Walter Reeves will be broadcasting live from the 14 Annual Georgia Home & Garden Show Stage on Saturday, February 12th from 6 am – 10 am at the Gwinnett Civic Center. We will have room for 45 people to come and sit in the audience while Walter does his show. He lets people interact with him and bring questions/dying plants and such with them. This is an invitation to 45 Master Gardeners to see Walter. You will then have free admission to the show too once it opens up at 10 am. Since space is limited, this offer is on a first come, first served basis. Please respond to marlene.gillman@gwinnettcounty.com or call Marlene at 678-377-4010 if you are interesting in being one of the guests to Walter’s show.
Author: Marlene Gillman
Gwinnett Extension Office - Agriculture/Horticulture Program Assistant
Overwintering Tropical Water Lilies
The beautiful water lilies that graced your pond with blooms this summer need special care this winter. They are tropical in origin and will not become dormant to survive our winters unless you live in Zones 9 or 10. There are several methods for over-wintering these plants. One will be just right for you! The key to successful over-wintering is the following: It is extremely important not to place the water lily into the pond before Mother Nature is ready for it. This means DO NOT place the plant into the pond before the water temperature is at least 70 degrees F even if the air temperature is high! Cold water will bring about the demise of the plant and negate your hard work and patience. The simplest and most successful way to insure survival of these tropical plants is storage in a greenhouse. There they will over-winter nicely in…
Looking Forward to Spring Ephermerals
Once again the spring ephemerals are carpeting the forest and woodland floor only to be quickly admired and sleep again until next year. Spring ephemerals (i fem’ ur als) are plants whose glory lasts but a few days but the memory of their haunting beauty will remain with you for months come. You will find yourself looking expectantly for their return the following spring. These native wonders emerge before the trees leaf out as they must acquire enough sunlight to produce seed and store energy before the forest canopy fills in. Then they fade away until next year. Let’s walk gingerly along an imaginary path and enjoy the fleeting beauty of spring’s earliest wonders. Hepatica americana, Liverleaf, is one of the earliest harbingers of spring. It bears dainty 1/2” white flowers blushed with pink or deep blue. The flowers are born on stalks which leap into view directly from the…