With our busy lives, who can take the time to grow a traditional garden? Who has the space in their HOA mandated landscape to grow vegetables? While I passionately embrace gardening, I have never, ever embraced a love of hoeing, watering, or for that matter, straight rows!

I grew up in the 1960’s in rural America, the youngest of 4 girls whose father grew a huge garden. We planted rows of beans, corn, tomatoes, peppers, squash, and potatoes. My father, being an equal rights man as he had no sons, taught his daughters to garden as he had been taught by his father, who had been taught by his father.

He was a stickler for details, such as his straight rows which made the garden beautiful every year. He would cut the potato pieces so each piece had exactly the same amount of eyes. He would hand us the bucket of uniform pieces and we would carefully place the eyes in those long rows. He would come behind us and adjust them to form regimented soldiers of potato pieces, then as gently as he tucked us in at night, he covered the potato eyes.

We hoed weeds for hours, suckered tomatoes, and hand watered until I thought my arms would fall off. It was HARD WORK! I didn’t realize until I was on my own, how good those fresh vegetables tasted. I also didn’t realize he had planted a love of gardening in me as tradition to be passed down to my own children.

I am excited to tell you there are methods of vegetable gardening that you CAN embrace while starting a tradition of love and appreciation of how vegetables grow. You can delight in your own home grown veggies and feel good about what you are eating while teaching your children how vegetables arrive on the dinner table.

Encourage your children to eat vegetables by involving them in the process of growing their own food. All you need is a bucket or two, or a bale of straw and some GOOD DIRT! You are going to be absolutely amazed at how much you can grow on your patio or outside your back door! Start a tradition with your own children or grandchildren; show them the amazing transition of one potato eye into baked potatoes on their plate!

Attend the seminar at the 15th Annual North Atlanta Home Show on “Secrets your granny didn’t share with you about growing vegetables”. On Saturday, February 11^th at 5:00 pm, I will show you how to use that bale of straw or bucket of dirt to grow a wonderful garden!

Donna Dixon welcomes any questions you have on garden topics and can be contacted at Four Seasons Nursery and Landscaping, 770-932-3313.

Radon is a naturally occurring, radioactive gas that is invisible, odorless, and tasteless and is harmlessly dispersed in outdoor air.  However, it can reach harmful levels when trapped in buildings.  Scientists have long been concerned about the health risk of radon, but never before has there been such overwhelming proof that exposure to elevated levels of radon causes lung cancer in humans.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that radon is responsible for more than 22,000 lung cancer deaths each year – 600 of them in Georgia.  Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. after smoking and the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers.  Just because you can’t see or smell radon, people tend to downplay the health effects and ignore the possibility that there might be a silent killer in their homes.  The damage is done before symptoms appear.

To purchase a Radon Test kit for $5, visit the Gwinnett Cooperative Extension office at 750 South Perry Street, suite 400, Lawrenceville 30046, or order a radon kit via mail! Just fill out the form at  http://www.fcs.uga.edu/ext/housing/radon/radon_test.html and send it with a check for $6.50 to the University of Georgia.

For more information on radon, radon testing and mitigation, and radon-resistant new construction, call Ines Beltran at 678-377-4010 or visit the UGA FACS radon web site at www.fcs.uga.edu/radon or call Ask UGA at 1-800-ASK-UGA1 (1-800-275-8421).

Warm seedlings and a hot cat

In the Atlanta area our last frost date is around April 15 so we have to count back to figure out when to sow seeds indoors to get a jump-start on the growing season.  Here is a seed sowing calendar to help you get plants ready for when the weather warms up.

12 Weeks before last frost
January 22

begonia, browallia, geranium, larkspur, viola, pansy, vinca

11 Weeks before last frost
January 29

Dianthus, petunia, portulaka, verbena, onions, celery, celeriac

10 Weeks before last frost
February 5

heliotrope, candytuft, primula, leek, early greens (to be planted out in the coldframe or greenhouse beds),  snapdragon, stock

9 Weeks before last frost
February 12

delphinium, chamomile,  parsley, Greek oregano, impatiens, rudbeckia, early lettuce, kale, escarole, thyme

8 Weeks before last frost
February 19

pepper (78*F), shallot, eggplant, basil, cherry tomato, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, columbine, dahlia, phlox

7 Weeks before last frost
February 26

large tomato varieties, alyssum, cleome, salvia horminum, lavatera, ageratum, celosia

6 Weeks
March 4

zinnia, more lettuce, radicchio, marigold, aster, balsam

5 Weeks before last frost
March 11

bachelor’s buttons, agastache, sweet pea, calendula, centaurea

4 Weeks before last frost
March 18

sanvitalia, cabbage, morning glory, nicotiana,  nigella, phlox, phacelia

3 Weeks before last frost
March 25

morning glory, nasturtium, cosmos, melon, cucumber, squash, more lettuce

Be sure to read the seed packet when starting seed as some need light to germinate while others can be covered, some need at least 78* F to germinate while others only need 65* F.  By following the instructions closely you are that much closer to being rewarded with healthy, strong plants ready to beautify your landscape and provide you with wholesome homegrown vegetables.

For reservations contact Margaret Bergeron at gcmgfieldtrips@gmail.com or 404-219-0757.

Wilkerson Mill Garden and Nearly Native Nursery

Tour Date:  Thursday, March 1, 10 a.m.

Locations:  9595 Wilkerson Mill Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA

And 776 McBride Road, Fayetteville, GA

Elizabeth Dean of Wilkerson Mill Garden entertained and enlightened us with her presentation on hydrangeas at our January meeting.  Now, let’s go learn more and shop!  Elizabeth will provide a tour and educational demonstration.  Plus, we will have the opportunity to acquire a variety of hydrangeas and companion plants in order to establish them for the spring blooming season.  Note:  Elizabeth’s advice is to plant early and, although there is the possibility of a late freeze in March, it is manageable with young plants. Check out the website and get your wish list together.  For more information visit:  http://www.hydrangea.com.

After the tour, we will travel to Nearly Native Nursery (20 minute drive) for a box lunch, workshop, and tour.  Nearly Native Nursery is a specialty nursery that promotes and propagates southeastern native plants for all types of landscapes.  They offer a wide variety of native plant life that is tough, versatile, and a beautiful alternative to exotics.  Jim and Debi Rodgers will be our hosts and will provide an educational presentation to increase our knowledge of natives, ways to incorporate them into traditional landscapes, and the benefits to our environment.  For more information visit:  http://www.nearlynativenursery.com.

Bring a brown bag lunch for a picnic at Nearly Native.  Rain date is Thursday, March 8.

To make your reservation contact Margaret Bergeron at gcmgfieldtrips@gmail.com or 404-219-0757.   If you are interested in carpooling, please let Margaret know.

Smithgall Woodland Garden and McMahan’s Nursery

Tour Date:  Thursday, March 22, 10 a.m.

Location:  351 Lakehill Drive, Gainesville, GA

and 5727 Cleveland Hwy, Clermont, GA

Gwinnett Master Gardeners have a unique opportunity for an exclusive preview before Smithgall Woodland Garden opens to the public!   Smithgall is a 168-acre satellite garden of the Atlanta Botanical Garden.  It is located in nearby Gainesville, where collections of trees and shrubs are grown and studied.  The Smithgall Woodland Garden expands the Botanical Garden’s current native plant conservation program, and endangered plants are propagated on the site. Additionally, plants are grown from seeds collected in Asia and evaluated for their suitability to southeastern landscapes.

Many of us have purchased some of the wonderful plants propagated at this site from the Smithgall Woodland booth at the Hall County Master Gardener Expos.  An educational demonstration on propagation of plants by cuttings and seeds will be given.  Now, come see how they do it and get a behind the scenes free tour of a new garden before the grand opening!

We will then travel a short distance to McMahan’s Nursery.  McMahan’s is a rare plant nursery.  They specialize in hardy, unusual perennials, shrubs and trees for the southeastern U.S.  Owner Scott McMahan is an extreme plant fanatic.  He has traveled to China, Japan and many other spots in search of rare finds.  Tiffanny Jones runs the nursery with Scott and she has a degree in Ornamental Horticulture and worked at the Atlanta Botanical garden as accessionist and gardener.

Pack a brown bag lunch and come join us for an educational demonstration and see what rare plants you can find for your garden!  For a quick peek at their inventory visit  http://www.mcmahansnursery.com/.

Carpool arrangements will be announced as we get closer to the date of the tour.

Dennis Royal’s Garden

Tour Date:  Saturday, April 14, 10 a.m. – 12 Noon

Location:  4087 Haynes Circle, Snellville, GA 30039

Dennis Royal’s gardens include a great variety of plants and feature many Harris azaleas as well as a wonderful collection of native azaleas.

The Harris azaleas are American satsukis hybridized by James Harris of Lawrenceville, Georgia, in the 1970s and 1980s. His azaleas are characterized as bright colors on medium to low-growing plants.  Many of the azaleas feature rings of color on the outside of the petals, and you will see many fine examples of this form.  For more information on James Harris azaleas you will probably see in Dennis’ garden, visit www.ag.auburn.edu/hort/landscape/Harrispage.html.

Dennis has graciously opened his garden to us, and will provide information on how he has successfully grown native azaleas.  If you haven’t visited with Dennis recently, you will experience an evolution of his garden and find inspiration for your own garden.

Gibbs Gardens

Tour Date:  Wednesday, May 9, 10 a.m.

Gibbs Gardens opened to the public for the first time on March 1, 2012.  The Garden is nestled in the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains.  The Gibbs family has creatively planned and developed more than 220 acres of gardens that include 16 garden venues in the Manor House Gardens and the Valley Gardens.

We will enjoy a full day of experiencing the “harmony of nature.”   Allow 1½ hours in the Manor House Gardens with seasonal floral displays, Rose Arbor, Woodland Shade Gardens and Nature Canopy Walk. Then allow another 1½ hours to tour the Valley Gardens which feature Japanese Gardens, Monet Waterlily Gardens, Grandchildren’s Sculpture Gardens, Rose Gardens, Fernery, Pleasance, Daylily and Brides All White Garden.  Information obtained will add to your knowledge of landscape design and provide greater skills in enhancing multi-seasonal interest.

Garden tour is $18.  Optional tram tickets are available at $5 per person for an all-day pass.  The Arbor Café at the Garden will have lunches available.  No outside food will be permitted.   Some varieties of seasonal plants represented in the gardens are available for purchase.  For more information and directions visit: http://www.gibbsgardens.com.  Carpool arrangements to be announced.

Southern Highlands Reserve

Tour Date:   Monday, June 4, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Location:  Southern Highlands Reserve, 558 Summit Ridge Road, Lake Toxaway, NC 28747

Join us for a private tour of The Southern Highlands Reserve located in western North Carolina at an elevation of 4500’.  Spring is later there, so we will enjoy cooler weather and different flora.

The Reserve’s 120 acres are dedicated to celebrating the natural history of the Southern Appalachian Highlands, and is well worth a beautiful drive with friends to just inside our neighboring North Carolina!

The Highlands’ Core Park is home to destination gardens such as The Woodland Glade, The Azalea Walk, The Wildflower Labyrinth and Vaseyi Pond.  These are manicured display gardens planted with native species and their cultivars.  The Reserve is home to a vast array of naturally occurring native plants and one of the largest natural stands of Rhododendron vaseyi.

John Turner, who spearheaded the planning design and execution of the Southern Highlands Reserve since its inception, will provide a presentation on the history and development of the area into its status as a “Reserve.”  Educational information on identifying eco-climates in your garden to ensure properly locating plants will be beneficial in using more native plants in your landscape.

The Core Park is surrounded by a 100-acre natural woodland, with a change in elevation of 1000 feet in a distance of 2000 feet, featuring many waterfall and cliff communities.  There will be an optional guided walk up to the waterfalls.

Bring a brown bag lunch to enjoy a picnic on the Chestnut Lodge roof garden.  Roof gardens have long been established in Europe, but are a recent introduction to the green movement here.  Most roof gardens are really “green roofs” — planted with sedums and grasses, but this roof garden is built over the Lodge as a patio.

Garden tour donation is $10 per person.  For more information visit:  http://www.southernhighlandsreserve.org.  Carpool arrangements will be coordinated.

Fall 2012 Trips to be Announced

Gwinnett County Cooperative Extension Welcomes You!

Welcome. Join us at the 15^th Annual North Atlanta Home Show. The Cooperative Extension staff will be at the show to answer your horticultural questions; view our insect collection, or be challenged with our weed identification display. You may bring your soil samples to the show for us to forward to the UGA lab in Athens. Also, you won’t want to miss the informative seminars which will be held all three days!

Are you interested in beekeeping? What better way is there to ensure an abundance of vegetables or flowers than to have pollinating bees visit your yard? Discover how easy it is to harvest honey and manage a honey bee hive while making sure you have a prolific vegetable crop. We have an area displaying beekeeping equipment, local honey for sale, and our expert will be at the show all weekend to entice you into this fascinating hobby.

Whether you are new to gardening or an ‘old-timer’, you will want to attend one of the gardening seminars where you will learn and benefit from the presenters gardening tips and expertise. Visit our staging area to increase your knowledge of alternatives for landscape plantings and grass areas. Discover what fun it is to turn you yard into a wildlife habitat using a variety of shrubs, flowers, and feeders.

Make plans to attend the seminar on Radon on Friday afternoon. Learn all you need to know about keeping your family safe from this unseen gas. Examine our food canning display and peruse our ‘So Easy to Preserve’ book.

Check our seminar schedule below to find a topic dear to your heart. You don’t want to miss this opportunity to expand your horticultural horizons.

Event Date(s): 1/21/2012

Venue / Location Information:

Name: Atlanta Botanical Garden, Day Hall
Address: 1345 Piedmont Ave. NE
City: Atlanta
State: GA

Event Time / Additional Information: 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM

Contact Info: Gina Gallucci, GinaG@mindspring.com

Web site: www.metroatlantabeekeepers.org/

This course is for teachers, master gardeners, both new and experienced beekeepers, students, government employees, and others who are interested in learning about Honey Bees and Beekeeping. Its everything you need to know to get started in beekeeping with at The Complete Beekeeping Short Course sponsored by the Metro Atlanta Beekeepers Association. Experts, Extension Teachers, and Master Beekeepers from all over Georgia are the instructors.

The fee for the one day course is only $95.00 and includes:

* Morning coffee and light breakfast, a catered lunch, and a “HONEY” of an afternoon snack.

* First class presentations by University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, UGA experts, and experienced Master Beekeepers.

* Displays of beekeeping equipment and hive products.

* A honey tasting.

* Educational materials related to the presentations.

* Goody bag of honey bee related items including First Lessons in Beekeeping by Dr. Keith Delaplane.

* Admission to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens and parking are included in the cost.

*THIS WILL MAKE A GREAT HOLIDAY GIFT FOR THAT SOMEONE SPECIAL IN YOUR LIFE*

Honey Bees and Beekeeping-

In this one day beekeeping class you will learn the facts about honey bees and the fundamentals of beekeeping.

Registration:              www.beekeepingshortcourse.com/registration.htm

By Jessica Miller, Publicity Chair

Photos by Margaret Bergeron, Field Trip Coordinator

Clear, cool weather only enhanced our Oakland Cemetery field trip experience on Thursday, October 20. About 45 of us gathered at Six Feet Under for a warm lunch before our adventure into the beautiful cemetery across the street. The food was excellent, the fellowship even better!

Once we entered Oakland Cemetery, we realized what a wonderful place it was to see some of Atlanta’s finest tree and plant specimens. Magnificent oak, camellia, magnolia, and dogwood complemented the wonderful blooming antique roses, rosemary, chrysanthemums and asters. Magnificent Victorian, Greek Revival, Gothic and Egyptian architecture was to be seen, as well.

Our very knowledgeable tour guide, Brooks Garcia, soon gathered us together and began to lead us on a delightful stroll through Oakland. Brooks’ first-hand knowledge of Oakland’s horticultural importance, as well as his information about the cemetery’s history and his personal stories about the “residents” of Oakland, combined for a superb adventure.

Brooks explained that in 1850 the city fathers of Atlanta established the cemetery on farmland away from the bustling center of Atlanta, and what was an old, weedy cemetery is now a story of historic restoration and landscaping beautification. Today, the cemetery is an oasis of beauty and calm in the midst of a busy urban city.

During the Victorian era, the cemetery was the rural garden for family gatherings. Featuring wide winding paths (accessed by carriages), shade trees, flowers and shrubs, the cemetery was a predecessor of public park development. Sophisticated stained glass mausoleums, sculptures, bronze urns and elaborate grave monuments all reflect an age when bereavement was extravagant.

Brooks enlightened us that his goal, along with the cemetery’s Board and other Trustees, is to maintain the Victorian era’s horticultural style. Weeping specimens were chosen when available because they reflected the sadness of the original families. We found examples in weeping rosemary, catnip, and willows.

There are lavish monuments marking prominent Atlanta families, simple headstones that read “infant,” and a memorial honoring “Our Glorious Confederate Dead.” The Historic Oakland Foundation plays an important role in preserving 19^th Century funerary symbolism, and has been awarded the Southeastern Flower Shows prestigious Legacy Garden gift for the cemetery’s horticultural significance.

Residents of Oakland include author Margaret Mitchell, golf great Bobby Jones, twenty-seven mayors, and six Georgia governors. The celebrated and humble rest together; the Christian and Jew, the black and white, the soldier and civilian, the rich and poor are at peace collectively. Beautiful trees, shrubs, flowers and herbs are enriched by seventy thousand souls. And, the best part … Brooks encouraged us to collect seed heads!

Margaret Bergeron has done a wonderful job this year in planning outstanding field trips for the GCMG. I am sure everyone joins me in thanking her for a job very well done!

The Group

I love this planet.  Not only do I love the diversity of its’ people, but also its’ animal and plant life.  I am intrigued by the fact that the sky appears blue even though air is transparent.  I am mesmerized by birds flying fearlessly hundreds, maybe even thousands of feet in the air, and wonder what they see and how it feels to have nothing under foot.   Water, whether in the form of oceans, lakes, rivers or small ponds, holds a particular fascination for me.  I feel an intense connection to  water, a need to be around it, to feel it, touch it and listen to the soothing sounds of waves as they make their journey to shore or cascading over rocks in a woodland creek. I love flowers, with their infinite colors and shapes.  I am amazed at all of the different critters attracted to the different eco-systems found in my own small yard. I like to feel dirt trickling through my fingers and observe the different creatures and insects that call it home.

Why am I telling you these things?  I confess that this is what drew me to the Master Gardener program, the opportunity to learn how to preserve our natural treasures because I see how we take it for granted.  We are destroying this gift, plastic bottle by plastic bottle, chemical by chemical, shopping mall by shopping mall, often without even realizing the ultimate consequences.  Deer and squirrels are considered pests if they eat our plants, when in reality, it is us, who have invaded their home and continually push them closer and closer into oblivion. Someday, our descendents will only see them in old pictures. I felt if I could learn how to construct and maintain a planet friendly yard, I could at least preserve my immediate environment and in some small way, encourage others to do the same.

I am interested in any organization with similar concerns and goals and thirst to know more about their solutions.  When Margaret Bergeron announced the field trip to the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center, I immediately signed up. I have been to seminars at the Center, but have never taken the tour. The vision of the center is to “inspire and engage communities to promote sustainable development, utilize new technologies and enhance the appreciation of Gwinnett’s natural resources.”

Karen Alexander (center) showing the Student Gardens

We met at the center at 10:15am on Sept 14.  After a brief discussion, Karen Alexander led us on a tour of this remarkable living exhibit.  I was captivated with the living roof, made up of a barrier, covered with soil and finally low-maintenance plants such as succulents.  Living roofs have many financial and environmental benefits.  They decrease water runoff and the water that makes it to the gutter is cleaner, they hold in heat in the winter and absorb sunlight in the summer, keeping the inside cooler. Imagine, if all of the buildings had living roofs, the amount of oxygen that we could put back into the atmosphere.  Karen showed us the student garden and explained that as a learning tool, the students were permitted to make mistakes and ultimately reap (or not reap) the consequences.

As we made our way to the creek, she pointed out the rain gardens, other specialty gardens and their history.  We passed a rosemary tree that was at least 8 ft tall.  My mouth watered as I thought about all the Rosemary Chicken I could make.  As we walked down the woodland path, we took in the sights and smells of nature as intended.

We approached the creek and some of us began the ‘treacherous’ trek across the slippery rocks reaching the waterfall in the middle of the creek.

Our final adventure landed us in the Space Station Exhibit.  Here, visitors can become ISS crew members for a day as they “engage in a multitude of astronaut activities”, including work, eating, sleeping, hygiene and play.  At the end of the tour, we gathered in the dining area to eat our brown bag lunches and engage in discussions about what we had seen. Just think, in one day, we experienced the past, present and the future all in one remarkable place.  I do not know what new adventure Margaret has planned for us.  However, I do know I will say, “Sign me up” and so should you.

Gwinnett Master Gardener’s Virginia Schofield, Emily Eberhardt and Ruth Kail got together and created “Edgar Allen Crowe” as this year’s entry into the Atlanta Botanical Gardens “Scarecrow’s in the Garden” event, Oct 1^st -30^th.

Virginia mentioned that he didn’t place this year but he sure is cute and someone liked him a lot because he’s the first scarecrow that you see when you enter the garden!  This is a fun event for the whole family to visit at ABG.  And, say ‘Hey’ to Mr. Crowe while you are there.

http://www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org/events-classes/events/scarecrows-garden

The Gwinnett Master Gardener October monthly meeting will take place Monday, October 17th at our  temporary location at the George Pierce Park  Senior Activity Center, 55 Highway 23 NE (Buford Highway), Suwanee, GA 30024 (770) 822-5414. 

The featured speaker for October is Linda Copeland, co-author with Allan Armitage of “Legends in the Garden: Who in the World is Nellie Stevens?”  In her presentation, Ms. Copeland will tell us the stories behind Nellie Stevens, Jane Bath, George Tabor and many others.  You will also learn how she accomplished the research to write the Legends book and some information that is not included.  The program with our featured speaker begins at 7 PM.

For our membership, this meeting will also include a report from the 2012 Nominating Committee.  A membership vote for 2012 officers and committee chairs will take place at the November meeting.

Executive Committee officers nominated are: Hilary Wilson, President; Carole Teja , Vice President/Programs; Becky Wolery, Treasurer and Rosalie Tubre, Secretary