I live on top of a mountain in a community called Bluff Park. It’s part of Vestavia, AL and included in the Shades Mountain area. I have two daughters; Leslie, a nurse and Paula, a school teacher. Between them, I have four grandsons; Jacob and Michae
l, graduates of University of Alabama and Sam an Eagle Scout and Scott, working on becoming an Eagle Scout.

I have lived on the same property for 50 years this October. And I have loved gardening since I was 4 years old. I remember digging up my grandparent’s yard making terrariums, complete with plants, creatures and a glass cover. I would say that I have been planting flowers all my life so I could pick them, having picked several neighbors yards while growing up! My mother was a wonderful gardener and was always doing something in the garden. When I see a plant she planted I feel connected to her. I love everything about gardening; especially the beauty and the miracle of it all.

My house sits on 3.5 acres. The front property is full of azaleas, dogwoods, irises, spireas, and camellias that are as big as trees. Under pine trees are gardenias, native azaleas, sweet shrubs, irises, Ryan’s Pink Chrysanthemums, lantana, roses, day lilies, yarrow, assorted perennials, a bottle tree, peonies and a chaste tree. The back porch overlooks birdfeeders, herbs, native phlox, old garden roses including; New Dawn, Lady Banks, Cecile Brunner, Mutabulis, clematis, oak leaf hydrangeas, gladiolas, and various annuals along with summer vegetables. Hostas, ferns, variegated Solomon’s Seal, Cast Iron Plant, Ajuga, Lenten Rose, blue mop head hydrangea, Hearts a Bursting enjoy the shade of a large oak tree.

About 5 years ago the minister of my church (Bluff Park UMC), now retired, Reid Crotty,
asked me to be in charge of the Church Grounds Committee. After a discussion of what I could and couldn’t do, we agreed I would oversee the grounds, while a yard service would take care of the mowing and pruning. I plan, order and plant flowers at designated church property areas. We have a volunteer committee that helps with the flower planting and mulching that includes 3 Chilton County MG, Joan Davis, Chris Kirkland, Charlotte Word along with other gardeners, Julie Adams, Jan Rogers, and Peggy Comer.

This volunteer job has been a very happy and rewarding experience. I have learned when and where to plant and how to care for many different plant materials. Comments from our church members have been very positive. They also consult with members of our committee if they have gardening questions.
Our church sponsors “Creation Kids” program. The kids have a blast during the summer growing, harvesting, including weighing and counting, and helping to take care of 5 raised vegetable beds that are located on the church property. The kids document the weather ad rainfall every Tuesday and 9:30 to 12:30. The kids work in the gardens for an hour, then have fun activities/games for an hour an
d then our UMC women provide a wonderful meal for them. Julie Adams coordinates this with the help of a team including Chris Kirkland, Jan Rogers, Penny Burns, Rosemary Dallam and me. Rain Barrel Workshops have been well received at our church too.

Besides spending appx. 12-15 hours per week weeding, pruning, planting, watering, looking, sitting, thinking about what I need to do and what I will do tomorrow; I like to read, go to movies, and play bridge. I took the Master Gardener’s course in 2002 and have held the office of Treasurer and have written for the AMGA Garden Pathways.

Something you might not know about me; in 1986, I traveled with friends who lived and worked in Cairo, Egypt. We took a ride in a Faluka, an Egyptian sail boat down the Nile River and visited King Tut’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings and saw his gold sarcophagus. I worked for the Baptist Health Centers for 28 years and graduated from Birmingham Southern as a Cancer Data Specialist.

Words I try to live by are, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing and give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. I Thess. 5: 16-18

and

“Just living is not enough”, said the butterfly. “One must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower.” Hans Christian Anderson

My favorite thing about CCMGA: The people, they are kind, interesting, funny, knowledgeable and good friends.

I first met Miss Sam in January of 2012. Who was this tiny woman with the large glasses? She was so polite and quiet spoken and knew a wealth of knowledge, whatever was she doing in the Master Gardener class? She should have been teaching it! What a wonderful relationship I have had with her since. I asked her  after her Master Gardener class experience to write her thoughts down. I found her  article and wanted to share it, so now here it is in its entirety, so sit back and enjoy!

Until August 1991, I had never performed any yard work in any of the locations where Dick and I lived. Too many other interests knocked at my door and there was always someone to do what needed to be done in the yard – our two boys, gardeners and the occasional hired  person – always with Dick’s guidance and help. As teenagers, the boys had a love-hate relationship with Saturdays when Dad would wake us all up at o-dark thirty so we could have a huge breakfast of pancakes,eggs and bacon, sausage, ham, fruit and etc. at our favorite morning spot. Breakfast was finished just at opening time of Dick’s favorite plant store – something like Petals from the Past. After loading the trunk of the car with plants, we headed home where the boys and Dick worked most of the day planting, weeding,and  cutting grass.At most of the locations, we had neighbors who won “Yard of the Month” awards, so motivation was high.

My involvement began in Verbena when Dick retired and we bought a house with 17 acres. Dick had visions of the Biltmore gardens and set to without the help of sons who had gardens of their own by this time, without the help of gardeners and mostly without the help of paid workers. The kudzu, bamboo and privet were plentiful; the oak trees and winged elm were huge and beautiful. We were blessed with sassafras, paw-paw, beech-nut, sweet-gum, hickory-nut, persimmon, mimosa and honeysuckle. Dick hired Collins Nursery to plant dozens of pine trees near the road and plant the foundation areas around the house. This added blue -rug junipers, and nandinas, camellias, Bradford Pears, several varieties of holly bushes (now trees), pyracantha, ilex, yews, and cotoneasters. You get the drift. Did I tell you about the crepe myrtles alternating with wax myrtles lining both sides of the driveway?  Their limbs reach out to welcome all vehicles.

I am and have always tended toward the “green” side of life. Rarely do I kill any living thing, choosing to move the offender to a less-offending place. Kudzu we got rid of mostly because I found a good use for the vine; I made and sold wreaths.  Too late, I learned that jelly could be made from the flowers.  The honeysuckle adorned the fences and privet grew beside. During the blooming season,the sight was beautiful   and the smell, heavenly – enough to make you swoon from pleasure. I can only imagine what neighbors thought when I naively enumerated the blessings and uses of privet in the landscape, if controlled wisely. We have both whacked bamboo down and used the poles for scaffolding, tepees for vines, fencing, plant supports, decorations, flower arranging, wall covering and fishing poles. In spite of every use, the bamboo is ahead of us. Mimosa blooms dance across the landscape. A blight has wiped out most of the trees.

Of course, I added to the mix with wisteria and trumpet vine. A dear friend brought me cuttings of roses from Randolph County, where I was born, and a potted baby magnolia. The roses are taking over the parking pad and the magnolia is now 30-40 feet tall. Mother gave me irises and arborvitaes. Because of childhood memories of my Grandma’s front porch edged with boxwood; I insisted that we have boxwood hedges lining the pool surround. Birds planted dogwood, blackberries, and red bud hither and yon. Mama, Mia!

We have a friend that took one of the first Master Gardener classes given in new Bern, NC. Her prior experience was flower arranging. She now has a beautiful garden filled with plants blooming, growing, multiplying in a very orderly , proper fashion. if a plant does not live up to her expectations, she digs it up, move it to another spot and it thrives. This kind of gardening is for me.

When I stared seeing the notices for Master Gardener classes in Clanton, I would groan because I had no time. I admired the projects around town attributed to the Master Gardeners. Newspaper pictures always showed smiling faces of the worker-bees. Looked like an interesting group of people having fun and beautifying the area. I overheard conversations about how much could be learned in the classes, but no time, not time, always running late.

This year (2012) I decided that I had better take the class while I could still garden. Dick was interested too; couldn’t be better. Couples save a little on class fees. First day, we are usually punctual, so we arrived a few minutes before 9:00 am. The classroom was full of early-birders and this was the way it was until the end. I felt like a first grader, waiting eagerly for my book. What a book! Carrying that book is great strength training by the time all the handouts have been incorporated into the book, it will certainly serve as a muscle builder for the brain and your hoeing arm.

Most of the people enrolled I had never met in  the 20 years of living in this area, but a more congenial group will be hard to find. as the class progressed, I learned that his is typical of all the classes. Our class Coordinators were responsible for our good cheer and our sense of accomplishment; they are so cheerful, helpful and knowledgeable. the speakers were excellent and stayed on topic. Even though we were in class 6  hours each Wednesday for 13 weeks , covering a chapter weekly, there’s still plenty in The Book to study because it covers almost every aspect of gardening: selecting plants, planting,fertilizing, weeding, spraying, propagating growing turf , etc.

When the Facilitator mentioned “tests” everyone froze: certainly more than I had bargained for. We lost our “deer in the headlights” look when she announced that they would be open book tests. Sometimes, you have to study more for an open-book test!

Not only did previous students, now Master Gardeners, prepare lunch for us for a month; they audited some of the classes and invited us (interns) to meetings which are held once a month. We enjoyed wonderful programs and speakers on coffee beans, hummingbirds and poultry,not to mention the food. The Army is said to travel on its stomach;Master Gardeners do their best work around lunch and snacks prepared by a roster of volunteers. We should have been weighed before and after the classes.

There were and are plenty of opportunities to put our new knowledge into practice; in fact, there is a requirement for 50 hours of volunteer work. Plants had to be potted; plant sales manned, clean up performed at the Experiment Station, pruning – beginning to sound like serous gardening- but the camaraderie made it fun gardening. Does this strike you as a little bit like Tom Sawyer?

The highlight of the classes and the end was the Interns’ Garden Tour Day when we visited five interns’ gardens and one of the Facilitators’ garden. All were absolutely amazing, gorgeous, different and made me want to come home and start GARDENING. The requirement for volunteer hours has eased the separation pangs we class members have suffered. we had so much fun, we did not want the classes to end. thank goodness for the opportunity to get together to make things pretty. Future meetings and activities will keep us busy. Master of the garden? some are, most especially , the interns who shared their gardens; some are aspiring to be. Me? Still having a hard time calling some plants ‘weeds’. That’s like saying “off with their head!”

Margaret Goolsby ‘s favorite thing about Chilton County Master Gardeners are the people, old and new members, and all the things she keeps learning from being involved with CCMGA.Margaret is a Jemison resident, and has lived in several states and Germany.  She is married to Buddy Goolsby since 1974. They collectively have 5 children, 14 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren  with 2 more on the way.
Margaret graduated and certified  with the MG Program in 2006. During her  CCMGA Presidency in 2011-2012  she wanted to see the association grow and become better known in the community. She believes CCMGA has met these goals because CCMGA is called on more and more to help with community projects.  In 2013 she will serve as CCMGA Treasurer. Her goals are to set a budget and keep the association on  track.

As a 6 year old, Margaret learned  what vegetable gardening was about.  She helped her mother in the family garden and as the family grew so did the garden.  She feels most rewarded when she propagates something from a tiny stick to a thriving plant/shrub. She prefers flowering plants that are easy and return year after year. Margaret and Buddy have a small garden with a few tomatoes and herbs along with figs, blueberries, blackberries, plums and pomegranates.Margaret’s other hobbies are: sewing, crochet, floral arrangements, oil painting, jewelry making and reading.  She has taught oil painting.  She has also taught ceramics and is certified by the National Ceramic Manufacturers Assoc.   Along with all this talent, she has been a bookkeeper, a photographer and real estate broker.

One thing you may not know about Margaret is she has been a member of the Rebekah’s (Odd Fellows)  since 1983.  In 1993 she was the President of the State of Arizona’s chapter.  Following is the explanation of this meaningful association:The Rebekah’s are a Fraternal Order, as well as a Service Organization. Our members must be 16-18 years or older, believe in a Supreme Being, Creator and Preserver of the Universe, and be faithful to their Country. Rebekah’s exhibit the true principles of Odd Fellowship which are Friendship, Love, and Truth and in this day and age are extended to rendering service to our communities- SERVICE IS OUR GOAL.In closing, she believes “we ought to all be true to ourselves and to God.”