Monroe County Master Gardener Association

From all that I heard during the garden walk, it was a success. Here are a few more photos of Paul’s garden. If anyone has photos from the other gardens, please post or send to me to post. I know we would all love to see them. Have a great week…and don’t forget to post photos for Foto Friday as well.

Pathway to Gardens

Jennie emailed me this article from our contributing Master Gardener who likes to remain anonymous. Some beautiful photos.

It wasn’t that long ago we were all staring out the windows at our snow-blanketed gardens wondering if anything would survive the extreme weather conditions we had in the winter of 2013/2014. With that memory still vivid, let us look at what mid-summer has given us and give a thankful sigh, for “This Is Why We Garden” (all photos taken in the backyard 15-Jul-2014):

On Saturday’s tour, Iris, the owner of the lavender farm, will show everyone the different varieties of lavender, and when she gets to Edelweiss, she will more than likely ask if anyone knows the lyrics. So I was asked by one of our Master Gardeners to list the lyrics for those who are going:

Edelweiss, edelweiss
Every morning you greet me
Small and white, clean and bright
You look happy to meet me
Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow, forever
Edelweiss, edelweiss
Bless my homeland forever

Our member who wrote the article sent me this addendum:

Hover Fly on Dianthus

Ever since the “If You Plant It, They Will Come” article was posted last week on the Blog, the bee-creature’s identity has been bugging me (pun intended). So, putting my Master Gardener research-based curiosity to work, I learned this isn’t a bee at all, but rather, a fly.

The Toxomerus marginatus Hover Fly, or “Flower Fly,” is a common Hover Fly that frequents garden flowers and is a significant pollinator. These flies resemble bees and wasps because of their colored bands, but they do not bite or sting. Adults feed on the nectar from flowers, and the larva feed on aphids. You can find the adult flies feeding on alyssum, bachelor’s button, calendula, cosmos, dill, lavender, lemon balm, marigold, penstemon, parsley, yarrow, and zinnia.

Note the pink and green iridescence of the wings, and the transparency of those wings that allows the jagged petals of the Dianthus to show right through the wings. I thought the image was worthy of another (closer) look since I did not notice these characteristics of the wings when I first shot the picture for use in the original “If you plant it….” article.

Jennie Stanger
Monroe County Master Gardener

Monroe Master Gardeners, convinced that gardens enrich our community, plan to showcase one private and three public gardens in a Saturday guided tour July 19 from 10am to 2pm. It will begin at the Demonstration Gardens at the MSU Extension building just south of the fairgrounds at 963 S. Raisinville Rd where Master Gardeners over the years have planted gardens for specific educational purposes. Adults will be charged $5 at that point and pick up a map to the remaining sites plus a free bottle of cold water. The proceeds will be used to train new Monroe Master Gardeners. That is a future goal since the class series has not been offered here since 2010.

There is an outstanding children’s garden at that first stop with plants and garden features designed to delight children and to engage their senses of hearing, smell and touch as well as sight. A Monarch waystation has larval plants as well as many nectar sources to attract Monarchs and other butterflies. Plants to attract pollinators will be identified and a beekeeper will help answer questions about bees and other pollinators. There are native shrubs and a row of shrubs particularly adapted to heavy, low-lying clay soils common to the area. A rain garden, a large assortment of groundcovers including a fragrance garden with herbal knots and other theme gardens provide much to learn. Many plants will be labeled and volunteers will be on hand to identify and explain.
The president of the local Master Gardener Association will also open his large private garden along the river where he has developed an extensive collection of native plants and carefully designed areas to maximize garden interest and enjoyment throughout the season. He will share his long experience with various ornamental grasses and show which ones are both hardy and non-invasive.

The other two gardens, also close to the river and west of Monroe, are local treasures that even people who use the public areas tend to ignore. When tour participants reach those stops they will find Master Gardener volunteers eager to point out the value of special plants and both landscape and vegetable gardening techniques to lower maintenance and increase gardening rewards.

Get a carload of beginning or experienced gardeners and children together to enjoy this summer experience!

What: Monroe County Master Gardener Gardens Enrich Our Community

Cost: Adults $5. Children 12 and under, free.
For more information please contact Winnie Webb (Master Gardener) at Monroe County MSU Extension 734 240-3178 or email at webbw@anr.msu.edu

One of our Monroe County Master Gardener members sent this for the blog. Click below for a PDF file and Enjoy

If You Plant It

This time of year one of my favorite things is enjoying the beautiful fall colors. We are particularly blessed with a wonderful fall display at the Extension gardens. Many of the trees and shrubs are four season winners and it has been great to see these seasons in real specimens, not just photos in the garden catalogs. The gardens have also made it possible to continue planning for another favorite thing, watching birds in the winter.
While bird feeders brings the birds in, planting fruit and seed bearing shrubs and trees help sustain more birds (and other critters) as their preferred choice of food for many species. It has been a joy to monitor blue bird nesting activates through the summer but I hear their song throughout the winter and want to encourage them to stay around. The cornus group is used by many birds, including blue birds, because of its high fat content which helps sustain them through the winter. What a beautiful example of a Dogwood tree we have in the hummingbird garden! Cornus sericea, Redstemmed Dogwood, Gray Dogwood, Red-osier and Silky Dogwood are bird favorites and such beautiful berries for us to view & enjoy over the winter.
Another group of multi-seasonal interest is the Viburnum group. How can you beat spring flowers, fall colors and berries for the birds? One early spring I was surprised while on my deck to see a Cedar Wax Wing hop on the railing, give me a glance, dive into my Holly bush and emerge with a bright red holly berry, one of their favorite foods as they migrate further north in the spring. (Did you get a look at the Extension gardens’ Ilex? It’s a stunner! Last year I planted a Serviceberry and a Black Chokeberry. I am hoping they will add variety to yard banquet landscape plan. This year has been amazing abundance for most Malus species groups. While it may appear that the crab apples are not being used as they hang on but after several freezes, the tart flavor becomes more palatable to our flying friends. I continued to watch my tree through the winter and thought that was the wrong variety of flowering crab but by the spring, Robins were a frequent visitor and soon the tree was empty.
Julie Zickefoose, a writer and nature artist, has explained that sometimes the only sustaining food left near the early spring is Sumac. If you have a spot in your plan for Sumac, wild grape, Virginia Creeper, Poison Ivy (only in a remote area), Pokeberry and other native fruit bearers, you will be helping to sustain many species of birds . Don’t forget leaving out squash seeds and fruit seeds like apple and unused table grapes.

For more information, here are a few good books to consult:
Complete Guide to Bird Feeding, John Dennis
Wild about Birds, Carrol Henderson
Bring in the Birds, George Adams

Remember when Naida brought her favorite tool last year to a meeting? Well she sent me this information in case you may want to get one:

Last year when I brought my 36 volt B & D cordless
trimmer/edger to extension for a show & tell everyone really loved it
and I answered a number of questions about it. I was just going through
Sunday’s papers today and noticed the same trimmer in Menard’s sale
paper (the three closest Menards are in
Toledo, Livonia and Jackson). I have never seen it listed anywhere so cheaply
and would love to get the word out to our M.G. group. Two years ago I
paid $179 for mine and Menards has it for sale now and until April 20
for $129. You also get a $10 mail in rebate which brings the price down
to $119. This trimmer is one of the best garden tools I have ever
purchased. No electric cord to drag around and no pull-start gasoline
engine which is a pain to get started. Just snap the battery in and go!
I would recommend purchasing a second battery but check the price at
Amazon.com before purchasing at Menards.

B&D Cordless 13″ Trimmer/Edger – 36 volt Lithium battery
– Power command dial to choose between max power and max runtime
– Automatic Feed Spool
– Easily converts from trimmer to edger
– Includes spool, 36 volt battery and charger

This past winter was a great one for testing the durability of my plant
label. Last summer I used the Brother P-touch to make labels to be used
inside and out. Mine are printed on clear tape but you can purchase
different colored ones. The granola jar label, which has been through the
dishwasher a few times, is not peeling off. Now I hope my plants did as
well as my indoor labels and that I remember their correct names for more signs.

Sandy O’Connell

One of our Advanced Master Gardeners sent this article to post:

courtesy of http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html

As of Wednesday, March 26, migrating hummingbirds have moved into lower Tennessee and into North Carolina. You can follow their progress on this website: http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html.

For our area, the rule of thumb is to put out feeders on Tax Day and remove them on Halloween. The last hummingbird I saw was on Oct 1, 2013, but I kept the feeders up until Oct. 31.

Remember to use a 4:1 ratio of water to sugar: Add ¼ cup white sugar to 1 cup of boiling water and allow the nectar solution to cool before filling the feeders. Any leftover solution can be refrigerated for up to a week, but try to change the solution in the feeders every few days.

DO NOT add food coloring or dye to the solution! Studies have shown that food coloring can be detrimental to the hummingbirds.

Providing this food for them as they migrate through entices them to stick around until they can supplement their food source with nectar from Cardinal Flower, Columbine, Coral Bells, Guara, Liatris, Rose of Sharon, Zinnia, and many other flowers.