Master Gardeners all over Tuscaloosa County are gathering plant materials for the upcoming Annual Plant Sale, better known as the Pass-Along Plant Sale on April 30 2016.

Items for sale will include divisions of ground covers and edging plants; divisions from shrubs, irises, daylilys, and other rhizome, tuber and bulb type plants.  Succulents, potted plants, plants for mixed containers including thrillers, spillers and fillers will also be sold.  You might even find unusual plants since Master Gardeners often grow plants that are not carried by local nurseries

Come shop Master Gardener’s homegrown plants and take advantage of expertise from gardeners who can tell you about the growth habits of the plants and their requirements as to sun, shade, water and fertilizer.  The sale is from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. at The Tuscaloosa County Extension Office.  All sales fund a horticulture scholarship to Auburn University.

Click here to review a Southeastern Gardener’s March To-Do List.

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Where did you Get your Green Thumb?

by Amelia PIlsch

The man that I knew as Granddaddy, was actually Robert Alec Sansing, Bob to his friends.  He attended Auburn University, earned a degree in engineering, and served his country during WWII.  He owned his own business and… he allowed me, his oldest grandchild, to drive his super-sized, Olds Ninety-Eight around his suburban neighborhood in Pensacola Florida when I was only 13 years old.  His catch phrase, was “fun, fun, fun” and he repeated this often.  He was also very passionate about Camellias.

His passion began with roses when he lived in Nashville, Tennessee before I knew him.  Later, he started a business in Pensacola, and transferred that love to camellias.  He was so committed to this interest that he bought the entire city block next to his new home and built a great, big climate controlled greenhouse and outdoor camellia garden.  As a child, I remember it being a beautiful and wondrous place to play.  These prize winning blooms from a grandchild’s playground were shown all over the United States.

Granddaddy was an active member of the Pensacola Men’s Camellia Society, and served as President. This organization is older than the American Camellia Society and thank goodness, is no longer just for men.  He also contributed articles to the American Camellia Society yearbook. He has the honor of having a camellia cultivar named after him, “Bob Sansing”.

At the time of his death, he had over 100 camellia plants in his greenhouse and yard.  Many specimens were donated to Baptist Hospital in Pensacola.  There is a plaque there that reads, “The Ella Ruth Sansing Garden”, named after my Grandmother.

I do not have a “Bob Sansing” camellia in my yard, but I wish I did.  I’m on a mission to locate 3, for my Mother, my sister and I, who all inherited our green thumbs from my Granddad, Bob Sansing.  Do you have someone in your life that inspired your green thumb?  Let me know by emailing me, Amelia PIlsch at ampil2010@gmail.com.