June 18, 2017

Volume 18, Issue 6 Greene Garden News

Greene County Master Gardeners Newsletter

Special Interest:

• Plant It Forward Player: Holly Fletcher

• June Birthdays: June 1:

Debbie Walters

June 28:

Tacie Huffman

June 29:

Libby Christie • Refreshments: Libby

Christie & Nancy Rogers

Individual Highlights:

Pres. Notes/TR 2

Minutes 3

Projects/Com. 4

Peril 5

Member Pics 8

Greene County CES

201 W. Court St., Rm. 205

Federal Building

Paragould, AR 72450

Phone (870) 236-6921

Fax (870) 239-6328

2017 Officers: President:

Connie Whitman

Vice President:

Bonnie Hamilton

Secretary:

Libby Christie

Treasurer:

Holly Fletcher

Five Greene County Master

Gardeners attended the State

Conference May 21-23 at the

Doubletree Hotel in Little Rock

hosted by Pulaski County Master

Gardeners. Members attending

from Greene were Brenda Barr,

Ann Bowers, Bonnie Hamilton,

Cora Flanery, and Linda Glickert.

Old State House

State Conference: Gardening a Capital Idea

The Opening Awards Reception

was held at the Old State

House, the very first Arkansas

MG project. Our Greene

Garden News won 2017

Newsletter of the Year for 50

members or less. Bonnie

accepted the award for Greene!

Dinner followed at the

Robinson Center where guests

enjoyed the opening speaker,

Jane Hankins, introduced by her

husband Craig O’Neill, THV11

news anchor, who presented, “I

Have Magical Creatures in My

Garden”.

The following day was filled

with half day garden tours and

classes, and ended with dinner,

a Sustainable Feast at Heifer

International.

The conference concluded on

Tuesday with announcements

and presentations by keynote

speaker, former HGTV’s

EricaGlasener Goldstein “A

Passionfor the Gardening Life”;

and closing speaker Jim

Collins, “Reflections of a

Newly Retired Horticulturist”.

Award Recognitions and details

of the 2018 State Master

Gardener Conference in Ft.

Smith were given. The next

conference will be hosted by

River Valley Master Gardeners

in Crawford and Sebastian

Counties Thurs. May 31-Sat.

June 2, 2018.

(L-R) Bonnie Hamilton’s

sister, Jo Maack, curator at

the Old State House Museum,

Bonnie, & Linda Glickert

(Left) Bonnie Hamilton accepting newsletter recognition

Greene Garden News Page 2 of 7

So many workdays, so many

projects! Members have been

very busy accumulating hours

and keeping those little hands

dirty! The important things to

remember are… we’re having

fun and getting them done!

Please remember to create new

or updated plant lists for plants

added to projects and give to

Martha at the next meeting so

she can make plant markers for

you. This is an important part

of keeping our projects

educational for anyone

stopping by to admire and

Presidents Notes inquire about our plants.

Taking time to make plant lists

is also work hours.

I recently had a call from

someone asking about the

beautiful “Snow Lady” Shasta

daisies in the Greene County

Courthouse beds. The lady

just loved them, wanted to

know where she could get

some, and had not been able to

find them anywhere! These

beautiful daisies were donated

to the courthouse by our very

own, Ann Bowers. People do

notice pretty flowers and

markers too.

Connie

2017 Lifetime Members

We have two Lifetime

Members to recognize this

month: Joy Gatlin and Martha

Chiles! Congratulations and

thank you for 15 wonderful

years!

(L-R) Brenda Barr, Cora Flanery, Linda Glickert, Bonnie

Fessler, & Wanda Howerton, Daylily Tour June 13th

Celebrating 2017 Lifetime Members

We have two Lifetime Members to recognize this month: Joy

Gatlin and Martha Chiles who started the program in 2002!

Joy Gatlin

Joy has served as Secretary, Rainbow Garden Coordinator, Plant Sale Coordinator; served

on Sunshine, Bylaws, Nominating, and Advanced Training Committees, and

volunteered for the Fair Flower and Plant Entries Booth during

Fair Week.

Martha Chiles

Martha has served as Project Coordinator for City Hall,

served on Nominating and Plant Marker Committees; and volunteered for the Fair Flower and Plant Entries Booth during

Fair Week.

Both are very active in our program and continue to serve! Congratulations and thank you

for 15 wonderful years!

Treasurers Report FNB Beginning Balance 5/01/17--5/31/17 1720.00 Debits 5/5 Plant Sale Change 150.00 5/23 K. Graber Reimbursement for craft supplies 44.99 Credits 5/8 Plant Sale Change Deposit 150.00 5/8 Plant Sale Funds 908.50 Ending Balance 2573.64 Outstanding Checks 3/31 Carolyn Palmer 27.10 Checkbook Balance 2546.54 Less Dedicated Funds-Kennemore Donation 239.99 Total Funds Available 2305.55

Respectfully submitted 6/14/17

Holly Fletcher, Treasurer

Events Calendar

June 24: ATC: FULL

Russellville, Raised Bed Vegetable

Gardening

Jun. 27: GCMG Meeting, GC

Library Legacy Room, 6pm

July 14: ATC: FULL

Hot Springs, Landscape Design

Aug. 18-21: Annuals to

Perennials, Batesville-Mentors &

Mentees

Sept. 26-27: PNG Leadership,

Ferndale

Oct 8-14: MG Appreciation

Week

Nov. 18: Special Fall Event with

Chris Olsen

NO JUNE or JULY BBL

due to children’s

programs at the library

Sweet, Fragrant Common

Milkweed fills the air for

Monarch Butterflies

Plant Marker in GCCH

Memorial Bed

Events Calendar

June 24: ATC: FULL

Russellville, Raised Bed Vegetable

Gardening

Jun. 27: GCMG Meeting, GC

Library Legacy Room-Plant Swap

5:30-6:30 pm. Meeting-6:30

July 14: ATC: FULL

Hot Springs, Landscape Design

Aug. 18-21: Annuals to

Perennials, Batesville-Mentors &

Mentees

Sept. 26-27: PNG Leadership,

Ferndale

Oct 8-14: MG Appreciation

Week

Nov. 18: Special Fall Event with

Chris Olsen

NO JUNE or JULY BBL

due to Children’s

Programs at the library

Sweet, Fragrant Common

Milkweed fills the air for

Monarch Butterflies

Greene Garden News Page 3 of 8

Greene County Master

Gardener Monthly Meeting

May 23, 2017

Chateau on the Ridge

Connie called the meeting to

order at 6:30 pm. This meeting

was a potluck and there were

many delicious items. Thanks

to Kathy Graber for arranging

our meeting room at Chateau.

Tyler McDaniel’s mother,

Shadow Innskeep, was

presented with the Greene

County Master Gardener

scholarship in the amount of

$500.00. Tyler was out of

town, so his mother accepted

the award in his absence.

(L-R) Shadow Inskeep &

Connie Whitman

2017 MG Scholarship

Recipient Tyler McDaniel plans to attend ASU in the

fall and major in Wildlife

Management

Congratulations Tyler!

Minutes of May 23, 2017

Kathy introduced Dr. Kim

Pittcock from ASU who

presented a power point on

Shade Gardening. Dr. Kim is a

horticulture professor who

teaches many other courses.

One of her projects at ASU is

the Display Garden which is

95% planted and can be toured

by contacting the Craighead

County Master Gardeners. She

manages the contract that

grows for the campus and

Nature Center from a 3000 sq.

ft. greenhouse.

Dr. Pittcock presented a review

of perennials, annuals, ferns,

shrubs and small trees. She

will hold a clearance sale,

tentatively, next Wed. during

the day at ASU. She’ll send a

firm date and time to Kathy.

Dr. Kim Pittcock, ASU

As there were no additions or

corrections to the Minutes and

Treasurer’s Report, they were

accepted as printed in the

newsletter.

Having just returned from the

State Meeting, Linda Glickert

commented when people at the

state conference heard she was

from Greene County, they told

her how fabulous the Masters

for Monarchs Advanced

Training Class was last

October.

There were lots of birthdays this

month: Donna Jones, Martha Chiles, Pauletta Tobey and

Hannah Riggs. As today was

Martha’s birthday, everyone

sang Happy Birthday to her.

The Executive Board

recommended voting to

sanction the Spring Gardening

Seminar as a project. Linda

Glickert seconded the motion.

15 voted in favor of the project,

0 voted against it. Motion

approved.

A follow-up for the Spring Plant

Sale was provided by coordinators Joy Gatlin and Ken

Fletcher. They felt it was

successful with a steady flow of

customers. As Joy and Ken are

stepping down as coordinators,

Ken thought suggestions for

next year should be presented to

the new coordinators and

committee. Most of the plants

sold due to a bigger variety; and

herbs, always popular, included

many kinds except for rosemary

and dill. For crafts, stepping

stones were popular, and most

of them sold as well.

The Rain Barrel Workshop May

9, led by Linda Glickert was fun

and everyone had a great time.

Libby Christie provided barrels

and thanked Nancy Rogers, Ken

Fletcher, and Richard Yeazel

for hauling them on short

notice. Linda stated that

Brittany Singleton, U of A, felt

our group made it easy, but we

were all very happy to have her

here to help guide us.

State Conference comments

were shared from Bonnie

Hamilton, Linda Glickert, Cora

Flanery and Ann Bowers that

tours, classes and speakers were

fabulous and overall, it was a

wonderful conference. There

was discussion about Heifer

International as a popular tour,

and the 2017 Newsletter Award

was shown to everyone.

The 2018 conference, May 31-

June 2 will be in Fort Smith at

the Convention Center and will

celebrate Fort Smith’s

bicentennial. Guests may stay at

the Doubletree and Marriot

Hotels, but no one can register

before a year in advance.

A Fall Craft Fair update was

given by lead, Linda Glickert. It

will be the first Saturday in

November, the 4th. She

questioned whether to do it on

our own or participate at the

community center. She would

like everyone to share ideas and

start getting donations ready.

Holly Fletcher suggested it

should be at the community

center and that Christmas and

wooden items would sell well.

Craft items left from the plant

sale could also be donated to the

fair.

Connie Whitman provided

information on the Special Fall

Event with Chris Olsen. The

registration fee will be $15 per

person. There will be a book

sale and signing by Chris and

County 76 will be invited as a

vendor. Chris’ topic will be

Drab to Fab and the date is

Saturday, November 18th.

Connie shared a flyer she had

been working on for the

seminar.

PNG Leadership Training Early

Registration starts in June. The

Executive Board recommended

(Continued Page 7)

Greene Garden News Page 4 of 7

Rainbow Garden: Joy Gatlin & Richard Yeazel Chairs: The Rainbow Garden is planted with our lantana on the bottom tier. The plants are thriving with all the rain we have had, and most are blooming really well. The petunias we planted at the entrance of the Children’s’ Home are in full bloom and beautiful. We planted 2 flats in that area and it makes a wonderful bouquet of purple blooms for everyone to see as they drive onto the campus.

GC Fairgrounds: Connie Whitman & Nancy Rogers Chairs: More cleanup work is needed, and things are blooming all over!

Centennial Park: Bonnie Hamilton & Marilyn White Chairs: I planted chocolate mint and marigolds at the park.

Main Street Caboose: Tacie Huffman & Jean Crossno Chairs: The spring weeding has been finished and the Caboose gardens are looking great! Watering is the summer project and is well under way.

GC Courthouse: Nancy Rogers & Patti Roberts Chairs: Hoping to meet with the judge concerning the ivy being removed. The Memorial bed looks nice. A little clean up and pulled a few weeds, but not enough is needed to call a workday yet. Nothing new in the urns because the pansies are still pretty, but will replace when needed and the hot temperatures arrive.

South Sign: Brenda Barr & Pauletta Tobey Chairs: Work has been done. Weeds pulled, dead heading and along the edging cleaned. Everything looks good.

Spring Gardening Seminar: Linda Glickert, Lead: While it may seem a

Project Updates ways off, plans are progressing. Mark your calendars - it's going to take all of us! Friday March 16, 2018! Time: 10:00 am- 1:00 pm. So we have the date, the place - the 2 rooms upstairs at the community center, the theme - The Natural State Goes Native, and our first speaker is confirmed - Janet! One more time before retirement! I'm still researching and making calls to locate our other 2 speakers. One said - "Oh, I can't plan that far ahead." Really? Your committee is Linda, Libby, Bonnie, Nancy, and Joy.

Spring Plant Sale: Plans

pending committee meeting.

GC Library: Sue Gilmartin &

Linda Glickert Chairs: No

report.

GC Museum: Linda Glickert & Wanda Howerton Chairs: The Museum was in wonderful shape for the car show recently.

They put down the mulch and added a few more annuals since ours hadn't really taken off yet. The board has not fully decided on the treatment for the south side of the building yet. That being the case I did take them the Moses in a Boat plants I'd gotten for them. They were getting leggy waiting. Between Martha and me, we now have plant markers ready to label plants.

Bland Baseball Park: Kathy Graber & Sue Gilmartin Chairs: We have planted all the flowers needed at the Bland Ball Park; weeded, pruned and now it’s just keeping things pretty. MG Sign has been added.

Historical Courthouse Herb Garden: Libby Christie &

Nancy Rogers Chairs: No

report.

Airport: Kathy Graber &

Tabitha McFadden Chairs: I

planted 2 flats of marigolds

around the crepe myrtles. It

adds a little color to those beds.

East Sign: Pauletta Tobey & Dr.

James Laird Chairs: The sweet

potato vines are beginning to look

good and the mums are blooming

for color.

Trellis Garden: Dr. Laird & Pauletta Tobey Chairs: The daylilies are blooming and colorful. The black eyed Susan’s should be blooming in a week or so.

Committee Comments Sunshine: Joy Gatlin, Lead,

& Cora Flanery: Our Sunshine

Committee continues to bring

cheer for members

birthdays, and Get Wells if any

of our members are sick. We

have sent cards to some of our

former members and they always

appreciate us remembering them.

Scrapbook: Carolyn Palmer,

Lead: Need articles and

pictures.

Plant Markers: Martha

Chiles, Lead: Need lists.

Membership: Connie

Whitman, Lead: Promote,

Promote!

Publicity: Sue Gilmartin

Lead: June Premiere Magazine

features Joy Gatlin & Plant Sale.

Hours Management: Patti

Roberts, Lead: Project chairs

are doing well with scheduling

work days so all the GCMGs have

a chance to participate in the

beautification of the sanctioned

projects. Most hours for the past

5 months have been posted in a

timely manner. Little Rock & our

Extension office appreciate the

prompt posting. Remember

attending the monthly meeting is

just as important in maintaining

MG status. We here in Greene

County have an excellent

attendance record. Keep up the

good work & thank you Program

Chair for great speakers that

help us in learning and knowing

more about our county.

(L-R) Nancy Rogers, Marilyn

White, GCFG May 15

Cora Flanery, Rainbow

Garden May 16

Colorful additions to Flag

Pole Bed above & Entrance

below, Bland Baseball Park

May 15

Greene Garden News Page 5 of 8

LAST FEBRUARY, MONARCH BIOLOGISTS BREATHED A COLLECTIVE SIGH OF RELIEF when their Mexican colleagues announced that the greatest number of butterflies in five years had made it to the country, where the vast majority of North America’s migratory monarchs spend the winter. Less than two weeks later, in early March, their relief turned to dismay when a devastating storm pummeled the monarchs’ mountain sanctuaries. The storm’s fierce winds toppled an unprecedented number of the oyamel firs monarchs depend on for survival. Many butterflies froze in place on the trees, while countless others were buried beneath a thick coat of ice. Estimates of monarch losses ranged from 3 percent of some colonies to 50 percent of others, and in spring, the number of butterflies returning to the United States—tallied by the citizen science project Journey North—approached historic lows. The storm was just another reminder of the increasing peril monarchs face in their winter home in Mexico. At the end of October, like clockwork, the butterflies arrive in central Mexico’s Transvolcanic Belt, a chain of steep, fir-clad peaks that

Peril at Journey’s End Fluttering down for the winter from as far as southern Canada,

monarch butterflies face growing threats in their Mexican mountain sanctuaries by Janet Marinelli span some 600 miles from the

Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. The majority of monarchs overwinter on just a dozen of these peaks in an isolated area northwest of Mexico City protected as the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. In the reserve’s cool, thin air between 9,500 and 10,800 feet, butterflies huddle together by the millions on the firs, whose dense, dark-green canopies serve as both an umbrella, shielding monarchs from rain, sleet and snow, and a blanket, providing a microclimate that is up to 12 degrees F warmer than surrounding open areas and prevents them from freezing. On warm winter days, as sunlight strikes the oyamels, rivers of orange and black butterflies swoop down the mountainsides in search of water.

Two decades ago, about a billion butterflies fluttered down to Mexico from as far as southern Canada, but since then, the number arriving in the reserve has declined by more than 80 percent. Researchers recorded the lowest population ever during the winter of 2013-2014, when only about 25 million butterflies made it. “If the population had been that low last winter, the storm would have been a disaster,” says biologist Karen Oberhauser, head of the University of Minnesota’s Monarch Lab and co-chair of the Monarch Joint Venture, a partnership of more than 50 federal and state agencies, universities and nongovernmental groups—including the National Wildlife Federation—that works to study and protect monarch butterflies.

Reserve at Risk The precipitous plunge in monarch numbers is blamed on a combination of destructive factors. During the spring and summer breeding season, a dramatic loss of milkweeds (the species’ only host plants) has limited monarchs’ ability to reproduce—especially across the

U.S. Midwest, where herbicide-intensive agriculture has wiped out tens of millions of acres of milkweed. “The majority of the world’s monarchs are produced by milkweeds in the Corn Belt,” Oberhauser points out. Chip Taylor, director of Monarch Watch and a biologist at the University of Kansas, says that during the past decade, farmers in that region have plowed under an area the size of Indiana. “In much of the Corn Belt,” he says, “farming is now from road to road, with very little habitat for any wildlife remaining.” In addition, scientists suspect that large numbers of monarchs die during migration, possibly due to lack of nectar plants in fall, when single butterflies as light as paper clips can travel up to 3,000 miles and need nectar to fuel the trip. Yet it is during winter—when tens of millions of monarchs are packed into a small geographic area—that the population as a whole is at its most vulnerable. According to Sweet Briar College biologist Lincoln Brower, who first visited the Mexican sanctuaries in 1977, this winter habitat today “is the most imperiled it has ever been.” For several decades, large-scale, illegal deforestation have For several decades, large-scale illegal deforestation wreaked

Monarchs cluster on an oyamel fir in Mexico’s Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, where their numbers have dropped by more than 80%.

wreaked havoc with the monarch’s winter home. Mexican scientists estimated the rate of forest loss in the reserve at between 2 and 5 percent a year, far exceeding the rate of reforestation and natural forest regeneration. Today, most of the majestic, old-growth oyamels are gone, and monarchs must roost in young trees that provide less protection from the elements.

New Logging Worries While destructive small-scale logging continued in recent years, illegal clear-cutting seemed to be under control. But in 2015, a local environmentalist discovered an extensive new clear-cut in the Sierra Chincua, one of the most important monarch sanctuaries. According to Brower and other biologists who documented the damage in American Entomologist, 25 acres were razed in one of the few areas of the reserve where mature forest remained. The logging is particularly worrisome, they say, because it occurred at a location where monarchs gather before heading

north as winter wanes. Brower worries even more, however, about a decision by Mexican authorities to permit (Continued Page 6)

Dead monarchs lie in snow the day after a devastating storm battered the butterflies’ Mexican mountain reserve last March. As climate changes, such extreme weather events are becoming more frequent.

Page 6 of 8 Greene Garden News

(Continued Peril, Page 6) “salvage” logging of downed trees inside the reserve following last spring’s storm. As this issue went to press in October 2016, trucks had hauled out “thousands and thousands of logs,” he said, and were scheduled to continue until the end of the month when the reserve would open for tourism. Brower calls this salvage logging operation “more damaging to the monarchs’ overwintering area than anything that has happened in the past.” In another disturbing development, the country’s largest mining conglomerate, Grupo México, has decided to move forward with plans to reopen a sprawling mine that snakes beneath the monarchs’ rugged mountain sanctuaries near the town of Angangueo. Among other things, scientists worry that the huge volumes of water needed to extract copper and other metals from the ore could dry up springs crucial to the survival of oyamels and that resulting toxic wastewater could pollute the water sources monarchs rely on. At the same time monarch habitat is degrading, the threat from severe weather is growing. The storm last March followed even more extreme weather events in 2002, 2004 and 2010. In 2002, an estimated 500 million monarchs were wiped out—more than this year’s entire winter population of about 150 million. As climate change intensifies, the situation is expected to get worse. An analysis by Oberhauser and Town Peterson of the University of Kansas, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, projects that winter precipitation will increase, and with it, the risk that butterflies will be exposed to the deadly one-two punch of wet weather followed by freezing temperatures. A Changing Climate While winter storms have always lashed these mountains, they are particularly worrisome today, scientists say, as the number of butterflies reaching Mexico has dwindled. A study published in Scientific Reports last spring

concludes that if the U.S. government fails in an ambitious plan to restore habitat across the monarch’s breeding range, there is a “substantial probability” that during the next two decades the number of butterflies will fall so low that a single storm could bring an end to the migration. Already, the oyamel firs monarchs rely on are suffering from hotter, drier conditions in spring as a result of climate change, and scientists say the situation will worsen. According to research published in Forest Ecology and Management, global warming is likely to shrink suitable habitat for the tree species by 69 percent within 15 years. If greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise rapidly, 87.6 percent of the habitat will no longer meet the oyamel’s needs by 2060. Bold Rescue Plan In response to the crisis, Mexican scientists are pinning their hopes on a bold plan to move oyamels progressively higher up the mountainsides in a race to save the tree—and the butterfly migration that depends on it. “We have to act now,” says the plan’s architect, forest geneticist Cuauhtémoc Sáenz-Romero of the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, “Later will be too late because the trees will be dead or too weak to produce seeds in enough quantity for large reforestation programs.” As a first step, Sáenz-Romero and his colleagues last summer planted a few hundred oyamel seedlings at an elevation of 11,286 feet, where conditions suitable for the tree are expected by 2030. With the likelihood of catastrophic habitat decline just a few decades away, the small trial planting will need to be followed soon by a massive effort to move the fir to even higher altitudes. Sáenz-Romero expects surrounding communities that survive on monarch-based ecotourism to do the actual planting, with assistance from foreign governments and private organizations. The end of the monarch migration, he notes, would be particularly tragic for local people “who would lose their only chance to make a decent living” that also safeguards the reserve’s forest.

A bigger challenge than tree planting, he says, will be convincing skeptics that this “assisted migration” project is essential to oyamel survival. At a time when invasive plants and animals pose one of the gravest threats to natural areas, some ecologists remain wary of moving a species to a habitat where it is not native. Yet attitudes are changing quickly as the implications of climate change become clear. “As an ecologist, I’m nervous about assisted migration of the oyamel,” Oberhauser says. But she believes “it is an important part of our toolkit when a species is faced with the total loss of its habitat.” Most other scientists agree—with an important caveat: “This longer-term approach is needed,” says Scott Black, executive director of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and Monarch Joint Venture co-chair. “But if the Mexican government does not stem logging and deal with mining, there may be no monarchs to move uphill by 2030.” End of Migration? According to Sáenz-Romero and his colleagues, the oyamel could completely run out of room in the reserve by 2090. In that case, scientists may consider planting the trees at higher altitudes on loftier volcanoes southeast of Mexico City, called “smoking mountains” by native peoples. Small groups of monarchs have been spotted near these peaks, including around the impressive, 17,800-foot Popocatépetl, which regularly belches plumes of ash and lava. Yet biologists fear that smaller expanses of forest in these areas, along with a lack of protected status, would make it difficult for large butterfly colonies to develop. Meanwhile, some eastern monarchs already have stopped migrating to Mexico, instead spending the winter in warm coastal locations in the southern United States. “If a few monarchs have figured out that they don’t need to go all the way to Mexico, how long will it be before the rest of them do?” asks University of Georgia biologist Andy Davis. Davis, who edits the journal

Animal Migration, suspects that mounting climate change will cause more butterflies to winter along the Southeast coast in the coming decades, just as monarchs that breed west of the Rocky Mountains now winter along California’s Pacific coast. Monarchs “are simply adapting to human influence right now,” Davis says. The species itself “will live on.” But tragically, one of the world’s most wondrous natural history phenomena—the monarch migration—could be lost forever. (Copyright National Wildlife Magazine, Dec-Jan 2017. Article provided by Ann Bowers) Helping Monarchs

Plant milkweeds native to your area: Because plants coevolved with your region’s wildlife, native species are best. Studies show that one nonnative—tropical milkweed—harms monarchs. Unlike indigenous species, tropical milkweed does not die back where it stays warm in winter, encouraging monarchs to breed year-round and exposing them to a debilitating parasite, called OE that caterpillars ingest when they feed on leaves. Cultivate native nectar plants: Nectar sources are particularly critical during spring and fall when monarchs need to fuel their long migratory flights, which can reach up to 3,000 miles in fall. Eliminate pesticides: In particular, avoid systemic insecticides such as neonicotinoids, which are taken up by plants’ vascular systems, leaving caterpillars and butterflies that eat leaves, nectar and pollen exposed to the poison long after it has been applied. Participate in citizen science: Help biologists learn more about monarchs by tagging butterflies for Monarch Watch, reporting migration sightings for Journey North, monitoring for parasites for Monarch Health or checking milkweed for caterpillars for the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project.

Greene Garden News Page 7 of 8

(Continued Minutes, Page 3)

discussion on the upcoming

training to see if anyone is

interested in attending. Linda

Glickert seconded. Holly

Fletcher stated we budget for

two members that haven’t been

before to go. Training will be

at the 4H Center in Ferndale,

September 26-27. MG

members attending PNG select

the classes they want to attend;

but all are educational and

informative - example, Project

of the Year and Parliamentary

Procedures. During meals,

members sit with Master

Gardeners from other counties

to share ideas.

The Board recommended

discussion on the 2018 Spring

Plant Sale. Kathy Graber

seconds the request. The Board

recommends a committee to

organize, plan, and delegate

responsibilities. Volunteers for

the committee are Hannah

Riggs, Libby Christie, Debbie

Walters, Cora Flanery, and

Linda Glickert. Goals for the

committee will include date,

location, and organization. A

power point provided by

Faulkner County Master

Gardeners Plant Sale may

provide some insight. Some

plants were almost lost due to a

hot greenhouse at GCT and a

lot of work for Hannah Gray as

she has her own projects and

plant sale. Ken stated we had a

lot of tomato plants this year, so

the committee could organize

types of plants for members to

grow including herbs and

tomatoes, and not have so much

of one thing. Dividing up what

members grow would provide a

bigger variety overall. For

example, gingko and clematis

sold well. Linda stated that

Richard Yeazel had gone to

Paragould High School

greenhouse and it was still full.

They offered to start plants for

us next year, but no guarantees;

and also offered plants for MG

projects.

The 2018 Spring Gardening

Seminar Committee includes

Linda Glickert, Libby Christie,

Bonnie Hamilton, Nancy

Rogers, and Joy Gatlin. The

Executive Boards requests a

second to discuss further. Cora

Flanery seconds. The seminar

will be Friday, March 16th at

Paragould Community Center.

With fewer speakers it could be

a half day program from 9-1.

Rooms A & B have been

reserved. The committee will

meet to choose a topic and

discuss speakers. Linda

suggests the idea of the Natural

State and Natives, incorporating

native flora and fauna and the

interconnectedness of native

plants, ecosystems, and habitats.

A recommendation was made

that the committee look at the

Arkansas Natural Heritage

Commission website as it

discusses protected areas with

various types of ecosystems.

Kathy Graber provided an

update on the Bland Baseball

Park Project. Many dollars have

been spent and the project has

been completed before the State

tournament in July. If anyone

needs sanctioned hours, please

remove nut grass from beds in

the lower fields.

Cora Flanery will speak to the

Craighead County Master

Gardeners on June 1st on

Wildflowers and Natives at their

extension office at 6 pm.

Greene County Master

Gardeners are invited.

The Plant it Forward plant was a

tropical canna brought by

Tabitha McFadden and won by

Holly Fletcher.

With no further business, the

meeting was adjourned at 8:00 pm.

Members in attendance were

Libby Christie, Ken and Holly

Fletcher, Connie Whitman,

Nancy Rogers, Jean Crossno,

Linda Glickert, Ann Bowers,

Tabitha McFadden, Debbie

Walters, Kathy Graber, Joy

Gatlin, Cora Flanery, Bonnie

Hamilton, Martha Chiles,

Tacie Huffman, Marilyn

White, Dr. James Laird, Patti

Roberts, Susan Youngblood,

and Hannah Riggs; and guests,

Jana Jetton, Garrett

Youngblood, Shadow Inskeep,

Garron McDaniel, and speaker

Dr. Kim Pittcock.

Respectfully submitted by

Secretary Libby Christie

Daylilies at Wanda’s

County Garden on Tour

June 13th

Plant Swap

June Meeting.

For each plant you bring, you get a

ticket and a chance to pick a plant! Bring potted,

identified plants in a plastic bag between

5:30-6. Drawings will be from 6-6:30.

*****************************

Daylily Beds at Fairgrounds

East Entrance

GCCH Memorial Bed in

Bloom

Hummingbirds are back!

Page 8 of 8 Greene Garden News

(L-R) Marilyn White & Susan Youngblood, GCFG May 15th

(L-R) Joy Gatlin & daughter Jana Jetton, Rainbow Garden

May 16th

Greene County Courthouse Memorial Bed in Full Bloom

Butterfly Garden at GC Fairgrounds looks good

after weeding, pruning, and weedeating May 15th

Greene Garden News Greene County Master Gardeners Newsletter

Greene Garden News Contributors

Libby Christie

Holly Fletcher

Bonnie Hamilton

Brenda Barr

Ann Bowers

Shadow Inskeep

Linda Glickert

Dave Freeze

Greene Garden News Editor

Connie Whitman

Submit articles by the15th of each month to:

cwhitman@grnco.net

The Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs

to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, sex, gender

identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age,

disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any

other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal

Opportunity Employer.

Bonnie Fessler’s Garden on Daylily Tour June 13th