Mountain Valley Park

The Master Gardeners took on a project to create a pocket of beauty on the square in Hayesville.

This long-neglected space between buildings was to be transformed into a lovely spot to take a break and smell the flowers.

The first step was to develop a plan. A number of gardeners drew up plans that were submitted to the group for their consideration.

Another important ingredient was a mural for the back wall to be painted by the high school art group. The mural depicts mountains, water, and flowers - all typical of our area.

The landscape plan reflects the ideas of many gardeners and includes fixtures such as a pergola, a screening fence, two trellises, several birdhouses on posts, and three benches (not shown) - all providing the backbone of the plan. Shrubs and perennials are being added as the other elements are installed.


Watch for updates on this project.

August Bounty

 

Yellow tomatoes, peas, cucumbers, eggplant, beets, peppers all bound for the food pantry.

 The green pumpkin will remain in the pumpkin patch for now.

Autumn Planning

Hydrangea paniculata

The ideal planting time for shrubs, trees, and perennials is just around the corner.  Fall planting allows for strong root growth before a winter siesta and the growing season of spring.  It’s a chance to give plants a head start before the stress of summer strangleholds their very existence. 

Now is the time to begin planning.  A walk through Lewis Nursery or the Garden Shoppe is one way to be inspired, but another is to look around at what is surviving well in commercial landscapes.  These are the very spots that do not get the pampered watering and fertilizing that the home landscaper can do.  Plants have to be tough to survive 100˚ heat and three weeks without rain!  I’ve noticed a few that really stand out.

The first is hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’.  You can see this growing near the new Aztex/ McDonald’s at the corner of 64 and 69.  What is most striking is how beautiful the plant looks no matter how hot it gets.  Its white flowers (with a slight green tint) sit perkily while the rest of us wilt and sweat.  I like the whole crowd of paniculatas:  ‘Tardiva’ is very reliable and ‘PinkyWinky’ has almost red flowers, to name just a couple.  They don’t droop as most mophead hydrangeas do in the heat of summer and they bloom now into fall—a good time for the garden.  They like sun and can become large, but you wield the pruning shears.

Another plant near McDonald’s is Ninebark (physocarpus opulifolious).  I am not sure the variety.  It could be ‘Diablo’, but it is behaving like the beautiful ‘Summer Wine’ I have in my garden.  This plant flowers delightfully in the spring, but its crowning glory is the deeply cut, dark crimson-red leaves that glow in the sunlight throughout the summer.  It’s a beautiful plant to jazz up a boring green border. 

The third planting near this intersection is the group of trees in front of the Nantahala Bank that were placed by the Department of Transportation.  I realize they are not much to look at now, just pretty little shade trees, but come this winter they will sport a crown of red berries almost all season (the birds do eventually have their way with them!)  I was so struck by their attractiveness that I called the DOT for information which is when I discovered there is a whole DOT landscape department!  The horticulturist identified them as Crataegus viridis ‘Winter King’. This cultivar is one of the best hawthornes for landscape purposes.  It is a smallish (25–30 ft.) deciduous tree that blooms in May, has dark red autumn foliage, and red fruit all winter.  In older trees the bark also exfoliates which adds to its winter interest.

Well, here’s to your autumn dreaming.  At least there’s one good thing we can say about this heat--you can’t plant shrubs and trees!

Eleanor Moyer

Pea Pickin' Time

Judy's peas are hanging over the fence begging to be picked.

Late July Harvest

Cucumbers, squash, eggplants, jalapeno peppers, and herbs are ready to travel to the food pantry.

 The cucumber patch is still full of little yellow flowers - many more cucumbers to come!

Collard Greens

While growing up in Michigan I had never heard of collards, nor would have cared for them if I had. Upon moving to Georgia I gradually became aware of them but not because I ate them. I avoided green things like that for a long time. I knew I would not like them.

Years ago, while we were on a family vacation at St. Simons Island, Georgia, I awoke one morning feeling slightly ill. The feeling hadn't improved by the time we went to lunch at a small restaurant close to the fishing pier. I have forgotten what else I ate, if anything, but I saw collards on the menu. Somehow I thought, "I'm going to try these things. They'll either kill me or cure me."

I wound up eating two bowls of collards, have loved them ever since, and have grown them in my garden whenever I could.  

Last spring I planted two rows. (The garden had been fertilized with a good dose of mushroom compost, which I had learned about after becoming a Clay County Master Gardener.)

We had collards last year beginning around June and lasting through the fall. I always harvest them by cutting a few leaves from each plant rather than taking the whole thing. That way they just keep on producing.

Because of the "aroma", I boil them outside, with a couple of strips of bacon, in a big pot on a propane camp stove for about two hours. By that time they are tender and ready to eat. We freeze what is not needed immediately.

Normally, at the end of the season, I dig them up. However last winter I decided to let them stay in the ground. I had always heard that they were better after a frost and had noticed that they would survive each bout of freezing weather and then bounce right back and grow some more, so I cooked collards in the fall, winter and spring.

Along about March they started to really get tall and put on bright yellow blooms. I decided to let them grow to see what would happen. I could still harvest leaves as needed but the plants kept getting taller, four to six feet tall. Then a tremendous number of very long thin green pods appeared on each plant - new experience. I let them continue until the middle of May when I figured it was time for them to go to the burn pile. There was more stalk than leaf.

After digging them I left them on the burn pile to dry. The pods were still green when I uprooted the plants, but while lying on the burn pile they dried and almost split open. The outcome was that I got a tremendous supply of collard seed. All I had to do was shake the plant while holding a container under it to get a wonderful harvest. Considering the amount of seeds in the normal packet, I may have enough for every garden in the county. 

If you're a gardener, there's always something new to learn.

Jack Parrish, Master Gardener

Bounty & Beauty

It is a joy to watch Louise's community garden plot. She has been growing several kinds of sunflowers and zinnias to adorn her garden shop in town.

Mid-July Harvest

 

With the addition of another large eggplant, the harvest today weighed 18 pounds and was taken to Social Services.

Great progress

Many of the sunny community garden plots got off to a fast start.

Water was not available at first, but once it was piped in, the gardens flourished.

Squash seedlings, master gardener plot

The master gardener plot got off to a late start in mid-June,

Master gardener plot

but by mid-July the plot was transformed, and the harvest had begun. Eggplants, yellow squash, zucchini, radishes and herbs were taken to the food pantry. In another week we'll have cucumbers coming in fast.
Notice the tomato supports in the background. Some are in wire cages made of fencing; others are in structures made of lashed-together bamboo.

Community garden planting day

Keith Wood from Cherokee County Extension Service came to the garden on a chilly windy day to demonstrate planting vegetables and seeds. Tomato plants should be planted deeply so that the stem hairs can transform into roots.

Preparing for the community garden

Once grassy backyards, now school property, were cleared of stumps, plowed and tilled, and lined out with 20x20' garden plots. Soil was tested, and the results told us we needed a lot of lime. A load of compost will be delivered soon.

There will be room for 20 plots with the master gardeners taking a large area on the near end and two school classes taking a double plot at the far end. Three other double plots have been spoken for.

Cinnamon Fern

Recently I was walking on a friend’s property that is designated as an Appalachian Native Botanical Sanctuary, here in Clay County and saw among other ferns, the outstanding cinnamon fern, Osmunda cinnamomea. They’re called cinnamon fern due to the brown ‘cinnamon sticks’ that are actually the fertile fern fronds sprouting from their center. Ferns reproduce from the spores that form on the back of the fronds in clusters. This variety has these characteristics: dimensions- 4-41/2 feet tall and 2-3 wide; Transplants- very easily; Naturally spreads- rapidly; Soil condition- moist to wet. 

Jill Long, Master Gardener

Quick Start for Home-Grown Tomatoes

How satisfying to be the first in your neighborhood to boast of a tomato harvest! If you are on this quest, your seeds are already germinating in a seed- starting medium of fine milled peat moss and vermiculite, under grow lights –two each of alternating cool-white and warm, placed just 3” from the tops of the plants, and thriving in a warm environment of 68-78 degrees. Your sprouts are enjoying daily gentle watering, and of course all are properly labeled.

Here are a few tips to get the fastest growth. First of all, forget about top growth; the roots are most important at this stage. Transplant your seedlings several times into ever larger, ever deeper pots, pinching off lower leaves each time, setting the plant deep down into the pot and filling it up with soil. The hairs on the stems will transform into more roots. Bottom heat from a seed starting mat will keep the root growth happening. 

One way to toughen up the seedlings while they are still in a protected indoor environment is to give them a gentle breeze to thicken up their stems. Blow on them when you visit them, or set up a fan some distance away. Air circulation may also prevent damping off, the sudden loss of seedlings to a soggy environment.

As the weather warms up, it’s time to think about setting out the tomato plants. There’s more to consider besides the last frost date. Soil temperature is the major consideration. Anything below 60 degrees will set back your 6-10” tall plants. Now, you have already amended your soil with compost, added calcium or lime, and introduced some 5-10-10 fertilizer. And you have toughened up your tomato plants by placing them outside in partial shade. The weather is warm, but the soil is still cold. What to do? 

Here are two solutions for chilly soil. First, if the top few inches are warm enough, dig a trench for the transplant, pinching off lower leaves, laying the tomato plant on its side, covering all but the remaining foliage with soil. Within days the plant will be growing upright. Another way to warm up soil is to dig out the top few inches and lay down below the trench a good layer of uncomposted kitchen garbage. This will provide heat for the roots above. 

Use of decomposing materials for bottom heat can also be a way to speed up the date of setting out of plants if you can protect the foliage as well with gallon milk jugs or other containers. The plants will need to be uncovered daily to prevent overheating. This tactic is for the most ambitious, competitive tomato growers who might wish to experiment with setting out a few plants even before the last frost date.

So much promise in these spindly seedlings we are growing! Good luck!

Hankering for Spring? Try Hellebores!

It is one more day of overcast skies and freezing temperatures.  Will spring ever arrive?  When I stare out at my bleak garden I spy one delightfully frilly reminder of spring’s recuperative powers.  My Hellebores are blooming like crazy! This diverse group of plants is evergreen, has flowers that last for months, and blooms at the dreary end of winter.  It is also very much in vogue--Helleborus x hybridus or lenten rose was named as the 2005 perennial plant of the year by the Perennial Plant Association.  By now you may want to drop the paper and rush to the nearest nursery if you don’t already have at least one of these incredible beauties in your garden.  But, hold your hats for a bit more information—these are very interesting plants.

According to Wikipedia, “Several legends surround the hellebore; in witchcraft it is believed to have ties to summoning demons. Helleborus niger is commonly called the Christmas rose, due to an old legend that it sprouted in the snow from the tears of a young girl who had no gift to give the Christ Child in Bethlehem.
In Greek mythology, Melampus of Pylos used hellebore to save the daughters of the king of Argos from a madness, induced by Dionysus, that caused them to run naked through the city, crying, weeping, and screaming.

During the Siege of Kirrha in 585 BC, hellebore was reportedly used by the Greek besiegers to poison the city's water supply. The defenders were subsequently so weakened by diarrhea that they were unable to defend the city from assault.

Some historians believe that Alexander the Great died because of a hellebore overdose, when he took it as medication.”  Now, that is one colorful biography!

Hellebores have long been used in homeopathic medicine; however they have poisonous properties (see above!) so its home use is discouraged. They are coarse perennial herbs with palmately or pedately lobed leaves.  The flowers, resembling large buttercups to whose family they belong, either hang like pastel petticoats or face up to the sun.  They thrive in the shady border in good garden soil.  Like most plants they need consistent moisture, but mine have done well through these two hot, dry summers.  They form pleasing clumps that can be divided or if the flowers are left on, will self seed.  My seedlings were blooming the second season.  Common strains with a variety of colorful blooms, though lavender and pale green seem to predominate, are widely available.  The newer hybridized varieties, “Winter Jewels,” “Royal Heritage,” “Brandywine” or even the Helleborus niger mentioned above, for instance, offer a more intense palette but might only be found online. However, I did locate Helleborus “WalHelivory” (Ivory Prince) at Lewis’s Nursery and feel it is exceptional.  Its white veined green leaves and red stems are beautiful all year and it produces plump oval buds that open to consistent ivory-colored flowers.  I think these would be lovely in a woodland garden and pair well (and alliteratively) with hostas and heucheras.

For more information, consult your nearby nurseries.  Books on Hellebores are not widely available, but The Gardener’s Guide to Growing Hellebores, by Graham Rice and Elizabeth Stranman should be relatively easy to find and contains a great deal of information. 

Eleanor Moyer, Master Gardener

Mahonia Aquifolium

In February, it's time for Mahonia Aquifolium (Oregon Grape Holly) to bloom again and delight us with its fragrance. But watch out for the prickly foliage!
This evergreen shrub's yellow flowers transform to blue-black edible grape-like berries later in the season. Inside the berries are seeds that account for the new plants you might find in your landscape years after planting. I wouldn't call it invasive, but it is plentiful.

I prune mahonia vigorously during and after flowering to produce a more compact, lush form.