The full pdf copy of this edition is available here. PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE – by John Atkinson. It’s a wonderful world! The year 2007 is almost over and what a good year it has been. It is time to express many thanks to Glenn Parsons and the officers and leaders that have guided us (like Moses) through the drought. What opportunities and challenges will the New Year hold? Only time will tell. Are you ready to renew your interest and vigor for the New Year? My goal is that the Gwinnett County Master Gardener Association will be the best in Georgia. I’m not sure what that means, but I am convinced that we have the skills and ability to continue the course we have been on since 1994. What new challenges do you want to step up to in the coming year? Glenn Parsons said something at a recent meeting that…
Edible Wild Landscape: Cossack Asparagus
You don’t have to travel to the steppes of Russia to find this wild edible plant. “Cossack asparagus” is another name for the common cattail, sometimes called bulrush. There are probably very few people who don’t know what a cattail is or what it looks like. When mature, the cattail is easily recognized by its brown “hot dog on a stick” appearance. Technically, male and female cattail blossoms are flowers, but extremely small. When they open, the tiny female flowers are greenish but before long they turn into the familiar brown cylinder. Male flowers don’t hang around very long. They grow on a yellow spike that juts out of the top of the brown cylinder, and when their pollen is ripe, it drops on the female flowers below. Then the male flowers fall off, leaving the familiar hot dog-on-a-stick. There are even fewer people who know that the common cattail…
Using Stone For The Bones Of The Garden
Harmony in the garden is created when there’s balance. In Eastern Philosophy it is the gentle balance of Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang are basically two energies. Yin is the dark, passive, grounding, and a cooler energy. Yang is the light, active, and warmer energy. Notice how the most harmonious gardens will contain a balance of stone, plants, architecture (something man-made), and water (though real water can sometimes be ‘mimicked’ successfully). Occasionally this balance is so subtle, soothing, and perfectly natural, that you may not notice… Bravo!! This is a job well done by the garden designer. When I see the natural and asymmetrical use of stone in the garden, I’m immediately reminded of how Asian gardens have influenced our western gardens. So often in our Western culture, we naturally want to fill up the space with plants, plants, and more plants. Sure, I’ve been guilty of this too…being…