the garden thymes · 2/2/2018 · es. hedge trimmers make short work of this. plant any trees,...
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Kathy Turner, 2018 BCMGA
The Garden
Thymes
February 2018
Big Country Master Gardener Association
Newsletter
Bcmgtx.org
mgardeners@yahoo.com
Upcoming
Events
2/03 8:00 McMurry
Green house
2/10 12-2 Swenson House Weed, Mulch, prune roses
2/13 6:00 Executive
Committee Meeting
2/15 6:15 Orientation
Spring ‘18 Training
2/20 6:15 Business Meeting
Education
“The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies.” Gertrude Jekyll
Sowing Seeds
I cannot believe January is almost gone! Time flies, I’m just holding on, and
hoping it will slow down enough to enjoy a moment or two along the way.
Each month I’m tasked to provide an article to the newsletter. I’ve not
decided where these will head but thought I’d take this one and share some
tidbits about myself and my gardening ‘career’.
One of my earliest memories of gardening is my Mom giving me a spoon and
a package of seeds, Zinnias to be exact. Under her direction, I dug up my soil
and planted my seeds. Since I loved playing in the water (and dirt), the
following days were exciting as I created ‘mud’. Miraculously, the seeds
became plants, and the flowers were prolific. I was amazed, and hooked.
From that point forward, I recognized that the soil was more than something
to make mud-pies, rather a source to create greater things. My Mom and
Dad instilled that love early on and it still continues to amaze me, as well as
continually teach me new things about life.
After moving from Dallas to Abilene in 1973, I found that the gardening
experience was a tad bit different. I was up to the task of trying, but not as
successful. I would plant things, and they would die, or barely hang on to
life. For those of you who’ve been around a long time, I even visited the old
courthouse basement to get some information on gardening in Abilene - way
before Master Gardeners were here as a resource! I think some of my
gardening enthusiasm may have died during those years, especially after
watching grasshoppers devour everything I had planted at a house we had
just moved into. That would have been the summer of 1978 and I still
cringe about those grasshoppers.
Fast forward… In 2002 I had the opportunity to attend the Master Gardener
training. While I thought I knew a lot, it turned out I was wrong. Plants still
die, but at least I now know why!
I have learned so much since attending those classes, have met some great
people along the way, and have made some wonderful friends! This year,
together, let’s continue to learn new things, meet more great people, and
add to our circle of wonderful friends!
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THE CHERRY ON THE SUNDAE
Istre Family Community Garden of Health
and Happiness! By Sandy Shaw
The Garden Thymes
We are grateful for the warmth of the
room and the fellowship of the F-W people. This
project has been truly, the blind leading the
blind: first time doing this craft for all of us. It is
turning out just great. We have finished
‘gluing’...tomorrow we start the grouting. Messy
but fun I am thinking, then we will seal it and
move it back to it’s place in the garden….(and
we cross our fingers that it survives the move,
the cold, the heat, and constant use!) It’s bright
colors will surely cheer those who use it,
onward to accomplishment, we hope.
The garden at F-W is indeed in winter
mode- (it’s brown!), but I can’t wait to see it
come to life this spring. Joyce does a great job
nurturing her plants to productivity. The new
original art mural is on the painted wall, the
table top will be in place; please make time,
when things start to bloom, to visit this quiet
and peaceful place on a busy noisy street.
A current project we have been working, this cold month of
January is the laying of cut and broken ceramic tile pieces
into a mosaic pattern of a sunflower, on the concrete table
top at the garden at Faith-Works (formally known as the Istre
Family Community Garden of Health and Happiness!). Joyce
Dalzell, the owner and caretaker of Faith-Works garden
made space inside her building during this semester- hiatus
of classroom activity.
FAITH-WORKS
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Big Country Master Gardener Association Newsletter
Happy Birthdays are a NEW ADDITION TO OUR NEWSLETTER.
If your birthday is listed in our directory then it will appear here every month.
Clematis
If you have tried to grow clematis, my favorite perennial vine, and
failed, here are some hints to help you grow and enjoy
these beauties.
Don’t choose by big, showy flowers. These can be disappointedly
difficult for us. Try the smaller flowering varieties instead. Purple
leather flower (Clematis pitcher) is a delightful Texas native. Be
careful about the Clematis drummondii known better as “old man’s beard.” It can be terribly invasive.
Exceptional hybrids include ‘Madame Julia Correvon’ (red blooms), ‘Sweet Summer Love’ (reddish-
purple), sweet autumn clematis-Clematis terniflora (white), ‘Bee’s Jubilee’ (pink), and
‘Jackmanii’ (purple) are all wonderful choices for your garden.
Understand which pruning category your clematis falls into. Group 1 plants bloom on old wood, Group 2
on old and new wood, and late-flowering clematis in group 3 bloom only on new wood. Check out
http://www.clematis.hull.ac.uk/new-about.cfm or, for book lovers, An Illustrated Encyclopedia of
Clematis.
The old saw is that clematis want their roots in the shade and their leaves in the sun. The simple
solution is to mulch. They don’t like having their roots dry out, so group them with your other less-xeric
plants. They are stunning alone or twined through climbing rose canes.
I am so ready for spring, aren’t you?!
Cheryl McCormick Feb 2
Lowell Johnston Feb 3
Susan Trice Feb 11
Molly Lorch Feb 12
Linda Chapel Feb 14
Audrey Gillespie Feb 23
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Date: Sept. 30
Time: 8:00-3:00
Place: Southern Hills Church of Christ 3666 Buffalo Gap Road
February Gardening Tips
from Audrey Gillespie
YOU Rock awards & Busy Bee Awards
Dorothy Kiser
Four awards were given out at the last meeting. ‘You Rock’
Award is an award given to the Association Member who has
done something outstanding in the previous month.
Individuals can nominate themselves or other gardeners by completing a short form and submitting to the
Awards Committee. ‘Busy Bee’ Award is an award given to the Association Member who has submitted the
most hours for the previous month.
Sandy Shaw won the November and Jackie Sledge won the December Busy Bee awards.
J.D. Alexander won the November and Cheryl McCormick won the December You Rock awards.
They were given engraved gardening tools.
Prune trees, evergreens, and flowering shrubs.
Don’t prune those that only bloom in the spring.
Cut dead growth from perennials. Ornamental
grasses can be cut down to a height of 2-6 inch-
es. Hedge trimmers make short work of this.
Plant any trees, shrubs, and perennials you didn’t
get in the ground last fall to give those roots a
chance to develop before summer heat sets in.
Do not procrastinate if you have any bare-root
plants. They need to be in the ground.
If you use pre-emergent herbicides, this is the month
to apply to help control warm-season weeds.
You are too late to prevent the cool-season
weeds from coming up this year, but a sharp hoe
can do wonders…and give you some wonderful
outdoor exercise, to boot.
For more complete, in-depth solutions, consult the
book, Month-by-Month Gardening: Texas, by Robert
“Skip” Richter or, for organic gardeners, the book by
the same name by Dale Groom and Dan Gill. Search
aggie horticulture online (I could not access anything
this morning for some reason).
Happy gardening!
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I'm originally from Wichita
Falls Texas. I attended
Midwestern State University
where I met my wife in nursing
school. After having ten years
of critical care experience I
decided to pursue a degree in
nurse anesthesia at Texas
Wesleyan University in Fort
Worth. We moved to Abilene
in 2009 after graduation and
got a job at Hendrick as a
CRNA. My wife works at Texas
Tech School of Nursing
teaching nursing students. I have two girls- my oldest
(19) is a freshman at the University of Oklahoma and
my youngest (14) is a freshman at
Abilene High. I’ve always been interested in gardening
and landscape. If I’m home I’m usually outside in the
yard. I never watch television and typically always in
motion. I first became aware of the master gardening
program when i first moved to Abilene mostly thru
coworkers and friends. I never felt I had time for it and
certainly didn't think that I would be accepted. It wasn't
until Jo Rake sent multiple emails to my wife PLEASE
HAVE BRANDON SEND US AN APPLICATION that i finally
thought i should see what the master gardening
program is all about. My favorite plants are perennials.
I love to put a plant in the ground, nurture it thru the
harsh west Texas summer and watch it (hopefully)
return the next spring. My favorite grass is St. Augustine.
It’s one of the more delicate high maintenance grasses
in our area but with lots of prayer and vigilance its
beautiful!
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, stir together the apples, brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour, salt, and lemon juice. Set aside.
Roll out pie crusts into 2 large circles. Place the circles on large baking sheets. Place half of the apple mixture on one
crust and the other half on the other crust. Fold over the edges of each crust so that it covers 2 to 3 inches of the apple
mixture. Dot the tops of the pies with chunks of the butter.
Bake until the filling is golden and bubbly, 30 to 40 minutes. If the crust appears to brown too quickly, cover the edges
with foil for the remaining baking time.
Allow to cool slightly, and then slice each pie into wedges.
This is great topped with ice cream, whipped topping, or caramel sauce.
5 Granny Smith apples, peeled and
sliced
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
Juice of ½ lemon
2 pie crusts
6 tablespoons butter
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Under the direction of our interim
leader Jane Rowan, a few MG’s
taught a Whole Grain Education
program to over 900 students at
Abilene’s Head Start program.
TxDot provided the seeds and our organization( under
J.D Alexander's leadership) helped beautify entrances
to Abilene by scattering Wildflower seeds. This is a
group beautifying Interstate 20 and Elmdale.
I f you have a pic tu re you want us a l l to see p lease send i t to one of us on the news let te r commit tee.
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