Our Master Gardener class on January 29 was a good one, with the morning session by Taylor Hatchett of Boozer Farms in Thorsby on “Home Lawns” and the afternoon session by Extension Agent Sallie Lee from Jefferson County on “Woody Ornamentals and Invasive Plants”. Thanks to both of these ladies for two very interesting classes!
We’re so lucky to have TWELVE Octogenarians (80 & above) in our Association! Meet them today!
Our meeting for February should be a good one, so make every effort to be there!
Our 2020 MG Class got started yesterday with 20 enrollees! We are so excited about the vitality and interest of this group. I’m sure we will learn as much from them as they do from us. Stay tuned!
For the first meeting of 2020, Chilton County Master Gardeners were treated to a program about gourds presented by Mack Gothard, President of the Alabama Gourd Society. Fellow ALGS member, James Stone, assisted Mack with the presentation. Tips on growing, harvesting and drying gourds were discussed. Gourds can be decorated in any way one can imagine using paint, woodburning, carving and more. Mack says the gourd “tells” you what it is and his usually become chickens! Many gourd varieties were on display as well as decorated gourds and musical instruments made from gourds.
March Gourd Madness will be held March 20 and 21 at the Chilton Performing Arts Center. http://www.marchgourdmadness.com
The Alabama Gourd Show will be held in Cullman in October. http://www.alabamagourdsociety.org
The Chilton County Master Gardeners 2019 Christmas Home Tour is now history. But what a Tour it was!! Records were broken in the number of tickets sold.
Speaking of history, the Tour this year was held in the historic town of Verbena, Alabama. The tour included the homes of Pat Barefield, Vivian & Dalvin Johnson, Elaine & Arnold McDaniel, Janine & Chris Speaks and Verbena United Methodist Church. Each of these locations has its own piece of Verbena history. Many guests had grown up in the area or had relatives in Verbena. Other guests were most interested in seeing the homeowners’ various decorating styles. Each house and the Church had its own style of decoration, each unique and beautiful. Guests surely gained great ideas for their own seasonal decorating.
CCMGA is grateful to the people of Verbena for the excitement and exceptional cooperation displayed. With every Christmas Home Tour, one of the best parts is the new friendships we establish. This year was no different! Thanks to all the Master Gardeners, the homeowners, and Verbena United Methodist Church for making this event such a great success!
Article by Alice Broome
Photos by Audrey Giles
Sondra Henley has become our association’s first master gardener to obtain her Advanced Master Gardener Certification. Her advanced certification subject is Composting. In order to become certified, Sondra developed and completed a plan of specific requirements which included continuing education, volunteer time and presentations. This effort takes lots of self-motivation and commitment. Congratulations Sondra Henley!
Our Chilton County Master Gardeners enjoyed an educational talk on “The Camellia, Celebrate the State Flower” presented by Dr. Charles Mitchell. Dr Mitchell is known to most Master Gardeners in this state as the Soils teacher for the MG Program. Recently retired from Auburn University, he still teaches Master Gardener Soils classes and is very involved in the Auburn-Opelika Men’s Camellia Club. We learned about the origin of camellias and tips on caring and propagting them. The lovely blooms brought from his garden varied from white to pink to red and were a treat to see. The Auburn-Opelika Men’s Club has searched for camellias with names connected to Auburn and have also named a few in honor of Auburn University. “Sweet Auburn” was named by the club and was given as a door prize to one lucky MG.
Our elections were held and congratulations go to our new 2020 Officers:
President: Susan Cleckler
Vice-President: Charla Doucet
Treasurer: Audrey Giles
Secretary: Elizabeth York
Six Chilton County Master Gardeners along with three St. Clair County Master Gardeners spent November 4 judging Shelby County Fair entries. What fun it is to see and judge the entries: photographs, paintings, ceramics, sewing, quilts, crochet, knitting, canned vegetables, jellies, produce, plants and more. Items were entered by adults, senior adults and children in three age categories. Best of all was taste testing the baked goods including cakes, pies, and cookies. The most difficult part is selecting the Best of Show! Photos by Susan Cleckler
On October 17, the Elmore County Master Gardener Intern class visited the Chilton County Demonstration Garden. On hand to share information and answer questions were Master Gardeners Harriett Jackson, Sondra Henley, and Betsy Smith. Also present was one of the first to sign up for our 2020 Master Gardener Class, Gail Brooks. Photos by Betsy Smith
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