MASTER GARDENER PROGRAM UPDATE

HELLO FROM THE GARDEN HOME! I would like to catch you up to date on the happenings in the MG program. First of all, last Thursday was this Garden Daddy's turn to bring the food for the program and I am attaching a photo of my "spread" I provided. It seemed to be a pretty good hit and I made the table complete with an arrangement in a ceramic pumpkin which included a lovely burgundy millet, some orange New Zealand sedge, some curly willow (corkscrew willow) and some mixed blooms and buds of some reddish-orange and pale butter yellow/white dahlias. The best part about this "living arrangement" was that I grew everything in the container. Everything was not grown in the pumpkin but the plants came from here in the garden home.

The class program for 10/08/09 was on "Gardening With Herbaceous Ornamentals". We ran quickly over approximately (+/-) 159 slides regarding different herbaceous ornamentals. We discussed the difference in annuals, perennials, biennials & "tender perennials". I am learning so much I did not know and thought I did. Our various instructors have been both qualified and informative and I appreciate the time, experience, dedication and knowledge being shared with myself and I know many others feel the same way.
One thing about being associated with so many gardeners is the PLANT SWAPS...everyone seems to have plants to share and it has me thinking several things. I either need another house (haha!!) or sell this one and buy another with more land in the country with one, two or up to 5 acres that I can expand my new gardening ideas and knowledge. One good thing about the upgrades on this garden home is the fact that I would be able to sell better and faster now than before this major work I have been doing in preparation for the LANA Holiday Home Tour, December 4-6, 2009. Sorry for the plug! Yes, I see I need more space and I have plans in mind now for the complete reworking of my vegetable area of my garden. I have come up with a good design for a completely fenced in area with a nice Gothic fence surround and gate down by the compost bin. But I definitely need more room. So if anyone of you followers want to buy a c.1922-23 Arts & Crafts home let me know or to swap small house and acreage for in-town living.
So, I leave you this day with the rehab & redressing of my sun room finished, which if I ever get the home tour behind me I will thoroughly enjoy soon I hope. It looks like one should have a good pot of hot tea and shortbread there and a good gardening book. And I leave you with today's garden thoughts: "As the sun fades deep on the horizon and the birds are heading South and I see pumpkins adorning 'lawnscapes' where bales of hay and mums abound...I think of my youth and days on the farm in N. Alabama and of the red mule and wagons of hay and stalks of dried corn and the potato harvest. And then just smile...& remember!"