May 2015 | Vol. XXVII, No 5
Calendar of Events
MG MONTHLY MEETING
Thursday, April 30, 2015
9:00 a.m.
Program: Garden prep for Extension Spring Festival and Open House
ESCAMBIA EXTENSION SPRING FESTIVAL AND 4-H OPEN HOUSE
Saturday, May 2, 2015
8:00 a.m. to Noon
Educational demonstrations, garden tours, and plant sale
3740 Stefani Road, Cantonment, Fl. 32533
EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING
Thursday, May 14, 2015
9:00 a.m.
Conference Room
MG MONTHLY MEETING
Thursday, May 28, 2015
11:00 a.m.
Program: Annual luncheon and Dirty Gardener
GARDEN TALKS – GROWING AND USING BASIL
Friday, June 12, 2015
9:00 – 10:30 a.m.
3740 Stefani Road, Cantonment, FL 32533
Pre-registration is required 3 days before program by calling 850-475-5230 or emailing
[email protected]
ESCAMBIA COUNTY
Master Gardener’s Grapevine
Beth Bolles, Extension Agent III, Horticulture
Carol Lord, Horticulture Technician
Editor, Shelby Kalin
This newsletter is written and compiled by Master
Gardeners in support of the Escambia County Master
Gardener Volunteer Program. Master Gardeners have
contributed more than 163,591 hours of service to the
Extension Horticulture Program since 1987, providing
services worth $3,062,574.
Escambia County Master Gardeners Association
Officers – January 2015 – December 2015
Ann Luther, President
Annie Guthrie, Vice President
Russ Poerner, Secretary
Carolann Holmes, Treasurer
Extension Programs are open and available to
individuals and institutions without regard to race,
color, gender, age, handicap, or national origin. No
discrimination is intended and no endorsements by the
Cooperative Extension Service is implied for specific
products. Reference to commercial products or trade
names are for educational purposes only.
Pursuant to the provisions of the Americans with
Disabilities Act, any person requiring special
accommodations to participate in any meeting or
workshop noted herein is asked to advise the
University of Florida at least 5 working days prior
to the meeting or workshop by contacting Beth
Bolles at 850-475-5230. If you are hearing or
speech impaired, please contact the University by
calling 352-846-1046(TDD).
Beth R. Bolles
Beth Bolles, Extension Agent IV Horticulture
President’s Remarks…
I feel really soggy as I write this article! It has
been raining for at least 100 years now (maybe
a little exaggeration). I guess I need to be
thankful that we haven’t had the deluge of rain
that happened last April. Have you ever
noticed that when something isn’t quite going
the way we think it should, there is always a…
but after….hmmm….I personally need to
remember that. Staying positive is one of my
New Year’s Resolutions and I certainly don’t
want to be called out about being negative!
Yikes….
So here is my list of wonderful POSITIVE
things that are happening around the Escambia
County Extension Office....
The new 4H building is open! The Master
Gardeners now have their own office! It is
great to be able to move out of the lobby. We
can now work on researching information,
making labels, running pot sticks and have
small group discussions in one room. We still
greet and help customers in the lobby, but this
move has definitely kept the noise down and
productivity high.
April showers did bring May flowers and also
the awakening of Dollar Weed! Remember that
this is a plant, but just in the wrong place!
Check out EDIS Publication on the nature of
this plant & why it may be making its home in
your flowers or lawn.
The gardens will flower in nature but with the
help of many MG Volunteers in the
propagation area and in the Demonstration
Garden they are phenomenal this year. Isn’t it
a wonderful sight to see the awaking of all the
gardens to their spring glory! Thank you to all
for being volunteers.
This article is written before the beginning of
May….So the Spring Festival/4H Open House
on May 2nd hasn’t taken place yet. Master
Gardeners are still excited about the
anticipation of so many visitors to our garden
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this year. It is our goal as MG’s to pass on
correct and sound horticultural practices as we
can to the community. When we are asked…we
are always ready to answer. If we don’t know
the answer at first we will research the studies
from UF for the best solution to the problems.
If you are a homeowner in this county and not
a Master Gardener, you can come to us for
solutions for your garden. As Master
Gardeners we need and love to gain as much
education on horticulture as we can so you, as a
homeowner, can be successful in your garden.
So go ahead and ask, we are here for you!
There was an article in the Pensacola News
Journal a couple months passed from an
individual that wondered why Escambia
County didn’t have a botanical garden for
educational and information purposes for all
ages. I replied back to the paper to let her
know that the Escambia County Master
Gardeners Demonstration Garden is free and
open to the public. We also host groups or
individuals to our garden year round. This
article opened my eyes…..Master Gardeners
really need to get the word out that we are here
for all. Please pass it on.
This Month’s BIG GREEN THUMBS UP:
The April Garden Talk “Preserving Your
Harvest” was something new for MG’s and it
was a huge success. The team: Pat Bush, Lo
Sitton, Judy Kerr & many more helped Dorothy
Lee, Family and Consumer Sciences Agent with
canning the fruits of labor. Wow what a lot of
information was given out! It showed how to
take your horticultural efforts from soil to
table! Thank you to all.
Doug McCrary, Warren Tate, and assistants
placed the decorative pavers around the
Extension Sign. I use that word “placed” very
lightly. These volunteers with their
engineering expertise have not only done the
job, but have done it right. Those pavers are
not only hard to level but heavy. Thank you to
all.
Greg Leach installed two maps of the
Demonstration Garden areas at the two
entrances. Thank you to Greg.
The mowing team is a group of MG’s that go
about their job through rain, sleet or snow! Not
through sleet or snow but they do go about
their task without being asked. Shelby, Lo and
Lana, thank you!
A huge thank you to all the MG’s that turned
out to help get the ground cloth down & help
move the plants. The sun loving plants say
thank you! Or they will as soon as the sun
comes out.
As the song goes the “sun will come out
tomorrow” so be ready to soak it in because the
plants, trees, shrubs and grasses will …oh and
the “weeds”!
See you in the Garden,
Ann Luther
A good garden may have some weeds.
~Thomas Fuller
From Beth…
The 2nd MG Trainee team completed a nursery
clinic at Lowes Home Improvement store
(photo next page). Bill, Patti, and Karen
prepared the display and assisted homeowners
with plant selections and gardening
recommendations. It was a busy day and a
learning experience for all of us. Thanks to
Ann for her guidance during the clinic.
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safely as possible. This was exemplified in one
of the recent Garden Talks (Growing Tomatoes
Above Ground.) When questions were asked
about GMO our comrades answered effectively
and with the latest research. That is the
Extension Office outreach at its best. Great
streams of information disseminated from Beth
Bolles and then days later sent out to the public
via a garden talk!
Vice President Comments
The nature of a volunteer is by definition
someone who gives of themselves without
regard to compensation. Compensation does
not have to mean money; it can surely mean
praise and recognition. And often that form of
compensation means so much!
As volunteers the primary common
denominator for all of us as Master Gardeners
is our zeal for all things growing. Fortunately,
this zeal manifests itself in different directions
and together we successfully accomplish so
much. Yet eventually we all move on and others
take our place.
My personal vision for our The Demonstration
Garden is something that will one day outshine
the Mobile Botanical Garden. I am envisioning
a stunning Glass Green house in the Victorian
style. Needless to say it would have very
detailed gingerbread fretwork and be filled
with fabulous hot house plants. SERIOUSLY
? (Would someone kindly revive Beth?) This
is just what I wish this garden could be. WE
all have visions. If not, why are we here?.
Hopefully your visions are not as romantic and
unrealistic as mine. Well thought out and
sound plans will move our agenda forward.
Our mission is education. WE take the
latest research from our agents and pass it on
in an understandable and practical way so that
the general public can enhance their own
personal part of this earth as effectively and
OK Mobile Botanical Garden you have nothing
to worry about. One can only hope when we
leave to go on to our next challenge something
is left in our wake that is of value and
sustainable for the next group of passionate
volunteers.
Kudos to: Beth Bolles (“Plan Carefully
With Indian Hawthorne”) Mary Derrick
(“Just Say No To Wisteria”) and Carrie
Stevenson (“ Bat Roosting Season”) who
wrote really great articles for Gardening in
the Panhandle. If you are not subscribing
online to this you are missing some great
information.
Mega Kudos to: Tina Tuttle who spoke in
our last monthly meeting. I had no idea what a
sexy topic corn could be. Love it when I can be
educated with humor. Thanks Tina you were
great!
Special Thanks to Millie and Lyle Knapp
and Tom Morgan for the garden talk
Growing Tomatoes Above Ground and the “
village” of MG's it took to make it work.
Thanks to Carol Perryman and Lynda
Creed for securing the Tyron Branch Library
location ...we always seem to get great turnouts
there!
Submitted by Annie Guthrie
Upcoming Events in the
Area…
May 2 – FDSG meets at the Gulf Breeze
Presbyterian Church at 9:30 a.m. Call Linda
Henderson, 850-936-4950.
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May 3 - Mobile Botanical Gardens presents a
program by Bobby Green on "Growing
Hydrangeas on the Gulf Coast". 2pm
May 18-22 - NGC accredited Environmental
Studies School Courses 1 and 2. Roy Hyatt
Environmental
Center,
Tobias
Rd.,
Cantonment. $50 each course.
May 23 - Chipley Garden Club's Annual
Garden Walks & English Tea, Chipley. Tickets
$15 available in March from Chipley Garden
Club
May 26-28 Flower Show School Course 3,
Gulf Breeze Presbyterian Church
May 30-31 Pensacola Federation of Garden
Clubs "Secret Garden Tour"
Here’s the Dirt on…..
Aruncus dioicus
Some believe that males are more sought after
than females because their plumes are
supposedly fuller. This could be because the
male plumes seem to be more feathery and
upright since the female blooms are laden with
seeds and seem to droop some. But unless you
are a chauvinist of some kind, it really doesn’t
matter.
Goatsbeard
If you have a wet, shady area this may be just
the plant for you. Goatsbeard is a stately,
shrub-like perennial for a moist, shady or
partly shady spot. This tall, elegant plant is
excellent to gracefully fill in the backs of
borders. Its creamy white plumes and
alternate-toothed leaves give it a feathery, light
appearance. It has decorative finely-cut foliage
and will create a bold, showy effect all season
long. It is well established after one growing
season; and it is deer and rabbit resistant.
Aruncus dioicus is a spectacular, woody plant
that needs lots of moisture, shade, and plenty
of room. It can reach a height of 4 feet and a
spread of 4-6 feet. While it can take some
morning sun, it cannot tolerate the hot
afternoon sun in this area.
The blooms last for 4 weeks or more and make
for a beautiful accent in cut and/or dried
arrangements. Spent blooms should be
removed to allow for fresh blooms.
SJK
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On the Wild Side…
The Florida Gopher Frog
Those tunnels in your yard may not all be mole
tunnels. This guy is a gopher frog and may be
creating tunnels similar to mole tunnels. They
rely on burrows for shelter.
An adult gopher frog is about 2.5 to 4 inches.
The body of the gopher frog is tan to gray; its
skin is warty or even wrinkled-looking. The
back and belly are marked with irregular brown
or black spots. They have a raised ridge down
each side of their body. The head is very wide
in comparison to the body. Like all "true
frogs," they have large eardrums and webbed
hind feet. Notice the front feet are clawlike for
burrowing.
when they leave the protection of the burrow.
Snake predators typically forage for prey by
"smelling" their surroundings and following
the scent of their prey. Although some snakes
seek shelter in burrows, a snake at the entrance
of a burrow may not detect a frog that is deep
inside, and will not often enter a burrow just to
look for a meal.
During the day, when gopher frogs are not
active, burrows provide a safe place to rest. On
warm nights, gopher frogs may leave the
burrow to forage for prey, but they remain near
the entrance of the burrow and quickly jump
into it if they feel threatened. One way of
identifying the tunnel is the hole that the
gopher frog leaves open so they can quickly
jump back in if threatened. Mole tunnels
seldom have a visible entrance hole.
The diet of the gopher frog is Beetles, crickets,
spiders, worms, other small invertebrates and
small frogs. SJK
MGs in Action – Just a few highlights for the
past month.
Debbie has made many plant labels for potted
plants.
The underground refuges provide many
important benefits to gopher frogs. They have
semi-permeable skin that can dry out quickly—
if they are unable to find shelter from adverse
weather conditions or reabsorb moisture from
rain or wetlands, they may die. Drying is a
major threat to gopher frogs because they live
in hot, dry areas.
Underground refuges provide protection from
dry conditions and extreme warm and cold
temperatures. In addition to sheltering gopher
frogs from extreme weather conditions,
burrows also protect them from many
predators, such as snakes, raccoons, and owls.
Many mammal and bird predators do not enter
burrows; instead, they prey on gopher frogs
Olivia, Marjorie, Tom, Jerry, Carol P. and visiting
Diana J. filled the herb box with compost.
Dave P. and Pat led a team to install ground cloth
and move plants for the Spring Festival.
Judy M., Russ, and Vickie installed the Rosalinda
hawthorn donated by Judy K.
Dianne P. and Lynne assisted in removal of a
crowded crape myrtle.
Mollie and Lo advised a Baptist Hospital wellness
group on raised bed plant selection.
Sam co taught a lesson on the importance of plants
for a Westgate class.
Bob guided the Pace girls with the installation of
raised bed gardens.
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Barbara created a design for back property of the
new 4-H building. Sherry and Judy M. designed
and installed plants (Vickie assisted with
installation) around the front of the building.
Marjorie donated Gaillardia and Salvia.
Steve trimmed and edged around the garden and
grow house areas.
MG Botany Lesson
During our recent training program on plant
terms and names, Tina mentioned composite
flowers (Oxeye Daisy as an example below).
Many composite flowers have two types of
flowers. One type of flower is the ray (white
portion below). The second type of flower are
small tube-like flowers that are clustered
together making a disc shape (yellow portion
below). The ray flowers surround the discshaped flowers.
Find one in your yard and dissect it to view the
different structures.
Not All Milkweeds are the Same
Asclepias tuberosa is the preferred milkweed
that gardeners should install as a host plant for
monarch butterflies. Asclepias curassavica is
commonly found in many nurseries but is not a
native milkweed. It is not as recommended
due to impacts this plant may have on butterfly
migration and development. ‘Silky Gold’ is also
a cultivar of Asclepias curassavica.
Protecting Pollinators
Gardens are continuing to transition as flowers
open on numerous plants. As you enjoy
beautiful blooms remember the important
pollinating insects that are visiting many
flowers. It is best to hold off on most
insecticide treatments while plants are in
bloom to protect bees and other pollinators.
Wasps,flies,beetles,and butterflies can also serve as
pollinators.
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Gardening Tips for May
Prepare for hurricane season by checking
trees for damaged or weak branches and
prune if needed. Hire an ISA certified arborist
and always make certain that the company you
hire hold proper licenses and insurance.
Mowing your lawn at the proper height will help
the turf be more adapted to stressful weather,
pests, and also help reduce weed problems.
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Continue planting warm weather seeds and
transplants.
You may need to shade
transplants in the afternoon until they establish.
Use transplants for cherry tomatoes, peppers,
eggplant and sweet potatoes.
Enjoy the shade that your garden offers as
temperatures begin to increase. There are
many beautiful shade loving plants. Consider
cinnamon fern and Japanese plum yew
‘Prostrata’.
St. Augustine & Bahia: 3-4 inches
Centipede: 1.5-2.0 inches
Zoysiagrass” 1.5 – 2.0 inches
Dwarf St. Augustine: 2.5 inches
Ornamental peppers make excellent summer
annuals. Plant these in groups for more
dramatic garden color. You may plant in
ground or use in containers. (Below are pepper
varieties Chilly Chili and Black Pearl).
Prune and shape spring flowering shrubs such
as azaleas and Indian hawthorn at this time.
Later pruning may destroy next year’s blooms.
The best type of pruning to maintain an
informal shrub is selective thinning to remove
aggressive branches and open the canopies to
air flow.
Promote continued flowering of bedding plants
by removing faded blooms.
Encourage coleus to branch and produce more
colorful leaves by pinching off the flower stalks
as they form.
Formosan termites are swarming at this time of
year. They are attracted to lights at dusk when
weather is calm, humid, and warm.
If you have room for a new vine, consider an
evergreen vine such as Coral honeysuckle,
Five –leaf akebia, or Cross vine. If you prefer
an annual or frost tender perennial try purple
hyacinth bean, moonflower, or blue sky vine.
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