Greene Garden News Page 1 of 6

January 20, 2016

Volume 17

Issue 1

Greene Garden News Greene County Master Gardeners Newsletter

Special Interest:

• Pay It Forward

Player: Kathy Graber

• Jan. Birthdays: Jan. 25: Richard Yeazel

• Refreshments: Donna & David Jones

• Speaker: Barbara

Reng, Arkansas Master Naturalist,

presenting Monarchs

Individual

Highlights:

Pres. Notes/TR 2

Minutes 3

Projects/Com. 4

Growing Hope 5

Pittsburgh Gdn. 6

Greene County Cooperative Extension Service 201 W. Court Street Room 205 Federal Building Paragould, AR 72450 Phone (870) 236-6921 Fax (870) 239-6328

2015 Officers: President: Connie Whitman Vice President: Holly Fletcher Secretary: Joy Gatlin Treasurer: Ken Fletcher

It’s here again-the 2016 Master Gardener Training Class. I hope everyone will plan on attending at least one of the classes to meet our new interns, Libby Christie and Nancy Rogers. Remember you can get up to 10 education hours for attending the classes, that’s half of your required hours for the year! They’re easy hours and interesting, so take advantage of them.

Craighead County should be commended for providing this opportunity for not only Greene County, but surrounding counties as well. We know firsthand that it takes a lot planning and hard work to make this happen five consecutive Saturdays in Jan. and Feb.

Below are the class agendas:

Class 1: January 23 Master Gardener Overview: Mimi Cox: 8:30-9:15 Mimi Cox 8:30 - 9:15 Pesticides:

Branon Thiesse: 9:15-10:15 9:1Water Gardens BREAK: 10:15-10:30 Water Gardens-Rain Gardens-Hydroponics: George Selden: 10:30–12:00 LUNCH: 12:00 – 1:00pm Botany: Travis Marsico: 1:00-2:30

Master Gardener 2016 Training

BREAK: 2:30-2:45 Botany (Continued):

Travis Marsico: 2:45-3:45 1:00 – 2:30 Class 2 January 30

Butterfly Gardening: Cheryl Laver: 8:30–9:30 Fruits and Vegetables: Sherry Sanders: 9: 30-10:30 BREAK: 10:30-10:45 Fruits & Vegetables (Continued): Sherry Sanders: 10:45-12:00 LUNCH: 12:00-1:00 Propagation: Kim Pittcock: 1:00 - 2:30 BREAK: 2:30-2:45 Shade Plants: Kim Pittcock: 2:45- 4:00

Class 3 February 6 Composting, Organic Gardening: Dave Freeze: 8:30-10:30 Break: 10:30-10:45 Roses: Branon Thiesse: 10:45-12:00 10:45- 12:00 LUNCH: 12:00 - 1:00

Woody Plants: Janet Carson: 1:00-2:30

Break: 2:30-2:45 Woody Plants (Continued): Janet Carson: 2:45-4:15

Class 4 February 13 Pruning: Jason Osborn: 8:30-9:00 Jason Osborn 8:30 - 9:00 Plant Diseases: Sherrie Smith: 9:00–10:15 BREAK: 10:15–10:30 Insects, IPM: Glenn Studebaker: 10:30–12:00 LUNCH 12:00 - 1:00 Landscape Design: Randy Forst: 1:00-2:15 BREAK 2:15 – 2:30 Lawns: Mark Brown: 2:30 - 4:00

Class 5 February 20 (Agenda Incomplete at this time)

Soils: Branon Thiesse 8:30-10:00 Break: 10:00-10:15 Topic: 10:15-11:00 Topic: 11:00-12:00 LUNCH: 12:00 – 1:00pm TEST: 1:00 pm

Greene Garden News Page 2 of 6

2016 is going to be an

exciting year! We’ll have new members joining us following the MG Training in February. Greene County Basic Training and a power point will be presented at the February monthly meeting so everyone can introduce themselves and share what they do for our program.

Brown Bag Lunch will provide wonderful speakers each month, the first being Dee Lindsey, Pine Valley Herb Ranch.

March will kick off Garden Explosion V with speakers, vendors and crafts!

Presidents Notes

The month of May will bring our annual Garden Boutique and Plant Sale.

In June many of us will be traveling to the State MG Meeting in Eureka Springs! Fun! Fun!

We’ll work the Greene County Fair in September, and present our first Advanced Training Class in October on Monarchs.

Craft Fair in November? Let’s consider that one for sure.

And, I’ve only hit some of the high points! Just think of all we can do in between those special events! So get ready!

Connie

Mystery Solved!

Thank you Carolyn Palmer for the Bumble

Bee Wind Spinner placed in the

Butterfly Garden!

You really have to see it in action!

I would appreciate input

from members about speakers for the

meetings this year.

Thanks, Kathy Graber, Program Chair

Events Calendar

Jan. 23-Feb. 20: MG Training:

Craighead County Extension Office,

Jonesboro. 8:30-4:30

Jan. 26: MG Meeting 6 pm, GC

Library Legacy Room

Feb 9: Brown Bag Lunch, 12-1,

Greene County Library, Speaker

TBD

Feb. 2016: Early Registration for

State Meeting. TBD.

Feb. 26-28 2016: AR Flower &

Garden Show. Statehouse

Convention Ctr. LR

March 17: GE V: Community Ctr.

May 7, 2016: Garden Boutique &

Plant Sale, Centennial Park

June 2-4: MG State Meeting, Eureka Springs (Carroll Co.)

On 12/18/2015 the bank account under the name Greene County Master Gardeners was closed by request of Kyleen Prewett, Chief Financial Officer-University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. A new account was opened on 12/18/2015 under the name of Master Gardeners of the Delta-Greene County using an EIN number. Signatories on the new account are Ken Fletcher, Treasurer, Connie Whitman, President, and Allen Davis, CEA-Staff Chair.

Treasurers Report

Local Account: FNB Beginning Balance 3322.97 12/2/15--12/31/15 Debits: Check Order 14.20 Total Ending Balance 3308.77 * Less Est. Donations for Projects 852.00 * Less Est. 2016 State Registrations for 15 1500.00 Total Working Balance 956.77

Kenneth E. Fletcher, Treasurer

Please consider increasing our monthly dues from 12.00 to

15.00 this year.

Greene Garden News Page 3 of 6

Amended Minutes for Master

Gardener Meeting October

27, 2015

Greene County Public

Library

Carolyn Palmer provided

delicious refreshments for

our 19 members and Dave

Freeze, county agent.

The Minutes of our

September meeting and the

Treasurer's Report were

approved as written in the

September newsletter.

Carolyn Palmer and Agent

Dave Freeze shared

comments on their recent trip

to PNG Leadership October

19-20.

The 2016 MG Officer

Nominations were presented

by the Nominations

Committee and announced by

President, Connie Whitman.

They included all incumbents

except Treasurer, Marilyn

White, who is stepping down

after serving two terms in

that office. Ken Fletcher was

the nomination for Treasurer.

After a motion was made by

Jean Crossno and seconded

by Ann Bowers to accept the

officers nominated, all

members were in agreement.

Motion carried.

To be compliant with the

new financial guidelines

put in place this year, and

according to Kyleen

Prewett, DBA, CPA,

CGFM and Chief

Financial Officer of UA -

Cooperative Extension

Service, we must close out

our current Greene

County Master Gardener

account at First National

Bank, and open a new

Amended Minutes October 27, 2015

account with an EIN

number. The new

account will be listed as Master Gardener of the

Delta Program – Greene

County. For the year

2016, signatories listed on

the account will be Ken

Fletcher, Treasurer,

Connie Whitman,

President, and Allen

Davis, CES County Staff

Chair.

Linda Glickert, Lead for the

Fall Craft Fair and Bake Sale,

gave a report on the crafts we

have for the sale. A beautiful

sign for us to use at the sale

was painted by MG Brenda

Barr. A sign-up sheet was

passed around for workers on

Friday and Saturday. Many

crafts were brought to the

October meeting by MG

members.

Pauletta Tobey presented

ballots for Award

Nominations to all of our

members for their vote. The

ballots were taken up and

will be counted by the

Awards Committee. Winners

will be announced at our

November meeting.

Marilyn White, Treasurer,

gave a presentation on the

2016 Budget. Much

discussion was heard on

some of the items listed. The

Executive Committee and

others will meet with Dave

Freeze on November 10th to

discuss the budget items

more in detail. The 2016

Budget was tabled for now.

The 2016 Plant Sale will be

moved to an inside location

at the Greene County

Fairgrounds if the Fair Board

is agreeable.

Several suggestions were

given for increasing our MG

working funds. One included

charging a small fee for

Garden Explosion V. A motion

was brought before the group

that no fee should be charged

to attend the 2016 Garden

Explosion to be held at the

Paragould Community Center.

The motion was seconded, and

voted in the affirmative by all

members present.

Project and Committee

Updates not listed in the

October Newsletter were

given. Evaluations for both are

due. Patti Roberts called for a

work day on November 13th at

9:00 a.m. at the Greene County

Court House. Bulbs and

pansies will be planted.

Carolyn Palmer requested that

our MG's help with a planting

of tulip bulbs by the students

at Oak Grove School in honor

of Red Ribbon Week. She will

announce the work day soon.

The November 10th BBL will

feature our MG Patti Roberts.

She will present a program on,

"Forcing Bulbs" at the Greene

County Public Library at 12:00

noon. Holly Fletcher, Lead,

asked if the BBL should be

given up in 2016 as the

majority of attendees are

members of our group, not the

general public. Pauletta Tobey

put a motion before the group

to keep the BBL lectures for

another year. The motion was

seconded and all members

agreed on the proposal.

Two $50.00 donations

suggested to be given to the

State Awards Committee and

the Janet B. Carson

Scholarship were voted in the

affirmative by our members.

Our Holiday Dinner and

Awards Presentation will be

held on November 17th at the

Greene County Public

Library beginning at 6:00

p.m. Members will bring Pot

Luck side dishes, and

Carolyn Palmer will bake a

delicious ham for our

members and guests to enjoy.

President Connie had some

good news to share with our

group before ending the

meeting. The Butterfly

Garden has been officially

certified by the North

American Butterfly

Association.

Our "Plant it Forward" plant,

a beautiful Angel Wing

Begonia, was brought to the

meeting by Tacie Huffman.

Kathy Graber was the happy

winner of the plant.

With no further business, the

meeting was adjourned by

President Connie Whitman.

Those attending were: Eric

Alexander, Brenda Barr, Ann

Bowers, Martha Chiles, Jean

Crossno, Holly Fletcher, Joy

Gatlin, Linda Glickert, Kathy

Graber, Bonnie Hamilton,

Wanda Howerton, Tacie

Huffman, Dr. James Laird,

Tabitha McFadden, Sally

Mugford, Carolyn Palmer,

Patti Roberts, Pauletta Tobey,

Marilyn White, Connie

Whitman, and Dave Freeze,

County Agent.

Respectfully submitted by,

Joy Gatlin, Secretary

Greene Garden News Page 4 of 6

Rainbow Garden

Trellis Garden: Dr. Laird &

Pauletta Tobey Chairs: In limbo

until spring.

Plant Sale: Marilyn White, Cora Flanery, & Joy Gatlin, Chairs. The date is Sat., May 7th. A decision was made by the committee to keep the 2016 sale at Centennial Park with an alternate date given in the event of rain.

GC Museum: Wanda Howerton & Sally Mugford

Chairs: No report.

Airport: Kathy Graber &

Tabitha McFadden Chairs: No report.

GC Fairgrounds: Connie

Whitman & Joy Gatlin Chairs:

Will present suggestions to the

Fair Board soon.

Historical Courthouse Herb Garden: Donna Jones & Holly Fletcher, Chairs: Resting nicely. Rosemary, sage, a bit of thyme, and a couple of other plants still looking good. Plan for next year--more plants and some earlier watering.

East Sign: Dr. James Laird &

Pauletta Tobey, Chairs: In limbo

until spring.

Garden Explosion 5: Donna

Jones & Carolyn Palmer Chairs:

We have all speakers for 2016.

“To catch the reader’s

attention, place an

interesting sentence or

quote from the story

here.”

Committee Comments

Sunshine: Joy Gatlin, Lead, & Cora Flanery. “The

Sunshine committee will continue as we have gone to

send b’day cards, etc.”

Project Review: No Lead:

Crafts & Fundraising: Linda Glickert, Lead: “New

ideas and committee meeting coming soon.”

Scholarship: Pauletta Tobey, Lead: “Will send out copies information, along

with information from Janet's scholarship either at end of this month or first of

next.”

Awards: Pauletta Tobey, Lead: “Committee along with

Connie and Holly have completed information and

turned over to Dave for review and sending to County

76.”

Scrapbook: Carolyn Palmer, Lead: No report.

Plant Markers: Martha Chiles, Lead: No report.

Membership: Connie Whitman, Lead:”2016 MG

Training starts January 23rd!”

Publicity: Pauletta Tobey, Lead: “Getting ready to start

on Garden Explosion V.”

Advanced Training: Patti Roberts, Lead:

”We have confirmed speakers, Janet Carson, Lori Spencer, Arkansas Butterfly Lady, and Butterfly Enthusiasts Ruth

Andre and Theia Foley. Tracking resources for

milkweed, discussing refreshments, and door

prizes.”

If you did not receive your free

2016 Master Gardener

Calendar, please let me know.

Connie

South Sign: Brenda Barr &

Pauletta Tobey, Chairs: No

report

Brown Bag Lunch: Holly Fletcher, Chair: I am working on speakers for 2016, and if anyone has ideas for speakers please tell me.

Rainbow Garden: Joy Gatlin & Eric Alexander Chairs: We

will go with the yellow lantana

again in the bottom tier of the

Rainbow Garden. The raised bed is

still going each summer with

plants and looks good.

Centennial Park: Bonnie Hamilton & Marilyn White Chairs: No report.

GC Fair Flower & Plant Booth: Jean Crossno & Cora Flanery, Chairs: Nothing until Sept. 2016

GC Courthouse: Patti Roberts Chair: No report.

Main Street Caboose: Tacie

Huffman & Jean Crossno,

Chairs: Jean and I are just

waiting for the Spring thaw so

we can continue to add some

new plants for structure and

color.

GC Library: Ann Bowers & Brenda Barr Chairs: No report.

Hours Management: Patti Roberts, Lead: “What a

great year we all have had! Thank you each and

everyone. Our county is better because of each of you and the dedication to Master Gardener program. This is a new year and we all will start with a clean slate

of service hours and education hours. All hours are very important to both state and county. In 2014

Master Gardeners won most volunteer hours reported

across the state-more than any other volunteer

organization. So when reporting hours whether you have worked 30 minutes or several hours please post

them. To our newest MGs, a special thank you to each of you. You jumped right in and worked so hard to get your hours, attended meetings, and met your 40/20. This year 20/20 will be much

easier but I know from the hours reported you each

have gone above and beyond the call of work and

education. Thank you all for going that extra mile. Please, if any of you have questions about anything please ask. Remember there is no silly question. Here is to a very

busy 2016 and all that it holds.”

Project Updates

Greene Garden News Page 5 of 6

Growing Hope Babbette Jaquish loved a lot of

flowers, but sunflowers were

her favorite. So when she

passed away from cancer at

66, November 16, 2014, her

husband Don Jaquish planted

nearly 400 acres of sunflowers

for her. “She was as beautiful

on the inside as she was on the

outside,”

It took Jaquish -- who planned

to sell the sunflower seeds and

donate a portion of the

proceeds to hospitals, research

and patient advocacy -- a week

to plant the sunflowers that

lined Wisconsin’s Highway 85

in Eau Claire, June 2015.

Whatever land wasn’t his,

neighbors rented to him for a

reasonable price. After a 75-

day growing period, the

flowers finally bloomed the

following August. “She got to

be known as the sunflower

lady of the community”

Jaquish said, “So after she

passed away, I thought it

would be a tribute to her to

plant 4.5 miles of sunflowers

on each side of Highway 85.”

After Babbette was diagnosed

with multiple myeloma in

2006, they planted several

hundred acres of sunflowers

around their property. A few

years later, Jaquish said his

wife had the idea of raising

sunflowers and selling

sunflower seeds in part to

benefit cancer research.

Babbette had 22 different

cancer treatments through the

years, many of which were

through clinical trials, Jaquish

said.

“She realized the importance

of research in clinical trials.

She went from being expected

to live two weeks to two

months to nine years,” said

Jaquish. “Her attitude was

everyday I can stay alive I’m

one day closer to a cure.”

“Unfortunately her health just

kept declining over the years,

and it got to be too much to

start and operate a business

when she was so sick.”

One month after Babbette

passed away Jaquish and

daughter Jenny White made

Babbette’s dream come true and

started the company Babbette’s

Seeds of Hope.

To benefit families dealing with

illness, Babbette’s Seeds of

Hope will donate a portion of

the proceeds from their products

to hospitals, research, and

patient advocacy.

“I think she would be smiling,”

Jaquish said. “We’ve had an

amazing response.”

www.babbettesseedsofhope.com

Photo by Jerry Soucy

Brown Bag Lunch January 12, 2016

Dee Lindsey, Pine Valley Herb Ranch, presented a

program on Herbs that Heal.

A handout was provided with the names of several herbs

that can be used for medical purposes. Herbal oils were

passed around for us to see and smell. Dee explained

how to mix the herbs with water or juice so that they

could be taken. There were 4 guests, 11

Master Gardeners, and Dave Freeze, Advisor in

attendance.

Holly Fletcher

June 2-4, 2016 We’ll need a head count at the January meeting for

members planning to attend the state meeting in Eureka

Springs this year. Early Registration starts in February!

Currently we have: Kathy Graber, Tabitha McFadden,

Linda Glickert, Sally Mugford, Bonnie Hamilton, Marilyn

White, and Connie Whitman.

You really don’t want to miss this one!

Greene Garden News Page 6 of 6

Greene

Garden

News

Greene County Master Gardeners

Newsletter

Greene Garden News

Contributors

Joy Gatlin

Pauletta Tobey

Linda Glickert

Holly Fletcher

Ken Fletcher

Mimi Cox

Greene Garden News Editor

Connie Whitman

Submit articles by the15th

Of each month to:

cwhitman@grnco.net

The Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service offers its

programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, sex,

gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age,

disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any

other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative

Action/Equal Opportunity Employer."

Pittsburgh Botanical

Gardens By Linda Glickert

My daughter and I like visiting

botanical gardens when we travel.

One of the side trips we made last

fall when we took our fall color trip

to the Northeast and Falling Waters

was to the Pittsburgh Botanical

Gardens. Reviews were mixed, one

even called it "awful". But we

ventured out to see it, not having

any idea what to expect.

The Garden only opened to the

public last April, after spending the

last twenty years (yes, 20!) trying to

get it suitable for the public. It

seems it had at one time been a coal

mine, later it became a strip mine

when all the trees were clear cut.

Next in its history it was sold for

farm land. In the informational

video about the property they

interview an elderly woman who

grew up on the property. She tells

of not being allowed to play

outdoors for fear she'd fall into one

of the pits (mine subsidence) and

never be found. They had to go to

town to get their water as theirs was

not safe to drink or use. Eventually

it was sold to public endeavors that

failed before finally becoming the

land for the gardens. Twenty plus

years ago, few trees attempted to

grow there – only 6 varieties of the

many native trees of the region.

Wildlife was absent, most notable

was the lack of birds.

But first they had to stabilize the

ground (tunnels) and clean the

water. An overseas company was

brought in to remedy the water that

bubbled out of the tunnels. Today

it's clean and clear, wildlife has

returned.

The water flows into a large pond

with a Japanese bridge across it

before it tumbles down the rocky

slope. Surrounding the pond is the

site for the planned Japanese

contemplation gardens. It won't be

the typical one, as every six years

they have to drain the pond and

clean out the filters and chemicals

needed to purify the water.

Grants and volunteer groups have

made it possible to replant native

trees (which all have to be circled

with little fences to discourage deer).

Trails wander through the sixty

acres (of the 460 acres) now open to

the public. Areas for families and

children are interspersed along the

paths – a sleeping dragon here, a

mini-castle there, a fairy house

around the bend, wooden toadstools

just right for taking a break and

storytelling here and there. The

hillside pasture is now the dogwood

glen and bluebird nest box trail. The

gardens now host birders on their

annual bird count surveys. In their

efforts to restore the devastation

from years of coal mining they now

focus on using native plants that are

more likely to thrive in the region

and to help restore the balance of the

ecosystem. We enjoyed our time

there and look forward to the time

visitors wouldn't call it "awful".