Georgia MG Snippets 03/10/2011

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal recognizes Master Gardener Day in Georgia March 19.

http://georgiafaces.caes.uga.edu/index.cfm?public=viewStory&pk_id=4062

2010 State Annual Reports are available online at

http://www.caes.uga.edu/departments/hort/extension/mastergardener/news.html

STATEWIDE: Help Save the Farmers and Consumers Market Bulletin-Excerpted from a message from the Georgia Agriculture Commissioner: Per the recommendation of the General Assembly last year, we are currently working on instituting a $10 a year subscription for the Market Bulletin. We currently have 20,000 paid subscriptions to the Market Bulletin, but we need 38,000 more to break even by April 30. If we do not get 38,000 more subscriptions, we will have to strongly consider ending the Market Bulletin. This would be a huge loss to Georgia, especially since the paper has been around since 1907. So I am coming to you today, like I did growing up, asking you to buy a subscription to our newspaper. Will you do your part to save Georgia History and preserve this valuable resource for future generations? For more information or to subscribe, go to http://www.thegamarketbulletin.com

ATLANTA: Atlanta Orchid Society Show and Sale March 11-13 Day Hall, Atlanta Botanical Garden. Free with Garden admission http://www.atlantaorchidsociety.org/ directions and garden admission info http://www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org/

GRIFFIN: UGA Research and Education Garden Upcoming Events: Kite Flying in the Garden Sunday March 13, 2011 1-4 pm. Free. Bring your kite and we’ll supply the wind! If Mother Nature cooperates, we’ll launch our kites on the hill north of the garden pergola. Kite flying demonstrations by stunt kite flyers Gary Crenshaw and Kenny Lamarca. Kite flying contest at 2:30 with prizes for biggest, most unusual, highest flying, most colorful and best homemade kites. Rain date is March 20. Directions at http://www.caes.uga.edu/campus/griffin/garden/grifmap.cfm

Floral Magic! Flower Arranging Saturday April 2, 10 am – 1 pm. $35 Floral designer David Brown shares basic arranging techniques, plus his unique and creative ideas for using flowers to decorate your home. Bring your own scissors or shears. Each participant will create a fresh arrangement to take home. Class is limited to 15 participants. Floral Class Registration form at: http://tinyurl.com/6afka4b

ATHENS: Topiary Artist Pearl Fryar at The State Botanical Garden of Georgia Friday, March 18, 2011. 6:30pm – Reception honoring Pearl Fryar. 7:30pm – Program by Pearl Fryar Friends of the Garden members - $10; Non-members - $15 Pearl Fryar transformed his 3 acre yard into a living sculpture garden that hosts over 5,000 visitors a year from around the world, has been featured in numerous newspapers, magazines and books, and is the subject of an award winning documentary: A Man Named Pearl. Each tree and shrub was planted by Pearl, some rescued from dumpters, some pruned after Pearl worked a 12 hour shift in a local factory. Without formal training, Pearl Fryar created a topiary garden that is now a Preservation Project of the Garden Conservancy, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving America’s exceptional gardens. By working with neighbors and his home of Bishopville, Pearl helped to change one of the most economically depressed counties in South Carolina into a tourist destination with community pride and a unique sense of identity. Pearl is also working with at-risk students whose talents are not reflected in their grades and with art students at Coker College in Hartsville, inspiring them with his philosophy, life story, patience and creativity. These traits will come through in his presentation as part of The Friends of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia Annual Meeting. After a reception, Pearl will not only speak, but demonstrate his topiary skills on living plants on stage. Tickets must be purchased in advance. For information or to make reservations, please call Beverly Morton at 706-542-6138 or email beverly@uga.edu . Deadline for registration is March 14.

ALBANY: Away We Grow! a spring gardening expo Southwest Georgia Master Gardeners will celebrate Master Gardener Day with exhibits and interactive displays in the Albany Mall from 11:00 to 4:00 on March 19, 2011. Table displays will include tufa pots, bonsai, wilt-resistant tomatoes, school gardens, butterfly conservation, beekeeping, rain barrels, children's art, daylilies and more. http://www.swgamastergardeners.com/

ATHENS: Native Medicinal Plant Walk and Talk State Botanical Garden. Mar 26, 2011 10:AM-Noon. An instructional walk through the State Botanical Garden trails and gardens with clinical herbalist and plant enthusiast Holli Richey, enjoy the native spring ephemerals in bloom while hearing stories of how people have used Solomon’s seal, bloodroot, trillium, spiderwort, as well as common trees and other perennials, for food and medicine. Cost: Members $15.00; Non-members $18.00 http://www.uga.edu/botgarden

COLUMBUS: Columbus Botanical Garden—Spring Plant Sale Friday, April 15, 2011: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm Saturday, April 16, 2011: 10:00 am to 4:00 pm All proceeds raised by the plant sale benefit the Columbus Botanical Garden. http://columbusbotanicalgarden.com/

DECATUR: Native Plant Garden Spring Lunch and Wildflower Series at Georgia Perimeter College starts Wednesday, March 30, with Ernest Koone, who will talk on "Native Azaleas". The following Wednesday, April 6, Karen Lindauer and John Little will conduct a special garden walk on "Spring Ephemerals". As noted walks generally start at 10:30 except for Karen's and John's walk which will start at 11:30. This year talks will be held in a new campus building SH, room SH-1500. This building is beyond the greenhouses. Directions will be posted at the garden. 3251 Panthersville Road Decatur, GA http://www.gpc.edu/~decbt/ GPC spring plant sales begin March 26

CANTON: Group Visits to Cox Arboretum A special invitation has been extended to Georgia Master Gardener groups to visit Cox Arboretum , one of the largest private collections of temperate flora in the U.S. Located on 13 acres outside Canton, Ga. (40 miles north of Atlanta), the collection numbers more than 4,000 diverse specimens. To schedule a field trip, Master Gardener groups should email Tom Cox , providing brief information about the group and a preferred date with several alternates. Tom and his wife Evelyn, who created the arboretum two decades ago, travel globally to acquire additional rare and endangered specimens and in support of the garden's educational and scientific mission. They welcome visits of Master Gardener groups, with whom they look forward to sharing their impressive plant collection on informal walking tours.