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Garden Week In Georgia: Flowers, Like Friends, Nurture Our Souls by RGC Blogger Dawn McGee
Flowers, like our friends and family, are the gifts that nature provides us throughout our lives. From the time we are born to the day we become one with nature ourselves; flowers keep us company. They brighten our homes, our workplaces and hospital bedside, and celebrate all sorts of occasions; they are presented as symbols of Love, friendship and sympathy. Even the simplest Dandelion brings a smile to a mothers face when her child lovingly gifts it to her. Many a book has a flower pressed inside it as a keepsake, often forgotten until re-discovered and the memories come flooding back. Flowers are also the harbingers of the coming spring season; we feel happiness and anticipation upon seeing that first Crocus peek it’s head out of the snow. Flowers are universally admired and loved.
Throughout the world flowers grow everywhere, even in the coldest and hottest of places. They decorate our yards, countryside, cities and highways. They can be found deep in the woods where barely a spot of sun shines through, …
Garden Week In Georgia: Then Flowers ‘d be the Friends…In Praise of My Good Friend Fatsia Japonica by RGC Blogger Florence Anne Berna
A glossy leaf plant, Fatsia Japonica is also known as false castor oil plant or Japanese aralia. It is native to Japan and Korea. It is evergreen growing from 3 to 16 feet tall. Its leaves are large fans and its flowers look like something from outer space with small white globes blooming on tall white stalks.
Fatsia Japonica grows best as an understory bush in a climate not going below 5 degrees…
Garden Week In Georgia: If Friendship Were A Garden
This year, RGC lost a dear friend, Mary Ann Booth Cabot. As part of our remembrance of Mary Ann, we were introduced to Sam Furman’s poem If Friendship Were A Garden. This year’s Garden Week in Georgia posts focus on this beautiful poem and all it entails. We’ll talk about friends, gardens, plants, garden clubs, and, most importantly friendship. Let’s open the week with the poem.
If Friendship Were A Garden
If friendship were a garden,
Then flowers ‘d be the friends
How well our gardens cultivate
On each gardener that depends.
Some flowers must remain in light,
And some will need support
But all require love and care
Regardless of their sort.
We grow our gardens row by row
One flower at a time
Helping each establish roots
Our efforts quite sublime…
Itching to Spring into Planting? Here’s What to Do While You Wait by Guest Blogger Jeannie Springer
If you’re like me, you have a hard time resisting the temptation to plant before the last hard-frost date. Jeannie Singer, plant professional and educator at Scottsdale Farms, shared these great ideas to help you delay planting and be ready to jump into it full speed ahead when the time is right.
Tools
- Sharpen blades on spades
- Clean tools: wipe with bleach or alcohol, then wash with soap & water
- Oil hinges on shears and clippers–use WD – 40 or vegetable oil
- Make needed repairs–check hose…
…
Remembering Mary Ann Booth Cabot by RGC Friends Lisa Ethridge & Others
Mary Ann Booth Cabot, nationally acclaimed nature artist and longtime member of the Roswell Garden Club, passed away peacefully February 6. One member of the club remembered her with these words, “She was so talented, kind, and had such a darling sense of humor.” Another said, “Mary Ann was an incredible woman, an outstanding artist, and a great gardener. She will be missed by all who knew her.
Mary Ann was a strong, energetic woman…
Environmental Legislation Call to Action by Garden Club of Georgia and Georgia Water Coalition
The Georgia Legislative session has begun, and many bills are being introduced that concern our members. Okefenokee Swamp protection and Coal Ash disposal are the two big concerns. The Georgia Water Coalition, GWC, has provided the following summary of the issues being followed–and a request to contact your legislator. You can write your own letter, or use the link provided, which automatically sends to your legislators from the address you provide. You can edit the letter as you wish to express your personal views. You can also get more detailed info on the issue by contacting the person listed.
…Barbara & Tally, GCG Legislative Team Members
GWC Priority Legislation
Each year, the GWC membership adopts two to three priority issues addressing critical threats to Georgia’s waterways. This year, the GWC is committing again to two issues we have been slowly gaining ground on for a number of years. With your advocacy and support we can continue to collect victories for the environment.
Protecting the Okefenokee Swamp
A Must-Have Tool for Gardening by RGC Blogger Suzy Crowe
Last spring, I decided it was time to give up my chain saw. I was tired of the hassles involved with keeping it in good working order and all of the steps for safe use. I was relieved to let it go, but a little sad. Then I saw an ad for a tiny 4” chain saw. It’s a little bigger than my hand, weights about 5 pounds with the battery installed, and can cut branches and trunks up to about 6”. I had to have one.
I love that little chain saw. As soon as it arrived, I put it to use. Its rechargeable battery works for several hours, and mine came with 2 batteries. I run out of energy long before the chain saw does. I’ve been working on a major project clearing trashy trees from my back yard and replacing them with nicer understory trees and shrubs. My little chain saw has been handy in chopping down the trees and in chopping them into pieces that fit into the decomposable yard bags I can put out for weekly city pick up. As you can see…
Conserving the Chattahoochee by RGC Guest Blogger & 1st Place High School Competition Winner Savannah Young
Plastic, Styrofoam, Oil— these three pollutants products have made their way into our oceans, rivers, and lakes. Georgia’s own Chattahoochee river is no exception. Once a beautiful sight to locals and hikers, the river is now facing every type of pollution due to construction and littering.
In an article by The Signal, writer Gabby Miller stated that, due to construction in the area, dozens of pollutants are washed into the river when it rains, like “oil” and “tire dust” and that “rainwater mixed with excess from the roadways is the root of a lot of the pollution in the river”.
Unfortunately, construction isn’t the only thing harming the Chattahoochee River. Miller goes on to say that “the trash you litter can go anywhere” as it’s “practically weightless”…
We All Need to Do Our Share to Save the Chattahoochee by RGC Guest Blogger & 2nd Place High School Competition Winner Krysta Schwab
At first glance, the Chattahoochee River is the apex for leisurely activities. A drive down Azalea Dr. encompasses parking lots packed to the brim with families canoeing, river tubing, paddleboarding, etc. In addition, there are countless rowing organizations that hold their practices at the river. As many of these other individuals, I have indulged in my fair share of Chattahoochee activities. I remember one specific time, I was river tubing for the 4th of July with a friend and her family. I thought it was odd that her mother reiterated that we shower well after our little excursion, and I assumed it was because it was a river, and that is what you always do. Well, let’s just say that in recent years I have holistically discovered why she was so persistent in making sure we were clean…
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