In October, GCMGA members and Master Gardeners Shirley Bohm and Jeff Hicks led an educational walk and talk for the public at Vines new butterfly garden. Visitors learned about the life cycle of the butterfly, various host and nectar plants they like, and how to create your own butterfly garden. The masters gardeners broke ground for the project in January and it is wonderful to see the established plants along with caterpillar larvae and various butterflies! Related Images:
Author: Becky Wolary
Gwinnett County Master Gardener - Class of 2010
Planting Pansies
Shirley Bohm, one of our member MGEV’s, wrote the following for a group of Girl Scouts who volunteered to plant pansies at Vines Park to earn their gardening badge. It’s a great article full of information. Pansies. Pansies are annuals that can be planted from seeds or transplants. Seeds have to be started 6-8 weeks before planting in the garden but transplants are readily available at most nurseries and many other stores. Pansies and their cousins, violas, violets and johnny-jump-ups, will bloom for 6-8 months, depending on the weather. Pansies are cool weather plants and can even survive under snow cover. The ideal temperature for pansies is 40-60°F. Below 40°F, roots shut down and can’t transport water and nutrients to the leaves. Pansies protect themselves during cold weather by temporarily wilting. The dry leaves are not damaged by the cold. As the weather warms, the roots send water back up…
January 2017 Monthly Meeting
We were delighted to have Chip Utsey, the Director of Inside Sales at Central Garden Distribution at Pennington Seed, as our January speaker for our lunch time meeting. Chip always presents an entertaining and educational program and he talked about “Attracting Birds to Your Landscape”. He had several good ideas for us and willingly answered questions from the attendees. Chip graduated from Auburn University 1995 and holds a Master’s Degree in Wildlife Science. He previously worked as a Wildlife Biologist for the state of Florida and a private group after graduation. He then started with Pennington Seed in 2000 and has been there ever since holding several positions. Related Images: