“Party In The Garden” 2019 Conference a Success!

Posted on May 13, 2019May 22, 2019 by audrey

The 2019 AMGA Conference has come and gone after 3 years of intensive preparation by Chilton, Shelby, and Autauga Counties. Everyone that attended enjoyed the speakers, facility, Whimsies Workshop, silent auction, the Hoe Down and Bertelone’s Italian Dinner. Our Silent Auction was a huge success with a wide assortment of items for everyone to bid on. The speakers were well received with Joe Lamp’l of “Growing a Greener World” a big hit. Dr. Neil Lamb, Jason Powell, Jane McCarthy “the Hosta Lady”, and Lelia Scott Kelly were just a few of our very entertaining speakers. The Whimsies Workshop sold out quickly and 40 more spots were immediately added. We were all exhausted when it was over, but very proud of how it all turned out!

Collage of Meeting and tv personality Joe Lamp’l

Members of Silent Auction and door prize committee

Trees and Bees!

Posted on April 15, 2019April 15, 2019 by audrey

Our Master Gardener Class on April 10 was all about Trees and Bees. The morning session was conducted by Mallory Kelley, Autauga County Regional Extension Agent, on Tree Identification. The afternoon class was by Bill Evans, President of the Alabama Beekeepers Association. You didn’t hear any buzzing in that class, everyone was awake and alert! Thank you, Mallory and Bill for 2 very interesting classes!

Awards Program

Posted on April 5, 2019April 5, 2019 by audrey

Our March meeting was held at the Little House this month, and there was a full house! Our program was presented by Dr. Edgar Vinson, ACES Assistant Research Professor & Extension Specialist in Horticulture. Dr. Vinson plans on starting a new fig plot at CREC soon. He says that figs are becoming a production crop like peaches, blueberries, and strawberries because of their nutritional value.

The other highlight of the meeting was our Awards Program delightfully emceed by our own Skip Coulter. Top Hours were Harriett Jackson (580), Alice Broome (440), and Audrey Giles (407.50). Helpline Awards were Pat Farmer (Chairman, 5 days), Larry Jones (7 days) who received gold pins; Lanell Baker (4 days), and John Wallace (3 days) who received silver pins. Susan Cleckler won Top CEU hours with 43.50. Service Project of the Year nominees were Gardens of Clanton Assisted Living ( Trisha Williams & Audrey Giles) and Chilton/Clanton Library Adult Summer Program (Trisha Williams & Audrey Giles, Natives in the Garden; Sondra Henley, Composting 101; Larry Jones, Vegetable Gardening; and Lanell Baker, Starting Plants from Seeds. The Service Project of the Year was Gardens of Clanton Assisted Living. The Master Gardener of the Year nominees were Alan Reed and Lee & Wally Walters. The MG of the Year was veteran MG Alan Reed. Badges and Stars were also given out at the meeting. There were 28 members , 7 Interns, and 3 visitors present at the Awards Program meeting.

Click on the link below to see a slideshow of photos from the March meeting.

https://desktopapp.smilebox.com/playBlog/4e4459334e6a59794f444d3d0d0a&blogview=true

2019 Intern Class Photo

Posted on March 22, 2019March 22, 2019 by audrey

The weather was gorgeous this past Wednesday so we took advantage of it and got outside for our group class photo. Thanks 2019 Intern Class for being such a great class this year!

Indoor Plants and Weed Management

Posted on March 22, 2019March 22, 2019 by audrey

Our Class this week covered Houseplants, taught by our facilitator and Master Gardener Trisha Williams; and Weed Management taught by Shane Harris, County Extension Coordinator in Tallapoosa County. I think everyone learned a lot from both classes.

Teaching houseplants and Weed Management

March 13th Class

Posted on March 18, 2019March 18, 2019 by audrey

The CCMGA Intern Class for March 13th was presented by Tracy Britnell on landscape design. Tracy is a certified Master Gardener, works in the landscape industry, and also works at Petals from the Past. We also had one of our Master Gardeners, Harriett Jackson, come by and demonstrate to the class how to prune the knockout roses planted in front of the Extension Office.
Thank you, Gay West and Elaine Densmore for these photos!

Plant Diseases and Propagation

Posted on March 8, 2019March 8, 2019 by audrey

Our MG class was held this week in the Barn at Petals from the Past in Jemison. The Master Gardener members provide lunch for everyone for this class and we always look forward to this. The instructors were Dr. Jim Jacobi from Auburn on “Plant Diseases” and Dr. Arlie Powell, owner of Petals from the Past on “Plant Propagation”. I can’t believe we are half-way through this year’s Master Gardener Class! We have a very enthusiastic group!

**Dr. Jim Jacobi from Auburn University teaches “Plant Diseases”**

**Dr. Arlie Powell, owner of Petals from the Past, teaches “Plant Propagation”**

Early Registration Winner

Posted on March 2, 2019March 2, 2019 by audrey

At the February 28, 2019 meeting of the AMGA Conference Volunteers, anticipation was building as Tracey Britnell, a Conference tour speaker and employee of Petals from the Past, drew the winner’s name from the early registrants. Registration Chairman Alice Broome held the bag for Tracey. AND THE WINNER OF EARLY REGISTRATION IS…….Laura Fields from Tuscaloosa Master Gardener Association!! Congratulations, Laura, your registration to the 2019 AMGA Spring Conference is paid for!

Demo Garden Clean-up

Posted on March 1, 2019March 1, 2019 by audrey

This past Monday, Feb. 25 was a gorgeous day and perfect weather for working in the Demo Garden. We had several interns helping out as we pulled weeds, cleaned bird baths, put out a little pine straw, and transplanted some things that were getting too crowded. We will have several more days to get it all looking good for the Demo Garden tours that are a part of the 2019 AMGA Spring Conference coming up May 8, 9, and 10 of this year.

Plant Nutrition

Posted on February 27, 2019February 27, 2019 by audrey

Our class today was presented by Dr. Charles Mitchell on Soils and Plant Nutrition. Everyone said they really enjoyed it. Thanks, Dr. Mitchell! Photo by a Gay West.