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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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