Merry Weather Garden Club Tours Thunderwood Farms

The Merry Weather Garden Club met on Thursday, October 11, 2012 north of Woodbury at Thunderwood Farms owned by Lanie and Gray Riner. Several members brought guests and with two new members joined. Most attending were familiar with Thunderwood’s great reputation. 

   The Riner’s sell their plants nationwide but also stock the nearby garden centers from Taylor Foster’s in Manchester, to Andy’s Nurseries, Tomar in Columbus, Senoia Garden Center, Garden Solutions in LaGrange, Blue Meadows in Pine Mountain, and McCrary in Molena.  Buyers include the beautifully landscaped Hills and Dales in LaGrange.

   Opening in 2008, Thunderwood has expanded since the club first visited. The ladies walked through the new addition while Lanie explained the new varieties they promote that are hardy for our area and our heat and humidity. The Riners attend OFA, the big greenhouse tradeshow for the international association of professional horticulturists where they are introduced to new plants and see the latest trends.

  The new Echo plants are a genetically improved red hot poker.  Echo Rojo, Echo Mango, and the Duo Flamenco are repeat bloomers and aggressive spreaders.

   Helenium or better known and falsely accused by the common name of “sneeze weed” now has the improved mariachi varieties of salsa, siesta, fuego, and sombrero that have lots more blooms.

   Heucheras now include about fifty varieties with Coral Belle a favorite. The Riners new varieties are more heat tolerant, trail about three feet and take a good bit of sun.

   The Riners pointed out their many varieties of ferns: Southern Shield, Ostrich, Dixie Wood Fern, Cinnamon, Autumn, and Christmas.

   One of their most popular new items is the new anemone or wind flower that is bred for heat tolerance and heavy humidity. The three popular ones for our area are Lady Emily, Lady Julia, and Lady Diana. The delightful pink anemones were currently blooming.

   Larger plants like hibiscus that grow into a 4 x 4 bush develop huge blooms and have been proven winners for the growers.

  Very exciting were the new hellebores that now have a bloom that faces upward.  Colors range from white to burgundy. The secret to growing hellebores, Lanie said, is to plant deep and keep cool-shady side of the house or yard. The Riners showed us the small plugs where they have produced the plants from tissue cultures.  Previously only available out of Germany, the new hellebores are now in Georgia.

   Stunning flats of pansies filled one greenhouse room. The “flower with a face” comes in golden yellows, muted burgundy and pinks, purple and white, and stunning oranges for fall and later spring color.

   The Riners pointed out that every grower has their own special color of pot that is recognized in retail garden centers.  Thunderwood's pots are terra cotta colored. Members left happy armed with this information knowing they could be sure of where their plants came from.

   The next garden club meeting will be Thursday, November 15 with Jo Phillips presenting the program on poinsettias.

Weeds, pests, and plant diseases

September 2012

The Merry Weather Garden Club met on Thursday, September 13^th, 2012 at the home of Sally Neal.  Members brought refreshments so the rolling tea cart was a delightful smorgasbord of delicious snacks.

   The Meriwether Extension Service provided the program in the form of guest speaker Randy Drinkard. Drinkard has been filling in ten hours a week at the extension office and splitting his time between Meriwether and Troup Counties.  A horticulturist with vast experience and knowledge, he also writes the gardening pamphlets for UGA available from the Extension Office. Drinkard grew up in Troup County, worked for Pikes and Scotts, and was mentored by some of the fabled horticulturists like Fred Galle and Ben Pace who developed Callaway Gardens. Galle made him learn twenty plants a week and he proved to the garden club he knew his plants.

   Gardening problems and their solutions was the program topic and Drinkard began by identifying eyesores in our yards.  He showed apple tree leaves with cedar rust and recommended gardeners prune and throw away the diseased foliage. Spraying a fungicide also helps. Phomopsis or twig blight is a common disease in juniper and he encouraged owners of the disease to cut off and spray with either Daconil or Funginex. Another problem that could be removed by picking off the damaged leaf was leaf spot on wax leaf ligustrum.

   The good news was Drinkard had samples of each of the plant problems he used in his program; the bad news was all the samples came from downtown Greenville around the county office area or along our city sidewalks. Many plants have brown leaves and dead twigs at the tips of branches that are simply a result of our long term dry weather.  He recommended cutting off the dead parts as well as hoping for a long soaking rain.

   Tulip trees have been especially vulnerable these last years and he encouraged owners to buy the tree spikes that fertilize deep in the ground as the granular fertilizer we use topically sometimes takes years to get down to the roots of a tulip tree.

   Drinkard had samples of tomato blight and told the club to mulch and use Daconil. He pointed out damage done on an oak branch by the leaf skeletonizer and recommended pesticides. 

   “A weed is a plant out of place” and showed a stem of privet that some consider perfect for a hedge and others consider a weed.  Quail love the berries but privet is in the top five of noxious weeds. Round-up gets rid of privet and one club member asked how close you could spray with Round-up. No closer than the drip line of the plant, Drinkard said, because roots are underneath.  He uses a garbage can lid to push foliage aside and to make sure sprays don’t touch the plant.

   Spurge is a common low lying weed that has many varieties to annoy a gardener. Atrazine works well on it and does not damage lawns of centipede and St. Augustine.

   Smilax or “cat’s briar” was another weed he exhibited along with nut grass that not every chemical can kill.  He recommended Image for nut grass and 2-4-D or Weed be Gone for wild lettuce. Carolina dandelion and other broadleaf weeds and grass weed now can be zapped by smart chemicals that don’t kill the grass.

   Drinkard told how Carpenter bees weakened and brought down a barn and encouraged the use of Cyfluthrin as the only bug killer that would finish them off.  They chew into wood and then turn and go several inches through a board so many bees often live down a tunnel.  Applicators are made to be flexible and make the 90 degree turn to ensure the chemical gets to the bees.

  A pre-emergent like Preen may be used in flowerbeds to curb chickweed and henbit, but our hotter temperatures will also finish off the spring weeds. Coffee weeds in the vegetable garden are best removed by pulling them up! Lespedeza, in the pea family, is currently blooming now and is a popular with the DOT to plant on hillsides and areas that are too slanted to be mowed, but the seeds travel great distances and germinate in places gardeners wish they would not-so again, a weed is all in where it is found.

   Armadillos have damaged everyone’s garden and leaving chewed bubble gum was one rumored remedy plus leaving bowls of ammonia around the yard to discourage the armor shelled mammals.

   Drinkard finished by passing out book marks with 1-800-ASK-UGA1 and with web sites provided by the Georgia Center for Urban Agriculture for gardeners to use when they have questions.

   In club business: The club agreed to send out meeting notices by email and for those not using a computer continue sending postcards. Linda Wilburn explained that she had had hired Roy Curtis to pull weeds and maintain the downtown islands on a weekly basis and that she would pay $20 a week for him to take care of the island in front of the Greenville Café and the Print Shop Art Gallery. The city has not been able to maintain the downtown area since the streetscapes project was completed. $840 was needed for the rest of the year to pay for the other islands.  The club voted to give $200 and individual club members made donations to provide for almost half of the needed amount.  The Meriwether Historical Society and the Methodist Church will be asked if they can make donations as one island is alongside those properties. Donations should be made to the Greenville Economic Preservation Society in order for the donations to be tax deductible.

Senoia and the Southern Living Idea House

The Merry Weather Garden Club met on Thursday, August 9^th at the home of Ellen McEwen in Gay.  McEwen and Patti Acheson hosted the monthly meeting and served a delicious brunch to members.  The delightful brunch gave the ladies time to visit and chat and to share their summer garden success and failure stories. Touring the McEwen’s lovely home and Pump House that Ellen and John are about to renovate was inspiring, and Ellen explained the additions and architectural changes to be made.  

   The club traveled to Senoia to view the Southern Living Idea House, the second such project for the small town that is an anchor for our Georgia movie industry.  Southern Living renovated and landscaped an 1830’s farmhouse and created a charming home with country appeal yet having contemporary amenities.

   The largest exterior changes were the addition a new wing plus a wrap around front porch that is decorated with vintage metal furniture and offers a welcoming “Come on up and set a spell” invitation. The new exterior was covered in fiber-cement siding and larger windows that improve the amount of light allowed inside plus giving better balance to the architecture.

   Half of the original house was able to be used for the master bedroom and bath and SL retained its old wooden floors and walls. The newer half of the house has a popular open floor plan but also carries on the historic white plank wooden walls and stained floor look.  The complimenting color theme for much of the house was grey and allows for bursts of color on furniture, window treatments, pillows, et cetera.  The overall feel given by the interior is one of comforting unity.

   Popular with garden club members was how bathroom and storage areas are neatly worked in utilizing attic space, openings under stair cases, or with clever cabinetry. The clean uncluttered look and naturally lighted areas plus the inspiring decorations and resource material dispensed at the Idea House sent the Meriwether ladies home with renovation ideas for their homes.

   The landscaping around the house included people places anchoring a visual vignette such as a rustic chair grouping around a fire pit, curving sidewalk around the house with easy to maintain beds of Southern classic plants, and beautiful Bevolo historic lighting.  Retractable screens made the back porch a cozy retreat with its potting table, outdoor rugs, and cushioned all weather furniture.

   No visit to Senoia is complete with dropping in on the many boutiques and antique shops dotted along Main Street.  New for club members was the addition of musician Zac Brown’s new restaurant and bar which they found a fun treat especially the “New Country” shabby chic and music themed decor.  They enjoyed one of the restaurant’s specialties: a corn muffin sliced like a burger bun and serving up balsamic glazed pork tenderloin, candied sweet potatoes, and collards alongside slaw all washed down with homemade lemonade.

Landscaping 101

The Merry Weather Garden Club met on Thursday, July 26^th at the home of Carla Snider on Imlac Road in Woodbury. Snider and Erma Jean Brown hosted the luncheon and meeting.

   Members thoroughly enjoyed touring the Snider’s new home and meeting guests and neighbors of Carla plus her sister who came from Haleyville, Alabama for the day. Hors d’oeuvres and refreshing lemonade and tea were enjoyed before the luncheon and gave the ladies a chance to chat and wander through the rooms that Carla has decorated herself and view her artwork that is displayed throughout the home.

   The luncheon menu featured balsamic glazed organic chicken with potato salad and vegetable pasta salad, but the unique dish that had ladies asking for the recipe was for the watermelon, avocado, and feta cheese salad. The Sniders live close to Woodbury’s famed peach orchards so Carla naturally served homemade pound cake with fresh peaches for dessert.

   The program began with guidelines from Bob Oxford from Pike County who teaches horticulture at Southern Crescent. His degree is from UGA, and he began his career working for Wight Nurseries which is today Monrovia a well known company that produces great plant varieties and products. He built the framework for Carla’s endeavor which is to landscape her yard.  He grouped the major points as Physical Layout, Desire of the Homeowner, Function, Emotion, Unity, and Maintenance. Maintenance and cost are primary considerations. Carla likes to do the work herself, but costs are always a consideration and limiting factor to an enterprise.

   Function was explained by Carla as she wants to make the area beautiful, homey and work with the existing swimming pool, pool pavilion, and granddaughter’s playground. As the Sniders entertain a lot, she needs, parking and more driveway options. She also has the AC, pool filtering equipment and tools to hide in one area plus yard and bedding areas versus pasture and pond areas to define.

   Oxford allowed Snider to spell out the problem spots she particularly needs to address and what she wants to see in those areas and so answering the Function and Desire of Homeowner categories.

   Emotion and Unity were more difficult to nail down. As the Sniders build their landscaping dream, the emotion and unity elements will be better able to be realized and decided upon. Unities of color and plant species are part of those considerations.
   The Sniders built on property that is a hayfield. Currently there are no plants other than colorful annuals and potted plants surrounding and bordering the house itself.  Snider wanted the input from the club and the ladies all had suggestions. 

   Trees and creating shade was number one in the drawings the members made on graph paper tablets Carla supplied. Fencing, the driveway and defining the garden were other areas the ladies drew to help create the “bones” of the layout plan. Favorite and dependable plant varieties and species were listed as well as ideas for initial landscaping until plants, trees, and shrubs could mature. The club passed along a variety of do-able suggestions and designs for Carla to consider as well as names of plant sources and expert contacts in the landscaping field. The club hopes each design may inspire and encourage her in her project.

   The next meeting of the Merry Weather Garden Club will be August 9^th and will be hosted by Ellen McEwen and Patti Acheson. The club will tour the new Southern Living Idea House, a farmhouse restored in Senoia.

Those Pesky Invasive Plants

June 2012

The Merry Weather Garden Club met on Thursday, June 7^th, 2012 at the home of Sallie Mabon.  Hosting with Mabon was Mary Anne Harman. Members and guests wandered through admiring the Mabon’s Victorian home and ended in the garden beside her koi pond and waterfall where the program was presented.

   Lauren Johnson with the Department of Natural Resources and a naturalist at FDR State Park presented a program on Invasive Exotic Plants. Johnson first defined native versus non native species with the emphasis on those species of plants not native to our ecosystem and by introducing them in our area, we cause harm to our health or the economy or environment.

   We introduce plants that are invasive for the same reason we plant other appealing plants: for ornamental, landscape or agricultural purposes. As the garden club members were all thinking kudzu and privet, Johnson reminded us that for every 100 plant species introduced, only one becomes invasive.

   Invasive plants have several determining characteristics that make them invasive: they produce lots of seed and effectively disperse them, they grow and mature rapidly, they are long lived, adaptable to habitats, easily established, and have no natural predators.

   Invasive plants damage the environment by competing native species, changing the plant community, interfering with plant evolution, impacting wildlife and affecting the recreational benefits of an area.

   There are workshops to learn more about the plants, and federal agencies created an invasive species council. Georgia has an Exotic Pest Plant Council to help control such plants as Chinese, Glossy, and Japanese Privets, Japanese Honeysuckle, Kudzu, Nepalese Browntop, Golden Bamboo, Autumn Olive, Chinese Tallowtree, Hydrilla, Mimosa, Wisterias, English Ivy, Queen Anne’s Lace, and Multiflora Rose. Of current particular interest is Cogongrass that is invading the southern part of our state.  The DNR asks that we report any sprigs of Cogongrass that we see.

   Johnson explained that certain species have a lag time.  While privet was introduced in the 1800’s, its growth habits did not explode and become a nuisance until the 1950’s. Club members also discussed leaving English ivy unmaintained in the landscape as well as the love of Queen Anne’s Lace and managing wisteria.

   After the program the club members and guests were treated to a delicious brunch. The Next garden club meeting will be in July at the home of Carla Snyder with co host Erma Jean Brown and the program will be on landscaping the Southern home. 

Breezy Hill

The Merry Weather Garden Club met on Thursday, May 17^th, 2012 and traveled north of Greenville to Rocky Mount Road and Breezy Hill, the horse farm and home of Andrea and Jim Harding.

   The Harding’s home is unique in that it was the Stacy Presbyterian Church located off Court Square in Greenville until just over a decade ago. Originally built in 1886, the church was destroyed by a cyclone on March 3^rd, 1893 but rebuilt that year. The Hardings moved the church from Greenville on March 3^rd, 1999.

   It was very exciting for the club members to tour the home because the Hardings are nearing completion of an addition to the structure that allows for a large master bedroom and bath, closet space, upstairs bedrooms for the grandchildren and an additional living area on par with the large scale size of the sanctuary.  

   The original sanctuary portion of the church is today’s modern designer’s “great room” and serves as a dining area where the Hardings converted the church pews into chairs for the large banquet table, a living and media area, kitchen, plus office corner.  The magnificent ceiling draws the eyes upward and the dark beaded woodwork with its triangular and box patterns is striking. Andrea, or Baby Sister, said it took workmen only four days of hand rubbing to restore the beautiful sheen and luster to the wood

   The architecturally distinctive turret creates a unique circular guest bathroom on the first floor. Harding has used period Victorian wallpapers, borders and trims alongside rich and gilded colors to accent the architecture. On upper floors, the bell tower room makes for a quaint bedroom with its original stained glass windows and the loft area over the kitchen more sleeping space.

   The sanctuary’s side doors now exit onto a large screened porch affording a panoramic view of the creek side of the farm property.

   Club members marveled out how perfectly matched or “married” the new addition’s shingles and siding are with the original. Inside, warm honey colored wormy pecky cypress is juxtaposed with a rock fireplace creating interesting paired textures. The mantel is an especially worm ridden reclaimed swamp cypress trunk.

   Of equal interest for the club was the garden.  Massive old English oak wooden gates welcome guests to the garden where crepe myrtles shade and tower over the center of boxwood edged squares and triangles of the formal parterre garden.  An iron bench, a gazebo, and the original church bell beckon the wanderer to pause, rest, read, chat or just enjoy being idle.  The views across the pastures from atop Breezy Hill are splendid, and yes, there is a constant cooling breeze.

   Andrea and Jim Harding have done most of the restoration work of the Victoria church and the garden club was surprised to learn that many of Andrea’s favorite finds and older European pieces have come from carefully shopping on EBay. An added delight of the tour was the Harding’s five year old grandson, Andrew Bennett Kirk, who led his own tour version of Breezy Hill and eagerly offered to continue the tour at the creek, barn, peacock pen, and to his other favorite areas.

   The next meeting of the Merry Weather Garden Club will be on Thursday, June 7^th at the Mabons with a brunch hosted by Sallie Mabon and Mary Anne Harman.  The program, Creating the Environmentally Friendly Backyard, will be presented by Lauren Johnson.

Merry Weather Garden Club attends Concord Lunch and Learn

The Merry Weather Garden Club met on Thursday 19^th of April, 2012 and traveled to Concord to attend the Concord Garden Club’s 14^th Annual Lunch and Learn.  The delightful format attracts garden clubbers from around the state to the Old Strickland Store which has ample seating space for the hundred plus crowd.  The ladies bring a sack lunch and the garden club provides drinks and desserts.  Several local venders have gardening items for sale and the Concord club has a raffle fundraiser for a quilt, gardening books, and items that help support the Harriette Beckham Fune Scholarship.  Brandi Bishop, a senior at UGA, was the deserving recipient and she will continue her studies at ABAC with the goal of teaching agriculture in high school.

   Three members of the Concord club demonstrated gardening ideas.  Martha Boswell began her program on terrariums by pointing out there are True Terrariums and New Terrariums.  The “True” type is a sealed container whose history dates back to the Edwardian times.  1830’s surgeon Dr. Nathaniel Ward is credited as being the inventor as he scooped up a moth pupa on his travels and noted that a fern sprouted in the case.  His first terrarium was displayed at the World’s Fair in London. The terrarium idea caught on because this was the method of shipping and transplanting plants on overseas voyages.  The terrarium changed plant history as tender plants such as orchids became available worldwide.

   Location is important for successful terrarium gardening.  Experimenting to find the right amount of light is key, and most find a north or northwest window best. Boswell used a simple flower vase first filled with pebbles for drainage and activated charcoal to keep the soil sweet.  The charcoal is found at pet supply stores that have fish items. Moisture and shade loving plants do best.

   New terrariums feature anything in nature in a glass enclosure such as a bird nest on a cake stand. Hurricane lamp shades are great for an orchid display-anything that keeps the wind off the plant. Flowering plants should have their blooms snipped off after blooming as they can cause mold. Boswell had simple tools: a backscratcher to pack the soil into the elongated vases, a hair coloring wand to garden the soil.

   Second presenter, Beth Jones, emphasized using what you found in your yard and forest instead of buying plants. She keeps a standard topiary that can be thematically decorated for any occasion. She used rhododendron blossoms and ferns to brighten the topiary limbs. Two clematis blooms and a native ginger in a cute pitcher made a delightful table arrangement. Native buckeye which fills our woods just now made an elegant statement. Oriental poppies alongside an opened Japanese umbrella adorned with Coosa dogwood limbs decorated one table at the luncheon. Hellebores and deutzia filled another container. Jones brought her son’s flower show winner: the hip bone of a cow filled with green grey succulents.  The arrangement made a rugged Southwestern cowboy theme.

   Anna Evans finished off the program with a whimsical and creative display titled, “Fruits, Veggies, and Herbs, Oh, My.” She placed flowers in cowboy boots for a western theme. Blooms in a pair of stilettos alongside a purse made a chic vignette. She entertained with quotes as she arranged: “Don’t quit playing because you get old; you get old because you quit playing.” She insisted we exercise our imaginations when arranging table displays and begin with an outrageous idea for a container.

   Evans pointed out that it is the women in the family that creates the memories of an occasion so use the imagination.  For one table Evans placed gardening books, tools, and grocery store potted plants wrapped in burlap fabric.  She finds unusual inexpensive pieces for containers at yard sales and then often gives them as gifts or door prizes to her guests. Her favorite fillers in arrangement are the cast iron plant or aspidistra, Indian Hawthorne, nandina, and abelia. Pink carnations perked up and changed the look of a silver begonia potted plant that her guests had seen several times.

   Finishing off her program with humor, Evans took a cabbage, shredded leaves for eyelashes, used peppers for ears, and carrots for the nose and mouth and created a multi use centerpiece.  She added a wig and scarf for the character to be a woman, a cowboy hat, cigar, and bandanna to be a cowboy and rearranged it as needed to be the focal point at a retirement party or to honor a luncheon guest.

   Evans finished by emphasizing their local Wednesday market filled with locally grown food:wednesdaymarket.locallygrown.net. With the average produce traveling 1500 miles to get to market and leaving a large carbon footprint it is wise to develop a locally grown food network and critical for healthy eating.

   The Merry Weather Garden Club will meet next in May and tour the home of Andrea and Jim Harding. Formerly the Stacy Presbyterian Church, the historical building is the center of Breezy Hill Farms.