DREAMING OF SPRING

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I am already looking at seed catalogues and dreaming of spring. I have been enjoying fresh broccolli from my garden and it won't be long before the brussell sprouts will be ready. I would have shared a photo, but it is too cold to go out!Hope everyone has a happy New Year and stays safe.

ANNUAL FRESH WREATH MAKING CLASS

We Master Gardeners had our annual wreath making class on Thursday afternoon.

We had 19 ladies eager to learn how to make a fresh evergreen wreath.

Six Master Gardeners were there to help.

Checking out a finished product.

OVER THE RIVER AND THRU THE WOODS.

Out gathering greenery for our annual wreath making class this coming Thursday. And no Dana is not cutting of Paula's hand-no matter what you think you see.

Ms. Judith looks all Christmasy in her red scarf, but in reality it was almost 80 degrees!We always go to Judy and Mr. Tommys farm . I think Mr. Tommy wishes we would hurry up,we have made him miss his nap.All loaded up and we didn't even see the black bear.

RED MANDEVILLA

Snapped this beautiful mandevilla before it was taken in for the winter. I had to cut mine back as it was running up the deck.I am sure it will recover next year.
 

OUT AND ABOUT

Aren't these beautiful? I took this photo on  visit to the Lauderdale County CO-OP this weekend.

Cute mini green house made from old windows,spotted at an antique store in Meridian.My white camellias are blooming.

DECORATING THE GARDEN

A few ideas for your garden today, all from MG Judy's garden.

An interesting focal point on a wall.

Cute planter on the green house.Gourds piled in an urn add a nice touch on the front porch.Corn and gourds piled in a burlap lined planter. I hope you got some ideas for your garden from these.

FALL IN JUDY'S GARDEN

Photos today are from MG Judy's yard.Love this red bench and wheelbarrow.

Great pumkin topiary.

One of a pair of topiarys at the end of the driveway.

A great fall still life on the porch of the garden shed.

Arrangement of roadside wildflowers on  the picnic table.

MG GARDEN VISIT

I visited with MG Dana today. What a nice spot to sit and rest from her gardening chores. Don't you love the detail on the chairs?

Her caladiums are still looking good.Perfect heart.

You can't beat Mexican Petunia for long lasting beautiful blooms.

O.K. let's sit down and rest again.!

WINTER GARDEN

My brussell sprouts and broccoli are coming along nicely.

TANGERINES!

How about some tangerines? My friend Mary has this growing in her garden. Of course this is the first year it has been in the ground, so we are anxious to see if it makes it through the winter.

And a ruby red grapefruit. I don't think this will get ripe before frost.

More lemons. All of this citrus is making me want to give it a try next year.

BEAUTIFUL BLOOM

Got to show Judy's Tibochina,bought at the Jackson Garden and Patio show this spring.

Isn't this a beautiful bloom?

WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS

This lemon tree out at MG Lillie Mae's house is loaded! Of course those pesky squirrels are nibbling on them! Time to get out the pepper spray!

These are some large lemons, we can make a lot of lemonade!

Lillie Mae also has a satsuma tree. It seems like it's going to have a bumper crop too.And how about this iris and these amaryllis ?Why are they blooming in September? Very strange. That is also a bloom from a snowball tree that is also blooming now.

WE NEED A MONKEY

Wow that is a lot of bananas. This is from our Master Gardener Judy's garden.

My bananas have never gotten this big! Well the heat index today is supposed to be about 105, maybe these plants think they are back in the tropics! Judy said her hubby likes to eat these-he must have a tall ladder, or maybe a monkey to get these down.

MASTER GARDENER MEETING

Master Gardeners met last week, with Dr. Wayne Porter giving a program on saving seeds.He is demonstrating with a cucumber.

Messy but necessary to get those seeds.We have such a good group and as you see we believe in letting the children and grandchildren come along. I think if you instill a love of gardening in children when they are small it will continue into adulthood.

TOO WET TO GARDEN

Everyone seems to be itching to plant their fall gardens. A few people have managed to get things cleaned up and some things planted between rain showers.We have had more than our share of rain and then of course the hurricane, so it will be a while before it dries out around here.Meanwhile my little plants are turning yellow, waiting to be transplanted.If you manage to get out to work in the garden, please be careful of West Nile,  the mosquitoes are horrible after all this rain.

DON'T FIGHT THE HEAT AND BUGS!

Wow, I can't believe so much time has passed since a post. But you gardeners know how busy the last weeks of summer can be. Putting up all that harvest, making jellies and canning tomatoes and also beginning to plant or get ready for a fall garden.

The old standby tough as nails plants like crepe myrtle and rudbeckia are blooming away in spite of the awful temps we have been having. I long ago planted these old fashioned plants and other tough perennials and now I pretty much have a garden that takes care of itself,because I can tell you I am not braving the heat and bugs of a Mississippi summer!

The pot plants are all low water plants,nobody wants to be watering every five minutes. If you have plants that require more water, group them together, so you won't have to drag a hose all over the yard. And be sure and mulch them heavily-that will help a lot!

ROAD TRIP TO THE FARM

The Master Gardeners visited Reyer Farms last week. Beautiful zinnias blooming nonstop.

Pretty sunflowers too.

Lots of heirloom tomatoes.

Nice views.

JULY IN THE GARDEN

 Everybody has been busy freezing and preserving. Some are now cleaning up the gardens and planting fall crops.It was awful dry the first part of the month , but I do beleive it has rained every day for he last two weeks. It is hard to get outside as the mosquitoes dive bomb you. I for one am looking forward to a fall garden and hoping the mosquitoes will go away.

This is a new rudbeckia I picked up-love it. The rudbeckias are tough plants, they are blooming in my garden now and will continue through the fall.