The Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, marital or veteran status, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

   

February  2014  

Jan Spann, Editor arkansasgardenvoice@gmail.com

PLANT  *  NURTURE  *  GROW    

What You’ll Find Inside  President’s  Message   2  Looking  toward  the  State  Conference!   3  A  Gardener’s  winter  musings   4  Recognition  idea  from  Garland  Co.   4  Crape  Myrtle  Bark  Scale     5  Extension  Service  during  WWI   6  State  Conference  Seminars  &  Demos   7  Calendar  of  Events   8  

County 76 continued on page 5  

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County 76 is a state level organization that uses the county program process as an organizational model. County 76 members act as state staff, help set policy, and provide guidance to county programs. State programs such as the PNG Leadership Conference and the State MG Conference are County 76 projects that directly impact county programs. At the first quarterly meeting of 2014, President John Richardson announced the leadership team of officers and project chairs and asked the project teams to work on annual goals during breakout sessions. The officer slate includes Vice-

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President Jane Burrow (Faulkner); Secretary Barbie Luther (Union); Treasurer Judy Woodard and Co-

Treasurer Bren Coop (both Pulaski). John also announced that all C76 meetings will have an education component, Project Manager Linda Soffer (Jefferson) makes sure that County 76 programs have goals with action plans beneficial to county programs. C76 projects include: Advanced Training, PNG Leadership Conference, Recruitment-Retention-Recognition, Communications, and Fundraising. Coordinators for C76 projects: Advanced Training-Walter Jennings (Pulaski); PNG Leadership Conference-Lin Johnson (Garland), co-chair Phyllis Perkins (Union); R-R-R open;

County  76  presents  new  leadership  team,  project  goals  

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Communications-Glenda Bell (Faulkner); and Fundraising-Marcella Grimmett (Pulaski), co-chair Ouida Wright (Faulkner). Projects: Each project will have both a chairperson and a co-chair with a one-year term and a max of two terms for the chair. Term limits allow for change and provides the opportunity for new people to get a chance at a leadership role in a key element of the County 76 organization. A retreat in February is being planned to bring the chairpersons and the Leadership Team together to further define goals and direction. Advanced Training: MGs clamor for more education, the reason behind Advanced Training. This team works in tandem with a county program willing to host an advanced training class. The AT team will update web info and also have a packet available with updated forms and to-do lists. Faulkner County will host ‘Tomatoes’ in June, and Boone County has confirmed an August date. April, July, September, and November are open for other counties interested in hosting an

   

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County 76 is open to all Arkansas MGs with one active year of active service in their home county. The requirements for membership are to serve on one project and

to clock ten hours. It’s a great way to make an impact on Advanced

Training, PNG Leadership, and the state conference. Your County 76 Leadership Team is looking for your help to make 2014 another great year. Help us understand what the organization needs are and how “we”, everyone, can make them happen. I am looking forward to working with all and hope if you have ideas or comments you will speak up. We are out to make this the best Master Gardener Program possible. If you have suggestions or want more information about County 76, please email me at jtrich2@hotmail.com. John Richardson, C76 President

February  21-­‐23,  2014  Statehouse  Convention  Center  

Little  Rock  www.argardenshow.org  

President’s Message: Looking  at  the  road  ahead    

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About this time of year I get anxious to get outside and do almost anything that resembles gardening. The bluebirds are back …as well as the weeds. So spring cannot be too far off. During winter I dig through all of those new seed and plant catalogs looking for just the right mix for the garden and make my wish list. The list usually requires an area the size of Longwood Gardens to plant. Even with the area, trying to keep up with everything in the July heat would make me wonder what I was thinking in February. However, I love change and new things so here we go again this year. With this new year comes some change in County 76 with the election of a new leadership team, new project chairs and co-chairs. The projects have developed a budget and are in the process of developing goals for each project. Much like the seed catalogs, we are doing a lot of the things of the past and

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are excited to try some new “seeds of change” for our future. I am sure some will be exciting and some will be less. One thing is for sure, success requires all our

involvement so that we don’t have the July of the garden example. If the past is any indicator, you will step up and make it happen.

Needless to say we all owe a great deal of thanks for

the great job done by our

immediate past leadership team led by

Mimi. What a year with Alaska IMGC, 25th celebration, PNG Conference and State Conference! All were an unqualified success. This year will be less hectic but PNG, Flower and Garden Show, State in Texarkana and the Regional Conference in Baton Rouge are coming.

County  

76  has  m

any  gre

at  

opportu

nities  fo

r  you  to

 

learn  an

d  volunt

eer.  

John  Richardson,  County  76  President  

The  Arkansas  Flower  &  Garden  Show  is  dedicated  to  improving  the  lives  of  Arkansans  through  creating  greener  and  cleaner  surroundings.  Proceeds  from  the  Arkansas  Flower  &  Garden  Show  support  the  Greening  of  Arkansas  grant  program,  which  provides  grants  for  community  beautification  projects  throughout  Arkansas.  Over  $40,000  has  been  given  in  the  last  eight  years  to  communities  to  beautify  public  areas  such  as  parks,  community  entrances,  and  schools.  Proceeds  also  provide  educational  scholarships  in  horticulture  related  fields  to  students  in  Arkansas  colleges  and  universities.  

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Ah . . . the 2014 State Master Gardener Conference—“Gardening on the Edge!!” Awesome!! You won’t believe your ears or eyes. This Texarkana (twin cities) conference bodes to be one of the most exciting and informative conference events ever. There is so much of interest that I hardly know where to begin. In addition to a fabulous pre-conference tour there are innovative pre-conference mini-seminars including leveraging the knowledge and expertise of Best Buy techies who will patiently, simply, and willingly answer those modern-technical stuff questions you’ve always been afraid to ask.

Gourmet catering will be provided by a master chef who has created a spectacular menu. World-class speakers will inspire and enable us—renowned speakers such as Neil Sperry who are noted for their in-depth knowledge as well as entertaining presentation skills. No same-o same-o seminars here. Topics are refreshingly new and different facilitated by experts in their fields. Reserve early. They are bound to be standing-room only. Here are some of the differences that make this conference different.

SPONSORSHIP $30,000 and GROWING. An interview with Peggy Burson, Conference Vice-Chairwoman and Sponsorship Chair netted these golden nuggets: “My incredibly effective six-person committee has achieved so much. By joining the Texarkana Chamber of Commerce and creating a compelling conference brochure, we opened doors to potential individual and business sponsorships.” Why all this effort? Peggy says, “Because our goal is to offset the overall conference costs--which in turn reduces individual attendees’ costs to a minimum. We felt that after registration fees, travel, hotel, and meal expenses, it would be wonderful if we could meet our goal to keep the conference affordable. We have now met our first goal of raising $30,000.00 and now are hoping to make the conference even better.”

FUND-RAISING DINNER. On March 20th at 7 pm we will offer a limited-seating extravaganza dinner. The $75 cost will be rewarded with an evening to remember. Chef

State  MG  Conference  promises  networking  education,  and  even  some  mystery  awaits  By Grazzie Warbritton, Montgomery County

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Jim King, wine connoisseur, and owner of Vincent’s Fine Wines, Chef will provide a memorable five-course gourmet dinner with a matching wine for each course.

During each course, our chef will talk about the wine, and why he paired that particular wine for that course. The dinner will be held at “The Twisted Vine” which will be making its debut opening February 1. Tickets go on sale on February 1. (A portion will be tax deductible.)

MARKETS, MURALS, AND A MURDER TRIAL. One of the most

extraordinary aspects of this conference is the pre-conference tour on Wednesday, May 28. First stop is award-winning Farmers’

Market and Demonstration Garden. Lunch, featuring local fare served at the market, will be followed by a tour of the demonstration garden. Each tour participant will receive a goody bag of Howard County items. Next a tour of President Bill Clinton’s Childhood Home and Museum in Hope including a memorial garden planted to honor of Paul Klipsch, a Hope native who developed some of the world’s best audio speakers. Then comes a tour of the

Southwest Research Center showcasing meticulous methods used to test berries, melons, and tree fruits as well as ornamentals. Final stop is historic Washington State Park featuring a guided tour of some residences before dinner, served at the quaint, historic Williams Tavern where servers in historic attire will amaze your senses with delicious culinary delights. After dinner and dessert, tour

participants will attend (and participate in) a reenactment of an actual murder trial in the very same courthouse in the 1860’s.

SPECIAL EVENT Thursday, May 29 Following the morning of fascinating seminars,

midafternoon, busses will take you to Texarkana’s Arts & Historic District. En route see Ross Perot’s childhood home. State Line Avenue, marks the boundary between Texas and Arkansas. The itinerary includes: Perot Theatre, Scott Joplin Mural, Lindsey Railroad Museum, Ace of Clubs House, Discovery Place, and Regional History Museum. Silvermoon Theatre, Texarkana Car Museum, and Texarkana’s historical churches.

Registration Chair Teresa Lee Slack is making sure that registration runs smoothly!

Look for these friendly faces at the conference: L to R, Melanie Thornton, Jan Lavender, Hospitality Co-Chairs, and Judith White, Garden Tours Chair.

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This precious girl was all dressed up and ready for the 2013 Arkansas Flower & Garden Show. Have you signed on as a volunteer for the 2014 show at the Little Rock Convention Center February 21-23?

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A  while  back  I  read  an  article  in  Fine  Gardening  magazine  where  several  experts  from  across  the  country  were  asked  to  give  the  top  ten  plants  they  would  recommend  for  a  garden.    This  prompted  me  to  wonder  what  some  local  experts  might  rate  as  their  top  plants.    I  decided  to  keep  it  simple  and  only  asked  for  their  top  five  which  might  have  made  it  harder.    Most  passionate  gardeners  will  give  you  quite  a  list  when  you  ask  them  for  their  favorite  plant.    I  guess  it  is  a  little  bit  like  asking  a  parent  to  name  their  favorite  child.    To  get  started  I  emailed  Janet  Carson,  Horticulture  Specialist  with  U  of  A  Cooperative  Extension,  to  ask  if  she  would  share  her  list  with  us.    As  Master  Gardeners  most  of  us  think  of  Janet  as  the  expert  on  all  things  plant  

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related.    Janet’s  list  includes:      • Hellebores  species,  love  the  

early  blooms  and  ease  of  care  in  the  shade.    The  gold  collection  is  outstanding.      

• Rosemary,  herb  that  serves  double  duty,  ornamental  and  evergreen.      

• Lorapetalum,  shrub  with  great  blooms  and  lots  of  choices  in  size.      

• Gardenia,  love  the  fragrance  • Camellia  sasanqua,  an  

evergreen  shrub  with  blooms  in  winter  when  we  need  color.      

After  I  got  Janet’s  list  I  asked  three  of  our  very  own  Union  County  Master  Gardeners  to  participate,  Barbara  Smith,  Theresa  Moore  and  Charlotte  Abbott.    I  bet  you  will  agree  

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that  most  of  us  regard  these  three  as  experts  and  go  to  them  when  we  have  questions.      Charlotte  Abbott  had  a  hard  time  limiting  her  list  and  in  fact  several  of  her  five  are  categories  not  specific  plants!    We  will  forgive  her  for  being  so  passionate.      • Zinnia,  sun  annual,  short  

and  tall  varieties,  big  and  small  blooms,  fantastic  colors,  butterflies  love  them  and  deer  seem  to  leave  them  alone.      

• Sages  and  Salvias,  sun  perennials,  long  bloomers.      

What  are  the  top  five  plants  By Barbie Luther, Union County MG

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It is February and cold outside, not perfect weather for working out in the garden, most days even taking kitchen stuff to the compost requires bundling up. I confess, that to me, the next best thing to being in the garden is reading about gardening, and I am really in heaven in the spring and summer when I get to read about gardening while sitting in the garden! Cold February

weather is great for spending time indoors by the fire reading the garden books that were Christmas gifts. A couple of folks asked me for suggestions of what to get me for birthday and Christmas, my answer was a list of garden books I have been wanting. Between the two I think I got all of the books I had on the list! I have two read two: The Nonstop Garden by Stephanie Cohen and Jennifer Benner and The Layered Garden by David L. Culp. I can recommend both. They have great material and beautiful photographs which I admit are sometimes the most inspiring part of garden books. The Nonstop Garden even has ten simple design plans. I am almost finished with Rebecca Sweet’s Refresh Your Garden Design with Color, Texture & Form. The author gives lots of before and after shots and explains how the improvements were made. It is a pretty good resource for design but she also gives you lots of information on individual plants. Another thing about winter is that there are usually opportunities for garden seminars where we can hear good garden speakers and sometimes even purchase their books. I attended the North East

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Louisiana Master Gardeners Birds & Blooms event recently. Melinda Meyers spoke and also had her latest book, Small Space Gardening, available for purchase. You may be

familiar with Melinda as a contributing editor and columnist for Birds and Blooms magazine. At some point in the past, my house was added-on to and I have a pretty small backyard so this book seemed like a good one for me to invest in. I am well into it and finding that

she shares some tips I want to try. I am saving the two large hardback books from Christmas, Tracy DiSabato-Aust’s The Well Designed Mixed Garden and Plant-Driven Design by Scott Ogden and Lauren Springer Ogden until I have a few days, or at least a day to devote to nothing but reading. I heard Tracy Di-Sabato-Aust speak in 2003 at the International Master Gardener Conference in the Ohio River valley and her book had just come out so I have been looking forward to it for quite a while! Rather than standing at the window cursing the winter weather, let me encourage you to fix yourself something warm to drink and curl up in front of the fireplace with a good garden book. You can dream and scheme about what you want to do in the garden when spring finally arrives.

By Barbie Luther, Union County MG

A  gardener’s  winter  musings  

One of the books Luther is saving for a reading day.

The  March  Garden  Voice  will  include  additional  information  about  the  seminars  and  speakers  at  this  year’s  state  conference.  Registration  is  now  open  for  active  MGs  and  county  agents.  Early  registration  runs  February  22  to  March  14.  

Garland  County  MG  Lin  Johnson  showed  off  her  nametag  with  spades  showing  her  hours’  count.  When  MGs  clock  200  hours,  they  receive  a  yellow  t-­‐shirt  and  a  garden  spade.  The  MG  receives  a  spade  for  each  200  hours  and  earn  a  long  sleeve  blue  shirt  at  5  years  or  1,000  hours.  

How  does  your  county  celebrate  an  MG’s  commitment?  

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Recognized as a favorite plant in Southern landscapes, crape myrtles now face a disturbing pest problem in Arkansas. An import from Asia, the crape myrtle bark scale insect lives off plant sap. In large enough numbers, they can be fatal to the plant. Scale starts on a plant’s

underside, so when it appears and is seen on the top, the pests have been there a while. The greatest threats are that no nursery or species has been isolated, that the scale spreads quickly, and that home and commercial builders rely heavily on crape myrtle as a landscape plant. “Since being spotted in McKinney, Texas, in 2005 − a city that bills itself as ‘America’s Crape Myrtle City’ − the crape myrtle

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bark scale has been spreading at an alarming rate,” said Jim Robbins, professor and extension horticulture specialist-Ornamentals, for the Division of Agriculture. “In

2012, it was spotted in northern Louisiana in Shreveport and last year in Houma,

in the southern part of the state.” The insect has also been confirmed in the Memphis area in Germantown. Robbins said there’s heightened concern about the spread of this insect, considering the popularity of crape myrtles in landscapes across the U.S. Researchers in Arkansas and Texas are working to

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determine what cultivars might be vulnerable to this insect, and find solid control methods. Fortunately, crape myrtle bark scale is easy to identify, since it’s the first and only known bark scale to occur on crape myrtles. Adult females look like white or gray felt encrustations and each is about 2 mm in length. Under the gray felt covers, gardeners may discover dozens of pink eggs or crawlers. “Based on our experience so far, this insect is not going to be easy to control,” said John Hopkins, extension urban entomologist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. You can find best practices on how to treat the scale in the FSA7086 fact sheet soon on the pest called “Crapemyrtle Bark Scale: A New Insect Pest.” Ask your county extension office for FSA7086 or find it online at www.uaex.edu.

Crape  Myrtle  Bark  Scale:  Arkansas’  newest  pest    

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Advanced Training class. Communication: This team is charged with letting county programs know what is going on in the organization. Updating the Speakers Bureau is underway as well as developing social media guides and guidelines for consistent branding for the state MG program. First and foremost, the Communications team will focus on increasing awareness at the county MGs. Recruit�Retain�Recognize: This project adds the Fellowship & Recognition factor. State awards

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winners will now receive a pre-loaded Visa© card with amounts determined by the award category. They will also compile a document

on how counties handle RRR and from that develop guidelines of best practices. Another goal is ‘Recruiting’ news releases for county programs’ use in

advertising to prospects. Quarterly Meetings: Because it can be a long drive for MGs from outside central Arkansas, the leadership team is considering the use of video conferencing at C76’s quarterly meetings. Many

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of the projects get most of their face time at these sessions. At the January meeting, projects developed goals and action items for 2014. We really feel that an educational piece is key to all master gardener growth, so each meeting will include an educational component. (See points from her in-depth report on crape myrtle bark scale above.) Janet tells us that Arkansas is far ahead of many states because she has the C76 team to help her and the staff. County 76 members want to help make your county program more effective and make Arkansas the envy of all Master Gardeners.  

County 76 from page 1  

Crape Myrtle bark scale was first spotted in 2004 in Dallas.  

The next C76 meetings are April

29 and July 22, with the

October date to be determined.

Any MG with one year of active

participation in your county

program can attend.

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Editor’s  Note:  With  the  USCES  centennial  anniversary  in  2014,  Garden  Voice  will  mark  this  significant  occasion  with  excerpts  from  “Farther  Down  the  Road,”  an  e-­‐book  on  the  history  of  the  UAEX  by  Richard  Maples.  

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When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, many Arkansas farm families were barely living above a subsistence level. Suddenly they were asked to support the war effort at home and abroad by producing a surplus of food and fiber. They turned to the Extension Service for leadership and advice. Extension workers taught rural and urban citizens how to preserve and conserve food. They also supported organizations such as Red Cross

and worked tirelessly to raise money by selling war bonds and war savings stamps. Armed with leaflets with titles such as “Choose Your Food Wisely” and “Do You Know Cornmeal,” agents set out to teach the state’s women how to safely prepare and preserve food. Community canneries were set up in ���33 counties, and home demonstration kitchens were set

The Extension Service’s role during World War I

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up in 68 communities. The women who followed the agents’ directions canned more than

420,000 containers of food valued at $94,400 (in 1917 dollars). It was estimated that Extension wartime programs influenced another 70,000 women and girls, rural and urban, to can more than 1.6 million containers of fruits and vegetables and to prepare and store more than 78,000 pounds of dried fruits and vegetables and almost 21,000 pounds of brined vegetables. In her 1918 annual report, State Home Demonstration Agent Connie Bonslagel commented on the willingness of Arkansas farm women and their families to sacrifice for the war effort: “Farm women, with their well-known habits of sacrifice already formed, fell to without a murmur of dissent, without a moment of hesitation. Instead of planning new wardrobes, our clothing specialists held old clothes clinics in which methods in cleaning, remodeling and renovating garments were demonstrated. Food production,

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food preservation, food selection and preparation combined to form a huge food conservation program that became the order of the day.

Studies of the food needs of the family were made, and overeating became an act of disloyalty. Arkansas ranked first in the amount of sugar saved per capita during the war period. This savings was brought about in farm homes where sugar substitutes were easily available. Meat and wheat substitutes were also grown and used extensively by farm families. About 72,000 Arkansans, many

of them farm boys, either joined or were drafted during World War I. Several county agents chose to enlist in the armed

services, even though the federal government considered their work on the farm the equivalent of active service. The agents left behind helped the men still on the farm feed their families, the nation and the world. Unlike farmers in states where vast tracts of forest and grassland were cleared to increase production, most Arkansas farmers worked to increase yields on the land they had, “making two blades of grass grow where one grew before.” Farmers in the state produced enough food and feed crops such as oats, rye, grain sorghum and peanuts to be as self-reliant as they had ever been. And for the first time ever for most farmers, cotton was priced high enough to be profitable. County agents urged farmers not to overproduce cotton and drive down the price, and for the most part, they didn’t.

The Extension Service mobilized farm families to produce more food and fiber during World War I. (Photo from Great War Primary Documents Archive.)

UAEX continued on page 7  

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Extension  -­‐  Continued  on  p.  4  

Extension-­‐  From  p.  4  

Dfdkal;kdflka  

 Birthday  from  page  1  

Next  month:  The  Roaring  20s  and  Political  Infighting  

UAEX continued on page 4  

UAEX from page 6  

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Thursday, May 29, 2014 – Mini Seminars & Demonstrations @ 10, 11, 2, & 3 “IPhones, I Pads, Tablets, & Smart Phones” Best Buy geeks & nerds The Tech Fair will feature technology experts, geeks, and nerds who will answer all of your questions about those high tech gadgets everyone seems to have these days: how to get those photos moved from phone to laptop, use your phone camera, add/delete apps to phone or tablet, do internet search via phone, and utilize features you may not realize your phone and tablet have. “Gardening & Nature Photography” Mark Patterson, camera and photography expert

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last week at the Convention Center & Hilton Garden Inn. We met with the Chef Jim King, and had the most awesome job of “tasting” all his creations for our conference. He told us when we arrived that we were in for a great experience, and that was an understatement. Chef Jim shared how he uses only the best and freshest products, aspires to the highest quality of standards, and with the vendor knowledge gained from years of experience coupled with service standards of the Hilton, he is providing meals that offer a “food experience.” A “food experience” was exactly what we had as Chef Jim served up his creation of Classic Waldorf Chicken Salad with walnuts, Citrus Salad with Tuna, and Prime Beef with caramelized onion demi-glaze,

Seminars  and  Demonstrations  at  State  MG  Conference  

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will demonstrate SLR cameras and point and shoot cameras. VENDORS: The 2014 Master Gardeners State Convention will include approximately twenty-five vendors offering a variety of items

for sale at the trade show. The trade show will be open to Master Gardeners on Thursday, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. and will open to the public 3:00 - 6:00 p.m. Friday's trade show will be open

to Master Gardeners and the public 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. At least five hundred Master Gardeners are expected to attend the convention. FOOD (cuisine): The food committee had a wonderful evening

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Unfortunately for many Arkansas farmers, the relative prosperity of the war years ended soon after Armistice Day. Many Arkansas farmers faced financial ruin in the months following “The War to End All Wars.” Almost immediately there was no place to sell their surplus food and fiber. The world- wide market for cotton, grown on about40 percent of the state’s crop acreage, collapsed. Demand for livestock also shrunk, leaving many producers with no regular sources of income. Many farmers lost their land along with their built-up equity. Some had to refinance their debts into long-term mortgages with low interest rates. Farm credit was greatly expanded, in part because many families were willing to go into debt rather than give up the

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higher standard of living they had become accustomed to during the war. Post-war inflation and the loss of markets for their crops left farm families with less buying power. Farm wives, in particular, had to use their ingenuity to maintain their standard of living. Instead of buying new clothes and time-saving appliances or paying someone to update their homes and landscapes, they had to learn to repair, remodel and modernize. By 1920 there were 189 white home demonstration clubs across the state with 2,581 members, and there were 196 black home demonstration clubs with 2,557 members. Because there was no money to hire professional home demonstration agents, the Extension Service increasingly called on volunteers to help with

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training, a trend that stimulated rural leadership development in the state. The number of county agricultural agents eventually returned to pre-war levels, but their focus changed to meet changing economic conditions. The agents switched much of their attention from the production side of farming to the business side. Throughout the 1920s, agents’ plans of work emphasized record keeping and analysis, cooperative marketing and economic production of crops and livestock. At the beginning of fiscal year 1920, the Extension staff consisted of 131 males involved in agricultural work and 94 women doing home demonstration work. Almost all were on full-time appointments.

Seminars continued on page 8  

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Master Gardener & Public Garden Event Calendar

February 8 Jefferson County Home & Garden Seminar & Show, Pine Bluff Convention Center, 8:00 am - 3:00 pm.

Media personality Chris Olsen and Garvan Woodland Garden’s Bob Byers will be the keynote speakers at the 28th annual Home & Garden Show & Seminar. This year’s show features more than 130 booths and fun for the entire family, including a kids/teens corner, and door prizes, including a quilt valued at $600. How-to sessions include building rain barrels, home security, and terrarium building.

10 Gardening by the Moon: When to Plant, Prune, and Harvest, Garvan Woodland Gardens 9:30-11 a.m. Free for members; $10 for nonmembers. Preregistration required. For more information or to register, visit garvangardens.org or call 501-262-9300. Join Associate Executive Director Bob Byers to discuss the theory behind the Farmer’s Almanac calendar and how the phases of the moon can help you create a productive garden.

14-16 Wildwood’s LANTERNS! Festival, Wildwood Park for the Arts, Little Rock. LANTERNS! Celebrates the first full moon of the lunar year with a profusion of lanterns, entertainment, gourmet treats, and warm beverages. Lighted walking paths and firepits along the lake take visitors into winter woodlands to discover vistas representing a variety of eras, cultures, and geographical locations. $10 adults, $5 ages 6-12; ages 5 and under free. Visit wildwoodpark.org or call 501-821-7275 for more information.

15 – March 15 – Daffodil Days at Garvan Woodland Gardens. More than 200,000 yellow and white daffodils in various shades are scattered throughout the gardens. Open daily 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. $10 adults, $5 ages 6-12; ages 5 and under free. For more information, visit garvangardens.org or call 501-262-9300.

21-23 Arkansas Flower & Garden Show: 'Gardening- That’s Entertainment!’ Statehouse Convention Center, Little Rock.

March 8 – Union County Master Gardener’s Dirt Friends Festival. G . Michael Shoup, Antique Rose Emporium, and

Janet Carson, Horticultural Specialist, U of A Extension and Research. 27-30 – National Daffodil Convention, DoubleTree Hotel in Little Rock. The convention includes international

speakers and central Arkansas tours. Learn more at www.arkansasdaffodilsociety.org. Speakers include Janet Carson, Chris Olsen, and Brent of Brent & Becky’s Bulbs.

May 28-31 – State MG Conference, “Gardening on the Edge;” Texarkana, TX.

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Scottish Salmon, Portobello Mushroom Napoleon (stacked vegetable entrée), desserts and side dishes. Every dish was “melt in your mouth” delicious. We left happy happy happy!!! The Thursday night event at the Texarkana Country Club will also be a special treat, as it is a beautiful venue and their food is always superb. We hope you get your registration in early, because

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we have a great conference awaiting you here in our twin cities. Says conference-chairman, Sue

Ellen Letterman, “The 2014 conference has given us the opportunity to raise community awareness of our Master Gardener Program." I have learned so much about the generosity of businesses

as well as individuals in Texarkana. Our city is looking forward to welcoming the Arkansas Master Gardeners next May as we showcase Texarkana and its many treasures. Come join us in the

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“Twin Cities” where we “Garden on the Edge!”

COMMMITTEES: 2014 State Conference Chair List Chairpersons: Pre-tour, Speakers, Special Events, Sponsorship, Sue Ellen Letterman and Peggy Burson Decorations, Kathy Boyles Food, Pam Williamson Goody Bags, Una Mae Hospitality, Melanie Thornton & Jan Lavender Silent Auction, Una Mae Presley Garden Tours, Judith White Trade Show, Tommie Ayers.

Seminars from page 7  

More  2014  Conference

 

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of  the  2014  

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.