1

When I cut back or

lose a plant, I usually

leave that spot alone

for a year or so for just

that reason. I have

had Wild Geraniums

take two years to

come back after

planting.

So, in gardening as in

life, do your best at

planting, provide

nourishment, always

be patient, and hold

out hope of strong

roots. Happy Fall!

President’s Message

I want to start by

thanking Juanita Cam-

pos, Cheryl McCor-

mick, Jackie Sledge,

Vicki Adams and Alice

Griggs who have

worked very hard this

year at helping us get

our Bylaws and Policy

and Procedures (PP)

done. Both Docu-

ments were passed by

a mail out ballot and

counted at the Sep-

tember Business

Meeting with a little

over 2/3 majority re-

quired for Bylaws and

well over 25% for PP.

In September, we held

the Executive Business

Meeting at Swenson

House and that was a

treat. Thank you,

Kathy Turner, for the

idea and Carol

Waters for coordi-

nating it. Linda

Spivey and I did the

grand tour after the

meeting and what an

interesting history and

beautiful old house.

I have been cleaning

beds, adding more

mulch for the winter

months and coming

across a few surprises

along the way. Last

fall I planted two

Calliandra compactas

or Red Fairy Dusters

and I thought I lost

both. Last month I

noticed one trying to

make a comeback and

yesterday saw a

sprout from the other.

Charlotte Rhodes, BCMGA President

The Garden Thymes

October 2017

Big Country Master Gardener Association Newsletter Bcmgtx.org mgardeners@yahoo.com

Upcoming

Events

10/10 MG Executive Committee Meeting, 6:00 pm, Extension Office

10/17 MG Monthly Meeting, 6:15 pm Social Time, 7:00 pm Plant Swap and Business Meeting at the Extension Office

10/21 Demo Garden Workday, 9:10 – 11:00 am, Extension Office

Workdays at the Meditation Garden located at N. 4th and Beech, 9:00 – 11:00 am, every Tuesday and Thursday.

Check the website calendar and watch emails for dates and times of additional events and projects.

WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST MASTER GARDENERS

• Danielle Delhomme

• Julia Mink

• Don Thompson

• Ashton Anderson

• Sherry Gilmore

Congratulations on your accomplishment!

2

FOOD AND FIBER DAY 2017 by Molly Lorch

Page 2 The Garden Thymes

A fast and fun day was had by all who attended this year's Food

and Fiber Day on September 12th. The goal was to teach 4th

graders where food and clothing comes from.

The Big Country Master Gardeners presented a faux game show

that let the audience match wits with two goofy contestants.

Experts like Jo Rake got to tell the students about the wide vari-

ety of vegetables, fruits and nuts produced across the eight dif-

ferent growing regions of Texas. She explained how vegetables

get from farms to tables. Do you know what the state vegetable

of Texas is?

Jackie Sledge got to have fun explaining how tomatoes journey

from farms to ketchup bottles, hamburgers and salads.

H.D. Weaver got to astound the students with seed math by

showing how one little tomato seed creates one tomato plant which

can eventually produce thousands of seeds. Gilbert Rodriguez got

to talk about growing herbs. He seemed to enjoy talking about

Pace Picante sauce.

Jackie Lee had to be flexible by using the remaining time to ex-

plain how french fries did not grown on trees, but grow under-

ground on potato plants. It appeared that Anna Karen Frost and

Peggy Williams had the most fun as the wacky contestants who

sprayed the students with water and held up a silly sun to remind

the students that they could grow vegetables at home. Molly

Lorch acted as the game show host and was pleased with how

Master Gardeners worked together to both entertain and teach.

3

BCMGA Project Committee

Page 3 Big Country Master Gardener Association Newsletter

The purpose of the Project Committee is to review proposed projects, helping bring them

to fruition, keeping all participants informed of place, time

and plan, and providing guidance for gathering of supplies

and most of all--the participants!

Historical Marker for

Dyess Elementary School

A Texas Historical Marker was placed at Dyess Elementary

to commemorate the school being the first school in Abilene Independent School District,

on January 21, 1963, to integrate all students. The marker describes the steps and strug-

gles necessary to achieve this designation and was dedicated in a military ceremony the

first week in May of 2017.

Mary Sue’s friend and employee of Dyess Elementary asked if BCMGA would lend a help-

ing hand in sprucing up the marker bed for the official ceremony and visiting dignitaries.

Within a few days, Mary Sue had her plan in place, supplies located, and workers lined up

eager and ready to go. There are two beds at the front of the school. The marker is at

the head of a long bed (26x6) with 8 Yaupons running lengthwise. The plan was to aerate,

amend and till the soil, weeding and trimming, digging up stray iris bulbs in need of thin-

ning and cutting back; then re-planting. The Yaupons were trimmed and fertilized and left

in place with better soil. The second bed is ‘L’ shaped (16x10x2), and received the same

soil amendment and tillage. The only request was that something ‘showy’ be planted around

the marker and, please, no pollinator cultivars - NO BEES around the schoolgrounds! The

choice was easy-- Purple Fountain Grass around the marker and evergreen Trailing Juni-

pers in the second bed.

So, start to finish, less than a month! A great Project! Thank you Mary Sue and helpers!

Sandy Shaw, Project Committee Chairman

4

Date: Sept. 30

Time: 8:00-3:00

Place: Southern Hills Church of Christ 3666 Buffalo Gap Road

Hot Cider

1 Gallon Apple Cider

Cloves, Apple

Optional: 1/5th Whiskey

Cover the apple with whole cloves & float in Cider/Whiskey.

Serve warm in crockpot or from 30 cup coffee maker.

MONTHLY

TIP

Turn a long-handled tool into a measuring stick! Lay a long-handled garden tool on the ground and, next to it, place a tape measure. Using a perma-nent marker, write inch and foot marks on the handle. When you need to space plants a certain distance apart (from just an inch to several feet) you'll already have a measuring device in your hand. Borrowed from HGTV

5

MASTER GARDENER SPOTLIGHT

Ellen Presley

I grew up in Germany during and after WW II. As a

child I always liked to spend time outdoors, “checking

things out” and wondering, “How do plants grow?” In

school, I liked botany and biology because some of the

assignments included drawing plants and animals. I also

had a grass collection and learned how to dry and press

plants.

I have lived in Europe, Argentina and the U.S. We settled our family in

Texas in 1985. I was married then with two teenage children. My husband

knew how much I liked plants and he saw my frustration when I was not

able to grow the flowers, trees and vegetables like in Germany. When he

heard of a Master Gardener class, he signed me up for the spring of

2010. Fred Perkins was my mentor and his passion for roses was conta-

gious. I learned a lot from him. Since then, my front yard has pine trees,

earth kind roses and flowers, with a little bit of the looks of my home

country. The back yard favors Hawaii with 2 palm trees that I grew from

seed as well as bougainville, yucca and pineapple plants.

In my raised garden, I grow Malabar spinach, beets, green beans, Swiss

chard, tomatoes and green peppers as well as several herbs. I like to

propagate plants. Most of the time I have enough to give away and help

my neighbors start their own gardens with native plants that are drought

and heat resistant.

My favorite pastime is to take pictures of God’s beautiful creation and use

them in greeting cards as gifts.

6

Wildflower Planting

Top Three October Garden Activities

by Audrey Gillespie

1. Plant, plant, plant! There is no better time to get those perennials, shrubs, and trees in the ground. Then there are the cool season annuals, strawberries, herbs, and vegetables. Take advantage of fall plant sales and give your new garden residents plenty of time to get established before summer heat rolls back around. Knee pads anyone?

2. Start getting prepared for cold weather. Do you have plenty of row cover or other materials to protect tender plants from frosts? Have you stopped fertilizing except for seasonal plants? You don’t want to encourage tender new growth that would be more easily damaged by cold weather. Do you have mulch and/or bags of leaves ready to blanket the ground around marginally hardy plants?

3. I guess this is actually an “inactivity.” Wait until late winter or very early spring to cut back ornamental grasses. They add so much interest to the winter garden. As far as your aesthetic sense will allow, you might also leave perennials unpruned for the same time period. They can be a valuable food source for wild-life. There is also some evidence that the plants themselves do better with a later haircut.

Abilene Highway Beautification Project

By J.D. Alexander

BCMGs working with Travis Jes and Gary Shellnut of

TXDOT have established a long term project. During this

project TXDOT will supply wildflower seed and help select

the locations for planting. BCMGs will work with TXDOT to

select the locations and will plant the wildflower seed. This

project will last as long as both groups continue to fulfill

their commitment.