Chilton County Master Gardener Sondra Henley had a vision for a new Demonstration Garden. So she formed a committee, set the wheels to rolling, and started making changes. It’s now well under way and going to be something that the Demo Garden Committee, workers, and all Master Gardeners can be proud of! She has it planned well with it being completed in 4 phases. The 1st phase is almost done. Much of the material is being donated and the committee has applied for and gotten 2 grants. It will truly be a teaching garden with the capability of an outdoor classroom. It will also have a shade garden, a water feature, a pergola, and the last phase, a working green house. Volunteer work days are Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday mornings with some evenings in the hottest months. Dates and times are listed on the Event Calendar.
Don was in the 2015 MG Class and he recently received his Master Gardener certification. He has been a big help in developing the new CCMGA Demonstration Garden.
After 17 years at the Alabama Forestry Commission and 18 years at the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, he retired as the State Parks Forester in 2014.
He lives in the Verbena countryside on 80 acres of family woodland and pastures. One of his favorite places is a stand of scattered mature oak and hickory trees on the top of a hill. He says he can always find a breeze and a pleasant 360 degree view of the property from there. He has plans to build a house and workshop near that location.
Don has had a love of gardening most of his adult life. His mother has been a great influence on him by the way she makes her home and landscape welcoming. He says he also paid attention to other private and public landscapes and incorporated some of those ideas into his own space. He especially likes to experiment with new ideas and improve on old ones to make the landscape flow in connection with a home, other structures and the terrain.
Don moved around a lot in his career, pursuing promotions, and has always tried to improve the landscape at every residence. He created a couple of vegetable gardens that incorporated raised beds and companion flowers. One of his fondest memories was going into the vegetable garden early in the morning with his two young daughters. There they feasted on fresh silver queen corn and okra right off the stalk for breakfast.
The best work anyone can find is something they love to do. Don loved the forestry, wildlife management and outdoor recreation projects he “had to do.” This included travel to and within state parks, other state-owned forest lands, Forever Wild tracts and private lands; as well as brief fire campaign assignments to National Forests, Parks and an Apache Reservation out West. Since his retirement, he likes occasional day trips to change his routine and scenery. You might spot him at a restaurant, movie theater, attraction or special event. He would like to add new hobbies that would improve physical fitness: square dancing, fossil hunting, woodworking and carving or perhaps return to making reproductions of Alabama artifacts.
I have always wondered at his knowledge of rocks in the Chilton area and now I know why he has this information. He used to visit the Alabama Department of Archives and History and other museums around the state to study interesting and attractive Indian artifacts. Then he would use state geologic maps to find original flint, soapstone and greenstone to reproduce stone arrowheads, bowls, pipes and axes. He would then sell pieces through Moundville Archeological Park, Fort Toulouse, the State Capitol gift shop and the Porch Band of the Creek Indians.
Don’s favorite words to live by are: Trust in God, Love your Family and Treat Everyone with Respect.
When asked, “What is your favorite thing about CCMGA? Don replied, “I love the fellowship of being around good people who are interested in at least one thing that I enjoy: landscaping and gardening. “
Members recently reworked the landscaping in the patio area of the Chilton-Clanton Public Library. Old roses were remoMembersved, old landscaping cloth removed, the soil was tilled, and the cement borders were straightened. They then planted 3 drift rose bushes, 2 Indian hawthorn shrubs, 4 autumn ferns, and planted and hung 2 baskets filled with red geraniums and lime green creeping Jenny. A donated outdoor water fountain was also hung on the longest wall. Then vinca, dusty miller, and Setcreasea (better known as Purple Heart) was added for color. The annuals were donated by members. Mini pine bark mulch was put down to conserve moisture and suppress weeds. All that needs to be done now is add the CCMGA sign and go back in a couple of weeks to see if any more mulch is needed.
The Chilton County Master Gardeners met this month at the Lake Mitchell Pavilion for their annual Plant Swap. Rick Miller presented the program on tool sharpening. He not only demonstrated this fine art that he learned as a Boy Scout, he also sharpened many tools brought by members. As usual, there was lots of good food and everyone that brought a nice plant was able to participate in the plant swap. There were also plants to share. Click HERE to see slideshow of photos.
The Chilton County MG Demonstration Garden is currently undergoing a complete redesign. The line has been run from the white shed to the electrical panel location in the garden and the Demo Garden committee is on its way to laying the garden electrical lines. Improvements will start on the white shed immediately. Pictured: Ira Jones, MG Intern, and Alan Reed, Demo Garden Co-Chair, hooking up the electrical line to the garden.
Our group really enjoyed a trip to Aldridge Gardens in Hoover this month. We had said last year when we visited in November that we definitely wanted to come back in the spring. The oak leaf hydrangeas were in full bloom and some of the french hydrangeas were just beginning to bloom. We also got to see a few of my favorites: wild flowers and bog plants. Our group was small this year, don’t know why, we had about 20 signed up originally. The ones that didn’t come really missed out on a great tour, and the weather was perfect. I have added quite a few photos to view, you may feel like you were right there with us! Click here for a Smilebox slideshow. Then click on FULL SCREEN SYMBOL(bottom left), then PLAY SLIDESHOW. ENJOY!
Spring is my favorite time of year because of all the native wild flowers that are blooming. I love to walk in the woods and see how many I can identify. There are many online sites that sell wildflowers if you would like to try growing a few. It seems there are many different varieties available for spring shade gardens; not so for summer and fall sun gardens. The most well known for summer and fall is Black-eyed Susan and butterfly weed. Here are some of my spring-blooming flowers, shrubs, and trees.
Earlier this month CCMGA interns took a tour of the Chilton Research and Extension Center to learn about the peaches, plums, muscadines, grapes, satsumas, and Kiwi fruit grown at the Center.
CCMGA members and interns held a Plant Sale at the Maplesville Heritage Festival on April 11th. They reported that the sale was a success and lots of fun to boot!
April 21st and 22nd found the CCMGA members and interns filling the planters and baskets in downtown Clanton and Jemison with beautiful flowers for this spring and summer.
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