April Azaleas

Posted on May 4, 2025May 4, 2025 by audrey

The speaker for our April meeting was Dr. Chip East, who is a Regional Extension Agent at Auburn. He is a Commercial Horticulture Coordinator over several counties in the east central part of Alabama. He grew up working on his uncle’s vegetable, cattle and hog farm as well as a nursery and landscaping business. In learning how to propagate plants for the nursery, the native azalea became his favorite plant to propagate.

Dr. East presented a very in depth program on the many ways you can propagate an azalea. He told us that the native azalea is the hardest to root and explained the many ways to root an azalea, from air layering, collecting seeds to stem cuttings. It was a very interesting program.

Lanell Baker, Secretary, told us about the thank you note she received from the 4-H Club thanking us for the $100.00 donation we gave in Jerry Farmer’s memory.

The Extension Office bed was weeded by the intern class. Doug Jones and Callen Alred have volunteered to oversee these beds. They have set the 2nd and 4th Mondays as work days. Thanks Doug and Callen for taking this position, we know you will do a great job.

Amy Baker presented the Peach Award to Kerry Rush for all her hard work at the Demonstration Garden, serving a 2 year term as secretary, and always being ready to help where needed.

Hugh Nichols and Kerry Rush wrote a grant for $533.00 for tools to use in the Demonstration Garden. The grant “Work smarter, Not harder” has been awarded to the Association.

CCMGA members that attended the AMGA conference in Prattville, AL gave us a report on the conference. Harriett Jackson was appointed as a AMGA Member at Large, Betsy Smith spoke at the conference on “Open the herbs for kids”, and Beverly Williamson was nominated for “Intern of the Year”.

Fountains of Knowledge

Posted on April 11, 2025April 11, 2025 by trisha

Several Chilton County Master Gardeners recently attended the Alabama Master Gardener Association Annual Conference in Prattville, AL. The theme was “Fountains of Knowledge: Learn, Share, Grow.” The opening day featured self guided tours of the Autauga County Demo Garden; PrattVillage (Old Prattvillage is a collection of structures from the 1800’s, one features a beautiful garden maintained by the Autauga County Master Gardeners); Lanark (The Alabama Nature Center at Lanark offers 350 acres of forests, fields, streams, wetlands and ponds with five miles of boardwalks), and a visit to Petals from the Past Nursery. Garden related craft workshops were offered including Whimsical Garden Art, Floral Design, and more.
The speakers were outstanding and their presentations covered several gardening areas. The first afternoon featured Joe Lamp’l (aka Joe the Gardener), who gave a presentation on the “Ecological Gardening Blueprint: 10 Essential Steps”. “Bluebirds and their Habitat” was presented by Wesley Anderson, Ph.D, Assistant Professor in the College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment at Auburn University; Betsy Smith, Chilton County MGA member and the President of the Herb Society of America, presented “Opening the Gifts of Herbs with Kids.”; Jason Reeves, Research Horticulturist and Curator at West Tennessee Research And Education Center in Jackson, MS, gave a talk on ”Friends in the Shade: Keeping Your Hostas Company” and another on “The Making of a Garden.”

Kudos to Chilton County Master Gardener Harriett Jackson, who was elected to the AMGA Board as Member at Large. Our association also received an AMGA Project Funding Grant to ”Work Smarter Not Harder” which will provide tools for our Demonstration Garden. Hugh Nichols was there to receive the check.

We learned so much and enjoyed visiting with Master Gardeners from across Alabama and sharing ideas. Congratulations to Autauga County Master Gardeners for all their hard work that went into the planning and carrying out of a Great conference!
Photos by Trisha Williams and Amy Baker
Post by Trisha Williams and Audrey Giles

**L-R Amy Baker, Harriett Jackson, Diane Clapp, Judy Cobb, Hugh Nichols, Trisha Williams, Beverly Williamson, Sharon Hosch, and Betsy Smith at 2024 AMGA Conference**

**Betsy Smith, Chilton County MGA member and the President of the Herb Society of America, presents “Opening the Gifts of Herbs with Kids.”**

**Hugh Nichols, V.P. of Chilton County MGA, receiving the grant check for Project Funding Grant ”Work Smarter, Not Harder” for tools for our Demonstration Garden, Congratulations!**

**New Board Members being sworn in; our Harriett Jackson, on right side, was elected as Board Member at Large.**

**L-R Trisha Williams and Judy Cobb taking a rest at one of the old houses at PrattVillage**

**Sharon Hosch, not tired or asleep, but practicing some of Betsy Smith’s visualization relaxation exercises.**

Fabulous February❗️

Posted on March 9, 2025March 9, 2025 by audrey

The February monthly meeting is always our Awards Ceremony. But the first order of business was our very own Lanell Baker(also Secretary) presenting a program on “Starting Plants From Seed”. It was very informative with lots of questions from the audience.
We have really enjoyed having Mr. and Mrs. Wright of Wright’s Nursery in Plantersville joining us in our meetings these last few months. They both have degrees in horticulture, so no Master Gardener course for them❗️We want them to go on meeting with us each month, so we awarded each one of them with our Honorary Member Certificate. So now they are part of us🥰❗️
Dianne Clapp was this month’s Premier Peach recipient, for her steadfastness and willingness to help. She was awarded a Certificate and a Peach Pin.
Our President, Skip Coulter, has added a very interesting part to our meetings. At the end he has a Question and Answer Quiz, (sometimes multiple choice)with half of us being the Annuals and half of us being the Perennials. You NEVER know what the questions will be. I think so far we are neck and neck for winning. And Skip always has a bag of candy or cookies for the winners.
Our program photos and Awards winners are below, with names and awards listed.
Photos by Audrey Giles

Lanell Baker presents ”Starting Plants From Seeds”

Microgreens?!

Posted on October 1, 2024October 1, 2024 by audrey

Our Vice President, Betsy Smith, introduced our speaker for our September meeting, Capital City Master Gardener Association’s Janell Diggs (ajdiggst23@yahoo.com), along with intern, Jane Ficquette. The presentation’s title was “Growing and Cooking with Microgreens”. Microgreens are versions of herbs and vegetables in their tiny sprout form. They are 5 times more nutrient dense than full-size plants. Mrs. Diggs provided a hands-on opportunity, supported by her experienced “how to” presentation, which consisted of three main points . . . Supplies, Process, and Cooking. She provided small covered containers filled with the correct soil for sprouting, provided radish seeds and demonstrated how to spread and dampen the seeds with a mister. We took them home, inverted the lid and weighted down the lid with a book. Then when they had sprouted, we took the lid off and in a few days we had microgreens! They can be used on salads, sandwiches, scrambled eggs, used as pizza topping, etc. They are used at high-end restaurants and used by nutritional researchers.

At the request of our members, Mrs. Diggs also discussed the role of Capital City MGA’s Education Committee. Besides the Vice President’s role of program development (monthly speakers), the Committee commits to approximately 3 annual outreach and educational projects per year. The committee selects topics based on interests surveys and assessments. They decide on short-range and long-range goals and then divide the planning and preparation based on various member’s skills. Janell discussed start- up efforts to increase our community presence and to provide horticultural-based learning opportunities. The program was very interesting, as well as immensely helpful to us on setting goals and deciding on yearly outreach programs.
Article based on minutes taken by Kerry Rush
Photos by Audrey Giles and Hugh Nichols

“All About Hostas!”

Posted on September 5, 2024September 5, 2024 by audrey

Our guest speaker for our August meeting was Bionca Lindsey from the Autauga County Master Gardeners Association. Bionca earned her Advanced Master Gardener Certification by learning and teaching “All About Hostas”. She was a very entertaining and informative speaker!

Photo of Betsy Smith and Bionca Lindsey — V.P. Betsy Smith and special guest speaker Bionca Lindsey

Hostas are the number one selling perennial in the United States. They are native to China and grow in the US zones 3 to 9. There are over 11,000 cultivars of Hosta. They thrive in shade or part shade and require a dormancy period of 4-6 weeks prior to their spring arrival. Bionca shared the many shapes, colors and sizes of Hosta. They are very hardy and can actually be divided any time, but spring and fall are ideal. Fertilize in the spring, using an organic, slow-release fertilizer (10-10-10 or 20-20-20). A few of their enemies are heat, slugs, deer, voles and even a few viruses. Thank you, Bionca for a wonderful program!

Miscellaneous items from our meeting included approval of the August minutes presented by Kerry Rush; announcing the option of contributing to Chilton County Coordinator Lucy Edwards’ wedding gift; the financial report by treasurer Judy Cobb; various volunteer opportunities for the members by Trisha Williams, Harriett Jackson, and REA Jacob Turner; information on registration for 2 fall conferences; our contribution to the 2025 AMGA Conference’s Silent Auction; update on CCMGA’s published article once a month in the Clanton Advertiser by Sharon Hosch; update on the Conservation Group by Betsy Smith and Hugh Nichols; update on the Demo Garden Shade House activities; and updates about the forming of the Nominating committee. And as always we want to thank our Hospitality Committee and food providers for our wonderful refreshments 🥗🍪🥮☕️❗️We had 32 present with 25 members, 3 interns, and 4 guests!

A Keyhole Garden

Posted on August 11, 2024 by audrey

Our Keyhole Garden that is maintained by Chilton County Master Gardeners at the Demo Garden is ready for Halloween! There are pumpkins planted in this Keyhole Garden. These types of gardens are for people confined to wheelchairs and are just the right height for them and also have a place cut out to reach to the middle of the raised garden. The Demonstration Garden is located at the Chilton Research and Extension Center, 120 County Rd. 756, Clanton AL 35045

Photos by Hugh Nichols and Audrey Giles.

Our New Conservation Group

Posted on July 8, 2023July 8, 2023 by audrey

A few weeks ago, our association committed to forming our own Conservation Group, which will be a part of the Alabama Plant Conservation Alliance. Their three goals are: 1. To educate and promote conservation awareness; 2. To collect and report data of endangered or threatened plants; 3. To propagate plant material to be placed in the wild or shared with others to plant. Their first project will be to work with the Mohr’s Barbara Button species, currently a federally threatened plant.

Hugh Nichols, Chairman, and nine members of the committee met with Patrick Thompson at the Davis Arboretum in Auburn for training and a tour. During this visit the group agreed upon 5 immediate goals:
1. To be represented at the APCA fall meeting in Union Springs
2. To coordinate the INaturalist phone APP training to aid in plant identification.
3. Propagate plant matrrial provided to gain experience.
4. Identify potential habitants for rare plants in Chilton County.
5. Develop a community education plan.

Members of the committee include: Hugh Nichols, Chairman, Amelia Bloomfield, Chip Durham, Leslie Durham, Audrey Giles, Lynne May, Rick Miller, Alan Reed, and Trisha Williams.

Group of visitors from Chilton County Master Gardeners — Members and guest included
L-R: Back Rick Miller, Hugh Nichols, Trisha Williams, Betsy Smith, John Higginbotham, L-R Front Lynne May, Clem Clapp, Alan Reed, and Harriett Jackson

VISITING THE UK

Posted on April 29, 2023May 16, 2023 by audrey

Our April program was brought to us by our Chilton County Extension Coordinator, Lucy Edwards. Lucy is a member of the Agricultural Leaders for Alabama, which is sponsored by the Alabama Farmers Federation. Lucy’s presentation was a summary of her group’s agriculture tour to England. They visited an organic beef farm and also a row crop operation. They also visited the famous Borough Market which is one of the largest and oldest food markets in London, dating back to the 12th century when at one time it adjoined the end of London Bridge. The group also visited Smithfield Market which is the largest wholesale meat market in the UK and one of the largest of its kind in Europe. It’s been at the same location for over 800 years. They are renovating it to include a new 42-acre wholesale megamarket, combining the meat market with wholesale fish, fruit and flower markets. Another day they toured the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the US Embassy, both located in London. DEFRA is responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United Kingdom. In addition to the agricultural field trips, the group also toured many of the famous sites in and around London such as the Churchill War Rooms, London Eye, Tower Bridge, the Roman Baths, Stonehenge, Windsor Castle and St George’s Chapel.
We also had 2 people to receive certificates that were missing from our February awards program. Congratulations Lyn Lavella Webb and Lanell Baker.

parts of content by Kerry Rush
photos by Audrey Giles

March Native Plants

Posted on April 13, 2023May 10, 2023 by audrey

Our program for March was presented by Chilton County Master Gardener Trisha Williams, who shared with us her PowerPoint, “Native Plants in Grandmother’s Garden”. Trisha shared many native plant species with corresponding photos that included, but certainly not limited to, Bird’s Foot Violets, Columbine, Foxglove Beardtongue, Tall Ironweed and Red Buckeye. She reminded the membership of the 1973 Endangered Species Act regarding the harvesting of natives from the wild, and instead recommended the use of reputable nurseries. A handout with information and resources on native plants was provided.
Harriett Jackson and Hugh Nichols shared a research opportunity that’s under the guidance of ACES’s lead Dani Carroll and the Alabama Smart Yards educational program. Participants are being solicited for home vegetable variety trials. They will be provided seeds and will participate in collecting data related to plant date, quantity planted, emergence date, flowering date, first and last yield date, etc. Potential MG participation and additional information will be forthcoming.
Leslie Durham talked about the need for the association to create a Fundraising Committee.
Reports were given on the Demo Garden, the Extension Office Beds, and the Recreation Bldg Beds, with the last one being a work in progress.
Several volunteer opportunities were discussed.
Our Hospitality Committee was commended for their beautiful St. Patrick’s Day table decorations and also the volunteers who coordinated the food snacks. And many thanks to Betsy Smith for donating the Rosemary Sugar Cookie-filled coffee mug door prizes!!

February-“Got Sun-Grow Food”

Posted on February 17, 2023March 19, 2023 by audrey

Our speaker at our February meeting was Karen Mitchell, a Jefferson County Master Gardener. Karen’s program was “Got Sun, Grow Food…Growing Where Sun & Space Permit” She talked about container gardening and all the advantages it provides, different types of containers, and about drainage and portability of the containers.