Monroe County Master Gardener Association

1994 was the year that the Bedford Flower and Garden Club began. Today they have over 50 members. It began with a small group of avid garden lovers meeting at the Bedford Library. They still meet in that location.

The club has an annual garden walk. This year it will be on July 13th. It will begin at the library at 9:00. Presentation will be given on Vertical Gardening at 10:30am and Invasive and Native Plants at 1:30pm. Both presentation are by our Monroe County Master Gardeners. These presentation will qualify for educational hours. They also have a “Backyard Boutique” that will feature fairy gardens, decorating items for the home, unique bird baths and hand crafted garden art made by Garden Club members; They also have books and magazines. For more information contact Tour Coordinator Cindy Skaggs at 419-266-0134 or Garden Club President Jessie Green at 734-847-1054.

They meet the first Wednesday of the Month. The next meeting will be September 4th. You may join them as a guest if you are interested in becoming a member. The meetings are a combination of social time and education. They also have guest speakers who lecture on various garden topics.

You may want to visit their website for additional information. Here is their link: http://bedfordflowerandgardenclub.com/index.html.

Eden’s Garden Club also has a WordPress Blog and website. They’ve posted their 2013 Garden tour on it. It will be Sunday, June 23 from 11:00AM – 5:00 PM Rain or Shine. Tickets will be $10.00 and the proceeds will go to St. Mary Organic Garden. It’s also posted on our blog calendar. You can see a great preview of the gardens that will be on their tour. Their website is: http://edensgardenclub.com/.

Blue Star Memorial

It’s great to see some of the preview photos for the tour. A list of the stops on the tour is included with the photos as well as some general info on the gardens. Maps are included as well. Just click on the tab for the Tour 2013. They also show photos from previous Garden Tours. Check out their information. They have members from throughout Monroe County, Michigan. You may want to join their club and volunteer for a few of the projects they work on.

If you are interested in becoming a member contact Charley Bohland via email at: cbohland@chartermi.net

Gail sent me a notice to post on our state park activities coming up. I’ve listed it as a link so you may go to the site and check them out!

http://content.govdelivery.com/bulletins/gd/MIDNR-7d68ff

From the genus Rubus, the raspberry comes in a multitude of species. The photo is a volunteer plant that popped up three years ago. We were trying to eliminate it by digging it, but it began to grown between the fence and our raised bed vegetable garden. We finally gave up last year and felt, since we never saw any fruit, that it would give us some green on the fence. This year we find it covered with blooms that will fruit. We have no idea of the cultivar. Maybe someone can recognize it after we get the fruit. Various raspberries can be cultivated in zones 3 to 9. Besides being delicious, the raspberry has many nutritional benefits due to its high fiber content. It’s also a great source for vitamin C. The leaves may be used fresh or dried for herbal tea. Planting is usually from canes but caution must be taken since they can be invasive since they sucker. Propagation is done through cuttings placed in moist soil. The raspberries are often eaten by the larvae of some moths and butterflies. I’ll definitely watch for that spotted winged fruit fly that lays its eggs under the skin of the fruit. I’ll inspect the fruit well before we pick and eat.
The raspberry bush will need to be watered once or twice a week but the session should be thorough. The raspberry bush can handle direct sun but it needs shade also. A raspberry bush is fairly easy to manage and it will make your summer and fall much sweeter.

Since today is the official, original Memorial Day; I’d like to post some pictures of the Oriental Poppy. Some of us recall years ago when every corner had a veteran from either the VFW or American Legion selling their poppy flowers for a fund raiser. That is one of the strongest Memorial Day memories I have. My father, a WWII verteran always made sure he purchase them for us to wear. The poppy is in full bloom this time of year. Papaver orientale is hard from Zone 3 to 8. It usually will achieve a height and spread of 1 foot to 3 foot. Although it loves full sun, it grows very well in my dappled shade locations. Not long after blooming and setting seed the foliage will die back. It’s good to plant a companion there to take over the bare space it will leave. It again shows some foliage in the fall, but begins its new grown the following spring. These poppies don’t take kindly to transplanting. It’s a challenge, since they die back so soon. You will have better luck early spring or waiting and sewing their seeds the next year after last frost has occurred. There is a large range of colors, including white, pink, salmon, maroon, plum and the more popular scarlet-orange. So included are a few photos from my collection planted as a tribute to those who have served our country.

If you compost and find an odor comming from it…here are some tips:

Sulfur Smell:  Your pile may be too wet and it lacks oxygen.  Aerate the pile by turning and let the pile dry out or add more dry material to it.

Ammonia Smell:  Chances are your kitchen scraps are not covered.  Add some carbon-rich material like brown leaves and turn the pile.

Sewage Smell:  If it attracts some files and is smelling like sewage, you may have too much nitrogen.  Bury any scraps in the center of the pile and cover it with soil or brown materials such as leaves.

Announcement: MG Maggy Myers reports that the former Jacob’s Garden nursery and greenhouse is open under new ownership as Beauchamp Garden Center. The large facility at Whiteford and Sterns Rd is selling plants now and gearing up for more business. In fact, if you are looking for part-time employment, stop by there and fill out an application!

Just in case you have not received the notification for Master Gardener College here is the information. I will add to our Calendar as well

Click to access MG_Booklet_2013_-_FINAL.pdf

Sometimes a season can be difficult on a mature tree. After a late frost last spring, a hot dry summer and a somewhat unpredictable winter, I lost my Japanese Maple in my front yard. It was sad to see it go since I planted around its red color. Well, all is not lost. Today I planted a replacement shrub, that hopefully will withstand the strong semi-sunny spot. I needed a pop of colorful foliage. I decided to plant Abelia grandiflora ‘Kaleidoscope’. It has brilliant red stems that contrast nicely with the yellow-green foliage. This plant will have color for each season. In spring it has this green center and bright yellow variegation along the outer edge. In summer, it’ll change to a darker green center with a creamy golden outer edge, and fall should bring green, yellow, orange and red foliage. It also blooms. A white, somewhat fragrant flower appears from summer until fall. It’s known to attract an array of butterflies. Its hardiness Zone is 6 (-10 degrees). Since we are now in 6A (-10 to -5 degrees) I can plant it with confidence. I didn’t want a tall plant there since my arbor gives me the height I need. This shrub will be only 2-3’…about the same height as the Japanese Maple that it’s replacing. It will grow up to a width of 3-4′. It enjoys moist, well-drained acidic soil. I have an azelia nearby that loves the same conditions. I’ve read that it is a neat, compact mounded shrub that requires minimal maintenance. That convinces me that this is the perfect shrub for that area.

Spring and fall are good times for planting shrubs and small trees. It’s also when we introduce our annuals to the garden. Best time to plant those annuals is after Mothers Day.  Here are a few suggestions to help out the birds and bees as well as your yard and gardens.

Plants for Birds:  Shrubs and small trees that produce berries for seasonal food and year-round shelter:

1. Dogwood (Cornus florida) Zone 4-9

2. Ninebark (Physocarpus spp.)   Zone 2-8

3. Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea) Zone 4-8

4. Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) Zones 5-8

5. Juniper (Juniperus spp.)  Zones 3-9

6. Viburnum (Viburnum spp.)  Zones 2-8

For the Hummingbirds include:

1. Cardinal flower

2. honeysuckle

3. Hosta

4. Bee balm

5. Cannas

6. Lantana

7. Salvia.

Plants for the Butterflies:  Favorites for the Butterfly:

1. Butterfly bush

2. Garden phlox

3. Purple coneflower

4. Cosmos

5. Zinnia

6. Lantana

Plants for the Bees:  All of the above;  if there is pollen they will come.