I'm famous! Well, it seems like it to me. I've been featured in a friend's blog, and she's an amazing writer, an accomplished teacher, a wonderful mama and an all-around amazing woman, so I'm quite flattered to be a part of such a prestigious Internet publication.
Years ago, Suzi Ferguson had a great enclosed flower garden on the West Side. It was beautiful and filled with natural blossoms. She passed along some Red Hot Poker plants (Kniphofia uvaria) that I enjoy in the garden near my deck. Are there any great English-style gardeners out there?
English Garden
"Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made; By singing: -'Oh, how beautiful!' and sitting in the shade." - Rudyard Kipling, The Glory of the Garden
Invasive plant seminar
Ohio State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Meigs County Commission are presenting a seminar titled "The Silent Invasion: Ecological & Health Threats of Invasive Species" from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 27 at the Meigs County Extension Office, 117 E. Memorial Drive, Mulberry Heights, Pomeroy, Ohio 45769.
If you are interested in learning to identify and control the spread of invasive plant species on your property, contact Harold H. Kneen, county extension educator, at 740-992-6696. Here's what the seminar's focus will be:
"A silent invasion is taking place in our precious forests, meadows, and wetlands. Little by little invasive plants are out-competing native plants as they vie for nutrients to survive. The list of invasive species is growing at an exponential rate. These invasives arrive in cargo containers from abroad either as seeds, roots, or plants. They also are brought into this country intentionally by nurseries that sell them to unsuspecting gardeners who are delighted by the flowers and foliage, but are completely unaware of the ecological havoc these plants can cause in our native ecosystems.
"Attempts to eradicate these invasives will always be hampered until the public is made aware of the damage caused by them. One solution is to begin using native plants as substitutes for these invasive species. Native plants are not only extremely ornamental, they are also well-adapted to the growing conditions in which they will be placed, requiring little or no irrigation, needing no fertilization and requiring no insecticides. The use of native plants lessens the destruction of fragile ecosystems that are inundated with chemicals as the result of too much irrigation and use of pesticides and insecticide."
Sara Busse is a Charleston resident and master gardener. She may be contacted at sjbu...@gmail.com.
I'm famous! Well, it seems like it to me. I've been featured in a friend's blog, and she's an amazing writer, an accomplished teacher, a wonderful mama and an all-around amazing woman, so I'm quite flattered to be a part of such a prestigious Internet publication.
For those of you who have been around this area for a while, the friend I mention is Christy Perry, now Tuohey. She was the anchorwoman on WSAZ-TV for several years, but we've known each other since our kindergarten days.
Christy is now adjunct professor, broadcast journalism and Web producer at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University. She's married to another journalism professor at Syracuse, and they have two great kids. Anyway, the mention in her blog had to do with, you guessed it, gardening.
Christy's hubby, Chris, is teaching in London, England, this semester, so the whole family crossed the pond to enjoy springtime over there with him. Christy was marveling in her blog about the flowers in bloom around London during February. She had lovely photos of crocus and cyclamen, and she mentioned she'll be visiting the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew soon to see other things in bloom
Christy wrote to ask if she could bring back flower seeds from England to see if she could get them to grow in Syracuse, N.Y. I'm going to check on what she wants to grow, and recommend she find a native-grown version in New York that will be compatible to her climate there.
Not only will they do better, it will help us to avoid an invasive plant coming from overseas - we really don't need another multiflora rose, do we? Not that I think Christy is going to start an epidemic, but many of the plants that are problematic now were brought here by well-intentioned gardeners.
If you remember Christy from her Channel 3 days (or her Montrose Elementary days), you can read her blog http://cptuohey.
wordpress.com/.
I love the notion of an "English garden." Folks use that term to describe small, enclosed and slightly wild flower gardens. I picture a thatched-roof cottage in the background with a sweet fence surrounding the mass of blooms.
My friend Kim had a lovely English-y garden at her previous home, but it was on top of a mountain, so I can't say it was precisely English. It was beautiful, complete with fence and tons of blooms.
Years ago, Suzi Ferguson had a great enclosed flower garden on the West Side. It was beautiful and filled with natural blossoms. She passed along some Red Hot Poker plants (Kniphofia uvaria) that I enjoy in the garden near my deck. Are there any great English-style gardeners out there?
English Garden
"Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made; By singing: -'Oh, how beautiful!' and sitting in the shade." - Rudyard Kipling, The Glory of the Garden
Invasive plant seminar
Ohio State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Meigs County Commission are presenting a seminar titled "The Silent Invasion: Ecological & Health Threats of Invasive Species" from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 27 at the Meigs County Extension Office, 117 E. Memorial Drive, Mulberry Heights, Pomeroy, Ohio 45769.
If you are interested in learning to identify and control the spread of invasive plant species on your property, contact Harold H. Kneen, county extension educator, at 740-992-6696. Here's what the seminar's focus will be:
"A silent invasion is taking place in our precious forests, meadows, and wetlands. Little by little invasive plants are out-competing native plants as they vie for nutrients to survive. The list of invasive species is growing at an exponential rate. These invasives arrive in cargo containers from abroad either as seeds, roots, or plants. They also are brought into this country intentionally by nurseries that sell them to unsuspecting gardeners who are delighted by the flowers and foliage, but are completely unaware of the ecological havoc these plants can cause in our native ecosystems.
"Attempts to eradicate these invasives will always be hampered until the public is made aware of the damage caused by them. One solution is to begin using native plants as substitutes for these invasive species. Native plants are not only extremely ornamental, they are also well-adapted to the growing conditions in which they will be placed, requiring little or no irrigation, needing no fertilization and requiring no insecticides. The use of native plants lessens the destruction of fragile ecosystems that are inundated with chemicals as the result of too much irrigation and use of pesticides and insecticide."
Sara Busse is a Charleston resident and master gardener. She may be contacted at sjbu...@gmail.com.
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