarters in Millbrook Alabama. Bob Brown called the meeting to order
at 10 a.m. He thanked Maria Pacheco-West for providing the meeting room, program, and
CAMGA
refreshments.
Maria Pacheco-West welcomed the group to Lanark and gave an overview of the restoration done to the historic house we were meeting in. The house will be used for meetings
and weddings. She also passed around samples of the t-shirts and polo shirts that would be
provided at the November meeting to those who ordered shirts. The t-shirt is $7.80 and the
polo shirt is $18.41. Please pay the CAMGA Treasurer, Becky Ashurst, before picking up
your shirt. If paying by check, make out the check to CAMGA and annotate what you are paying for.
Bob Brown made the following announcements:
Leftover bulbs are available for purchase at two bags for the price of one. Make sure the bulbs are not
mushy. Leftover bird houses are also available for $10 each.
The Christmas luncheon will be Tuesday, December 8th at the Wetumpka Civic Center. A board meeting will be at 9 a.m. with the regular meeting at 10 a.m.
Rather than bringing a toy to the Christmas luncheon, Becky Brown is looking for attendees to bring a
food item that would be donated to the Elmore County Food Pantry. She will let members know what to
bring.
Iva Well’s husband Cecil has been experiencing back problems and may have to have surgery soon.
A volunteer is needed for a fund raising chairman and assistant for next year to replace Mary McCroan.
Send Anida Wishnietsky (anidawi@aol.com) any emails that need to get to all members.
Linda Griebel presented the following 2010 slate of nominees for voting: President-Bob Brown, Vice
President-Judy May, Secretary-Anida Wishnietsky, Treasurer-Becky Ashurst, and Advisory Council Representative-Jean Allred. Bill Long made the first motion to accept all nominees, Angela Garthright made the
second motion, and the motion was carried by all present.
Iva Wells summarized the programs for the rest of the year. The November meeting will be at the Extension Office and will consist of attendees bringing a gardening tip or craft to share with the group. December will be the Christmas luncheon.
Becky Ashurst provided the treasurer’s report for September 2009. There was $117.50 in expenditures
and $345 in income. The balance, as of September 30, 2009, was $8,811.01. Forty people have already paid
their dues for next year. The group accepted the report as provided. Angela Garthright made the first motion
to accept the report, David Beverly made the second, and the motion was carried by all present.
The September meeting minutes were accepted as written. Linda Griebel made the first motion and Judy
May the second. The group passed the motion to approve the minutes.
Bonnie McCormick proposed a field trip the first week of June to visit a hydrangea farm north of Birmingham. We would take a bus, leave about 8 a.m. and be back about 4 p.m. The group agreed that Bonnie
should move forward with her planning.
* Jane Mobley talked about her projects committee. She made the following points:
* The seminar on Saturday, Oct 24th on rain catching had to be cancelled due to lack of interest. Only
five people signed up.
* Sheldon Darnell spoke to the Eclectic Middle School principal and she said that the responsibility for
the outdoor class room has been assigned to a science class. Jane provided them with a check list of what to
do. Jane thanked everyone who helped with this project.
A one time work day is scheduled for Wednesday, October 28 from 9 a.m. to noon to help Wetumpka
Elementary School weed, mulch and plant pansies. A sign up sheet was passed around.
The next projects committee will be Friday, November 20 at 10 a.m. in the Extension Office conference
room.
Mrs. Lancaster from Southside Middle School in Tallassee asked for help teaching classes on vegetable
gardening to gifted children.
Garden Buzzz
Page 8
Linda Griebel thanked all who helped with the Extension Office landscape project, especially the interns.
The next job is to move mulch to get the beds ready for winter, get more gravel on the rain garden, and do
other winter tasks. The next work day is Friday, October 30.
Maria Pacheco-West reminded everyone that Lanark workdays are Wednesday but people can come
anytime if they call first. She particularly wanted to thank Ken Moore and Ann Hill for all their help. She
also recommended that folks come the third weekend (Fri, Sat, Sun) of every month to enjoy the nature center
and to walk the trails. She also gives tours if they are scheduled ahead of time.
Becky Brown advised that the intern class was going well and that there were a few interns here at the
meeting but that Jean Allred needs people to bring food for Thursday’s class.
Mary McCroan updated the group on the bulb sale on October 3 at the Wetumpka Flea Market by Winn
Dixie. She has spent $1,550 on bulbs and supplies and sold about half at the bulb sale and more to the interns
and at today’s meeting. The group agreed that any left over bulbs would be planted in the demonstration garden at the Extension Office.
Rick Beauchamp passed along the following information:
* He introduced Mallory Kelley, the newest extension agent.
* Amanda Edwards is organizing a helpline luncheon for Monday, October 26 at 11:30 a.m. at the Extension Office Auditorium. Rick needs to know how many are coming.
* Sable Marzella is helping to organized the State Master Gardener meeting at the Renaissance Hotel in
Montgomery next year (March 18, 19, 20). Jane Mobley and Linda Griebel will be doing a workshop on the
learning gardens and Rhona Watson will do a bonsai presentation.
Sharon Potts told the group that Don Whorton is not expected to live past this weekend.
Judy May let the group know that Rhona Watson would be her assistant as Vice President.
Becky Ashurst reminded everyone that when they pay by check, make out the check to CAMGA and
annotate exactly what you are paying for such as dues, Christmas luncheon or shirts.
Maria Pacheco-West gave the history of the heirloom garden as well as the history of Lanark. The heirloom garden was originally a vegetable garden owned by the last resident of the property prior to the Alabama
Wildlife Federation taking over. Maria worked hard to turn it into the heirloom garden that stands today with
the help of Rick Beauchamp, Maria’s boss, several CAMGA members, a couple of boy scouts, and Petals
from the Past.
Door prizes were given out. Maria was thanked for supporting the meeting and building a beautiful garden. The meeting was adjourned at 11:58 p.m. after which Maria gave a tour of the heirloom garden. Forty
two people attended. Respectfully submitted, Anida Wishnietsky, Secretary.
NOVEMBER PROGRAM
Its your turn. Show and Tell !
Bring a Christmas decoration made from natural materials
A garden related gift idea
A garden tip
Anything goes
Everybody participate
Garden Buzzzz
Page 9
Master Gardeners
work hard but
they always find
time for R&R.
After an exhausting morning in
Eclectic,
Darryl Gwilliams
hosted lunch for
the team at his
lake home.
Garden Buzzzz
EDITOR Mary Long
858 Jackson Street
Elmore, AL 36025
Next Meeting
10 a.m.
October 17
H
Wetumpka Extension
Show and Tell
Bring a homemade
Christmas
decoration
or gift idea
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