In This Issues

1 President’s Message

2-6 MCMG Corner

• Upcoming Events

• MG Member articles

7 Meeting Notes

The Bridge to KnowledgeVolume 88, Issue 6

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From The President

Although the calendar says that Summer is still several weeks away, we are experiencing temperatures in the nineties and some days humidity at 100%! If you have been out planting and weeding you will agree that it has felt like Summer for the past few weeks. The weather has been conducive to tropical like growth in my garden and for once the plants are keeping pace with the weeds.

It is with pleasure and pride that I announce that we made $9,700.00 on the Spring Plant Sale. EVERYONE who contributed their time as well as the plants and the garden items to make this event so successful is to be congratulated! It is always difficult to name just a few special contributors but I am compelled to thank a few that stood out not only this year but have been instrumental for several years. Judy Rice has been working on the plant sale for the past ten years. Tharon Kirk has been involved in the leadership even after moving to Nashville. Mary Kay Havranek has worked tirelessly for the last several years making certain that printed labels were available for EVERY plant. Over the last few years the committee has attempted to place the printed labels on every plant, thereby making them more uniform and marketable.

I am compelled to mention a few special members who regularly bring literally hundreds of plants annually as well as some of our new members who made an extra effort. The numbers for 2018: David and Carol Sams-400 plants, Bill and Frances Bobbitt-172 plants, John and Mary Kay Havranek-308 plants, and David and Darlene Tanner 131 plants. Intern James McAllister brought 99 plants. Thanks to some of our new members who joined forces and grew a crop of vegetable plants from seed; Amy Aaron, Kim Shea and Debra Peterson. Interns Debbie Lay and Judith Gaggley worked together to grow some nice annuals for the sale.One of our customers remarked to me at the sale how much he appreciated the Master Gardeners providing plants at such reasonable prices. He recognized the sale as a wonderful community service. Evidently the public appreciates our sale also because we were essentially sold out of over 2,300 plants by 11:00am! You should all be very proud of your efforts and of this organization.

At the June meeting you will have the opportunity to sign up to work at the Summer Celebration Plant Sale as well as for the Summer Celebration Meet and Greet on Wednesday evening July 11. The Meet and Greet on Wednesday evening has several purposes. One is to provide a sneak peek at the grounds in the cool of the evening without the huge crowd of Thursday. Second an opportunity to SHOP the vendors as many of you will be working the Plant Sale on Thursday. Third is the opportunity to socialize and picnic with the presenters, UT specialist and UT staff who come from all areas of the state to help with Summer Celebration. Last but not least we invite the employees at WTREC as a thank you for allowing us to use their facility for our meetings as well as be a part of Summer Celebration.

See you June 7 at FUMC, Elizabeth Edwards

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To Register:

file:///C:/Users/lizv/AppData/Local/Packages/microsoft.windowscommunicationsapps_8wekyb3d8bbwe/LocalState

/Files/S0/2356/HT%20registration-schedule[2789].pdf

____________________________

TN AgrAbility Project/UT Gardens Veterans Horticultural Therapy Workshop Date: Wednesday, May 16, 2018 Time: 0900 – 1530 (9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.) Location: TSU Main Campus Agricultural Research & Education Center 1519 Ed Temple Blvd Nashville, TN 37209

YOU ARE INVITED TO TRAVEL WITH TEMGs FROM AROUND TENNESSEE ON A HISTORY AND HORTICULTURE JOURNEY! From historical heritage tours to gardens galore, there is a little something for everyone on this learning journey!

Join with us September 21-24, 2018! Registration deadline is July 20, 2018

Register online @ https://www.bsmga.com/monticello.html

I have had a request for a speaker from Henderson County or the surrounding area. The talk is for a group called “Our Healthy Circle.” They would like someone to give a short talk (15-20 min.) on general plant recommendations (sun vs. shade ect…) and crapemyrtle bark scale on Tuesday June 12th at the hospital in Lexington at 5:00pm. I have plant lists and other material that might be helpful to you if needed! If you are interested, please contact me as soon as possible. Thank you!!

we are looking for volunteers to help out at St. Augustine School and University School of Jackson this summer. They

are each starting a learning garden and would like to meet on Wednesdays. St.

Augustine students, along with their teach Mr. Adam Lange, will be meeting on Wednesdays from 9am-11am to care

for and learn about the garden. USJ would like to meet around 10am on

Wednesdays for about an hour.

If you are interested in assisting with either of these learning project,

please contact Celeste!

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Hi MCMG’s, I hope everyone is enjoying their gardens. It is almost that time of year again…. Yes, Summer Celebration Plant Sale ! Everyone's help is needed to make this sale a success. The sign-ups will be available at the June meeting, but for those who would like to sign up early or will not be able to make it to the meeting I have attached the sign-up sheets for volunteers as well as a description of each position. (Editor’s Note: I did not include the attached sign-up sheets because of length – you should be able to get that from

To sign up before the meeting, you can e-mail or text me. Please include: 1) Your full name 2) Time slot you would like to work 3) Which position you prefer If you have any questions, please e-mail or text me on my cell. If you need to, you can call me at home after 5pm. I live so far out that my cell phone does not always have service at my home. Email: bycoffey@gmail.com Cell: 731-695-3891 Home: 731-968-0279

The plant sale does not start until 9am but the first shift is from 8am to 10am. If you sign up for this time, please be at the plant sale site at 7:30am. We will need your assistance with the finishing touches before the sale starts. Thank you all so much for volunteering and keep your eyes and ears open for more information to come. Brenda and Summer Celebration Plant Sale Committee

Summer Celebration Master Gardener Volunteer Job Descriptions Seller: Your job is to be familiar with the plants and where they are. You will be available to the customer to help them. Adder: Pad, pen and calculator will be provided. Your job is to add up the cost of the plants and write the Customer’s Full Name at top, Number of plants, Total Cost, and CIRCLE the number of plants on the same piece of paper. This paper will be the customer’s receipt. It is best if adders work in groups of 2 when necessary (especially large orders). One person writes the information on the paper while the other counts the plants and calls out the prices. Cashier: Your only job is to take the money and to give change. DO NOT EVER LEAVE THE MONEY BOX FOR ANY REASON. Once payment is received write ‘paid’ on the paper the adder gave the customer and return it to the customer. This is the customers receipt. A designated person will be by periodically to collect money and checks from the money box. Cashier’s assistant: your job is to write the full name of the customer and number of plants on the hold card, if they wish to store their plants in the holding area, and place the card in the plant pot. Example: Joan Hughes 1 of 4 Taggers: (Will be pulled from Holding Area and Plant Sellers as needed) your job is to help the cashier’s assistant tag all the plants the customer has paid for. Write the full name of the customer on the hold card and number of plants, 1 of 5, 2 of 5 etc . If the customer has 5 plants then there will be 5 cards. A card will need to be placed in each pot. The number of plants will be verified by the number of cards. Holding: Your job is to accept the plants that are sold & tagged and put them ALPHABETICALLY by last name in the holding area. There will be big signs that designate a collection area for each letter in the alphabet. When picking up, the customer should show you their receipt and you should verify plant count with the customer. If there is a large order, you may use orange flagging tape to put around the pots (in addition to their cards) to help keep them together. Master Gardener Information Booth: Your job is to be hospitable to our guests who have come to shop and talk with those who are interested in the Madison County Master Gardener Association. We have pamphlets to be handed out and will also have a sign-up sheet for those who would like more information about registering for the 2018 training session. We will also be sharing information pertaining to Crapemyrtle Bark Scale and its control. Extra Notes for ALL Workers:

• Master Gardeners are not responsible for plants that are set aside before they are paid for. In other words if a customer makes a “pile” of plants while shopping, they may do so. But, we are not responsible for the plants.

• Name Cards are for SOLD plants only. • SIGN IN SHEET: There will be a sign in sheet in the holding area tent. Please initial by your name before starting your

shift. • There will be water and snacks available in the hold area for Summer Celebration Master Gardeners Volunteers.

See you Thursday ☺ , July 12 Brenda, Tommy, Paulette

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Registration for this year’s TEMG training in Madison County has officially begun. I already have 6 folks signed-up and several more that are on their way. Please help me to spread the word. It seems like I always have 2 or 3 folks who contact me the week AFTER training has begun wishing they could join the class, but unfortunately have to wait another year. I welcome ALL who wish to learn and actively participate in the training. Each year I have several students who simply want to learn more by attending class and not become certified. This is fine and I welcome those who value the knowledge gained. However, I will be limiting the class to 30 participants this year. Those who intend to pursue certification will have priority. Here are the details. We will be meeting every Tuesday evening beginning on August 6th through October 30th from 6pm-9pm at the Madison County Extension Office 309 North Parkway. Attendance is required for 80% for the course, allowing 2 excused absences. The missed classes will have to be attended at the following year’s training. The cost is $125.00 and includes the newly revised TEMG Handbook and Name Badge upon certification. There is scholarship support available for those who may need financial assistance. Registration is currently open and will close on Friday July 20th. Do not wait to send in registration due to limited class space. Forms can be found on our website http://madisoncountymg.org/ or here at my office. I have also sent them to each of you through e-mail. If you or your family/friends have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call and talk with me!! 2018 Training Schedule

I would like to have a welcome reception at the Orientation/Introduction session again this year as we did last year. This was a good opportunity to meet MCMG’s, mingled with them, and hear some of their stories about how they became involved with MG and how it has influenced them. We will also do an add-a-dish finger food. I will provide deli sandwiches, drinks, and plates ect… There will be a sign-up sheet at the June meeting for those who are interested in helping! Of course, ALL MCMG’s are welcome to attend any and ALL of the trainings they wish. This year we will have a special treat! In addition to Carol Reese, Horticulture Extension Specialist, we will be hosting Dr. Andrea Ludwig, Storm Water Specialist, as a guest speaker. She will be covering a NEW topic that has been included in the revised TEMG Handbook on ‘Stewardship & Water Management in the Landscape.” This topic will be very interesting and will touch on recycling rain water and filtration methods to preserve ground water through the addition of rain gardens and other techniques. I hope that many of you are able to join us for this learning opportunity!

Date Topic Speaker August 7th Orientation/Introduction Celeste Scott/Amy Elizer August 14th Basic Botany Dr. David Sams August 21st Soils & Plant Nutrition Tracy Sullivan August 28th Stewardship & Water Management in the Landscape Dr. Andrea Ludwig September 4th IPM Celeste Scott September 11th Landscape Design Carol Reese September18th Lawn/Weed ID Celeste Scott September 25th Woody Ornamentals Carol Reese October 2nd Vegetables in the Home Garden Celeste Scott October 9th Herbaceous Ornamentals Carol Reese October 16th Wildlife in the Home Landscape Tom Stallings/Bill Wyatt October 23rd Backyard Fruit Lee Sammons October 30th Propagation Barbara Tucker/Sue Ann Barnes

TALK OF THE TOWN Celeste Scott May 2018

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Plant Sale, general: Our sale went wonderfully again making one proud to be a master gardener. All plants were sold well ahead of our noon deadline due to their high quality and Celeste’s work with the microphone. Celeste deserves a special award as the most useful MG agent ever. Plant Sale, Special Successes: The market for ferns and Celandine poppies seems unlimited. We had over 100 hardy ferns all of which sold before markdowns began. Carol and I have brought Celandine poppies and hardy ferns every year since the sale begun and they always sell. We will continue to bring these plants next year. Since they all naturalize when happy others should be able to assume their production as Carol and I eventually downsize our MG efforts. Plant Sale, Not so Successful: Five years ago I received a purple ‘Royalty’ raspberry plant by mail order which had only 3 small yellow leaves. I nursed and multiplied the plant and found it to produce good yields of tasty, very large, purple raspberries. Finally, this year, I had 17 lush little purple raspberry plants for the sale. They got shunted outside without a sign and did not sell. A failure in advertising, I believe. I will grow them for Carol and I and am unlikely to try and sell them again. Maybe some of you would like to request a start. Plant Sale 2019: It is time for Carol and I to cut back as we find ourselves more and more unable to meet our commitments to both our yard and society. Next year there will be hardy ferns, celandine poppies and some unusual plants such as dwarf and evergreen Solomon’s seal and arborvitae fern but there will not be anything like 400 total plants. Next year will be my last year to produce fig plants in any number. Weather: We are now into summer and at the end of the real cool temperatures for this season. I expect more fluctuation week by week than we have had in the average summer and continue to prepare for it with my irrigation system as well as with heavy mulches. We will be traveling when you read this and the next newsletter will not contain this column. We will see if people notice. Rising Sun redbud: We bought a ‘Rising Sun’ redbud from Jason last year. It was about 2 feet high and wanted to drape on the ground. The solution is to fasten a limb or limbs upright as a new central leader and gradually raise the plant up. What if I raise 3 limbs and form a vase shaped tree? I tried this and 2 of the 3 lived. Not what I wanted! Now how can I modify that into an attractive plant? Hydrangeas: We overwintered quite a number big-leafed hydrangeas (Macrophyllas) in the garage last winter. It was a bit too crowded and too much work but worth it now that they are beginning to flower. It appears that the remondant (reblooming) varieties freeze to the ground outside in a winter like we had but recover quickly and flower almost as early as those overwintered in the garage. Remondant hydrangeas will not be overwintered in the garage in the future. Winter Damage: Plants have continued to die throughout the spring as expected. Others thought to be dead such as my evergreen clematis ‘Armandii’ have sent up vigorous shoots from their roots. I left a young fig plant in the cold frame to see what would happen. It was killed to the ground but is now beginning to come up from below the soil line.

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Vicki Bunch, one of our newest board members is a native West Tennessean. She and her husband, Jason, became master gardeners in 2016. Reflectively, her love of gardening started on her family’s farm in rural Henderson County. Watching her great-grandparents, Will and Stella, methodically till, plant and harvest a garden large enough to feed several families, wouldn’t manifest into a love of hers until decades later when her family of four returned to the farm. Reminiscing of sitting on a picnic table under the shade tree as a child, eating tomatoes fresh from the garden, made her want to provide that same experience for her children. Planting a huge garden, only to feed the family of deer steadfastly waiting and watching, caused her to quickly lose heart in her attempt to provide fresh veggies for her own family. When Jason approached her about starting Master Gardeners, she was hesitant based on her one failed attempt to grow anything. He had learned about the program from a co-worker when they lived in Memphis. His co-worker’s huge binder filled with all things plant related intrigued him and he wanted to know more. He would mention his interest on and off over the years. Ten years later, when all Vicki’s excuses ran out (still in school, young children, new career, etc.) Jason signed them up to take courses through Madison County Master Gardeners. She describes it as one of life’s more rewarding experiences. Not only does she enjoy learning and growing in her knowledge as a gardener, she has met some of the kindest, most nurturing people, and she now has more tomatoes than she can give away. Today she’s the one in her office running around with a 3-ring binder talking about plant sales and bark scale. Just remember, you never know when your passion might plant a seed in the heart of others.

June Meeting Thursday June 7 at First United Methodists Church 200 S Church Street Jackson

This month’s speaker is Carol Reece “Native Plants: Facts and Fallacies”

Please Bring a dish to share.

You can earn volunteer hours by writing about some garden you visited, some technique you tried which worked (or did not), or share your enthusiasm for some special plant, or condensing a gardening article you read.

Keep contributing. Keep reading. Keep sharing. Please send your contributions to: Liz Whitsitt lizv@tds.net Pam Stanfield pamstanfield@gmail.com

Wanted!!Articles for the

Newsletter

The Bridge to KnowledgeThe University of Tennessee Extension

Madison County

309-C North Parkway

Jackson, TN 38305

Phone 731-668-8543 Fax 731-668-8440

Email cscott52@utk.edu (Celeste Scott)

Check Out UT Gardens Jackson

On Facebook!

Lots of great info being shared there, and you don’t have to wait for a monthly newsletter!

JuneMeeting

June 7 • 6:30 pm

First United Methodist Church 200 S. Church Street

Program by

Carol ReeceNative Plants: Facts and Fallacies

Please bring a dish to share!

Board of Directors

President- Elizabeth Edwards

Board MembersMary Kay HavranekJohn OverbyTammy Overby Vicki Bunch Rob JohnsonWayne GerlerSusan LuckeyBill Wyatt

Master Gardener financial standing information is available upon request.