Antique Roses presented by Jason Powell of Petals from the Past was the program for our January meeting. What a treat to have our area expert on antique roses to talk with us about climbing roses! Antique roses are those introduced before 1867, after that year hybrid teas were introduced. Many antique climbers bloom once in the spring but there are repeat bloomers. Jason also talked about fertilizer requirements and pruning techniques for climbers. One of our door prizes was a potted antique rose won by Joan Barber. Photos by Audrey Giles
MG-News
combination of all Chilton County MG news
Octogenarians for 2022
This year we have 12 members that are Octogenarian (a person whose age is in the eighties) and above! But we’ll never tell their age!!
December Birthdays
Happy Birthday to all our members born in the festive month of December 🎂🎉🎅🏼❗️
All About Hostas
The program topic for our Chilton County November meeting was “Let’s Learn About Hostas”presented by Autauga County Advanced Master Gardener Bionca Lindsay. Bionca was such an entertaining speaker and so down to earth. She gave us the basics of purchasing, planting, dividing, fertilizing and watering hosta and shared tips to help us be successful! She suggests letting the plants bloom as pollinators will definitely benefit. Who knew that hostas come in sizes from mini to extra large?
CCMGA voted on our officers for 2022 and they are:
President: Pat Farmer
Vice President: Gail Brooks
Secretary: Treasia Bennett
Treasurer: Lyn Webb
Congratulations to our new officers and a big Thank You for stepping up!
Article by Trisha Williams and Audrey Giles; photos by Diane Clapp and Audrey Giles
November Birthdays💐🎉
Here’s wishing our members that have November birthdays a great big HAPPY BIRTHDAY🎂🎊💐💐🎉❗️
Fall in Love with Your Garden
The Fall AMGA Master Gardener Seminar, Fall in Love with Your Garden, was hosted by the Autauga County Master Gardeners Association. Fudd Graham, PhD, discussed Identifying and Encouraging Native Insects in Your Garden. He was followed by Desmond Layne,PhD, who told us about the Transformation Garden being developed at Auburn University with fundraising in progress. This garden is designed as a green space and a teaching garden for students. The garden will include row crops, hydroponics, invasive plants, perennials, annuals, pollinator garden and more. What a real treat to hear Leila Scott Kelly, PhD, talk about Color in the Fall and Winter Landscape; she was informative as well as humorous. The last program was presented by hummingbird expert Fred Bassett. He taught us about the Fall Hummingbird Migration and discussed our ruby throated hummingbirds as well as many others that may visit during the winter. Following the seminar ACMGA hosted tours of their public gardens including Prattvillage, Prattville-Autauga Demonstration Garden and Wilderness Park. Several Chilton Master Gardeners attended and one that has dual membership was a volunteer for the program. We really enjoyed the programs and fellowship with Master Gardeners from around Alabama. Photos by Diane Clapp, Trisha Williams and Audrey Giles. Article by Trisha Williams.
October Birthdays
We’d like to wish all these members that have birthdays this month a great big Happy Birthday 🎁🎊🎂🎉🎈❗️
Straw Bale Gardening
Straw bale gardening was the program for our September meeting. Eric Schavey, ACES Regional Extension Agent in Commercial Horticulture, taught us the 10 day process to prepare a straw bale for growing vegetables, herbs and even annuals. The items needed are the straw bale, ammonium sulfate, water, fertilizer (8-8-8) and lime. Transplants work best for this type of gardening. Eric was a great speaker and we really enjoyed his presentation. He even left all the items used in his presentation for door prizes!
Photos by Diane Clapp and Audrey Giles
Happy Birthday September Members
We haven’t forgotten our September members, just running a little behind ☺️.
Celebrating 40 Years of MG
Chilton County Master Gardeners celebrated the fortieth anniversary of Alabama Extension Master Gardeners Volunteers with a luncheon at the Chilton Research and Extension Center. We enjoyed visiting with retired CEC Gay West and retired 4H Agent Josine Walters. The crew at CREC also joined us for lunch and a delicious chocolate celebration cake. Hurricane Ida gave us cooler but damp weather so we headed home to watch the ACES Zoom presentation. Thanks to Mary Lou McNabb and Extension Agent Gary Murray for starting the very first MG class in Alabama. Thanks also go to Elouisa Stokes(40 active MG years), Tony Glover and Dave Williams for their contributions to the Master Gardener Extension Program.