August Newsletter 2017
Gardening in the Age of Social Media: What’s Useful ?
Caroline Brown became a Master Gardener with the class of 1999 and is a 10 Year-Plus member. She served as Committee Chair for the Tri-State Master Gardener Conference in 2004 and Secretary on the MAMG Board in 2005.
In 2004, Caroline and four Master Gardener friends founded the Mid-South Hydrangea Society with 44 charter members and membership eventually grew to more than 300 members. Since the organization’s inception, Caroline has been editor of the society’s newsletter that is published four times each year.
In addition to her activities with the Hydrangea Society, Caroline’s retirement from FedEx in 2014 has given her more time for her other volunteer activities. For the past 6 years, Caroline has co-chaired the Dixon Garden Fair and the Dixon Gallery & Gardens annual plant sale.
Through these activities, Caroline has enjoyed the opportunity to work with fellow gardeners to promote horticulture in the Mid-South.
Come join us and learn how to navigate the wealth of information available via Social Media.
Upcoming Events
August meeting: Tuesday, August 1 in the Goldsmith Room at the Memphis Botanic Garden, 6:30 pm
Please bring a friend and a dish and to share with members and friends!
September: Cheryl Converse
October: Tom Pellet
November: Julie & Ted Wilson, Suzy & Larry Rains
December: Christmas Gathering
President’s Letter
by Martha Garner
Our July meeting was very interesting thanks to our speaker, Dr. John Byrd. I think everyone learned something new about Kudzu. There were great questions asked and Dr. Byrd stayed after the meeting to answer additional questions.
We had 7 guests and one new member for our July meeting. Great news, Melissa Taylor was appointed Second Vice President to fill the remainder of the 2017 term. Please give Melissa your support and congratulations.
By the time you read this newsletter, the Website Committee (Caroline Brown Chairperson, Tom Rieman, Kim Halyak and Linda Eddins) will have met to finalize the new website design. Please visit and check it out.
Mary Heim has agreed to be in charge of membership for the remaining of 2017 with the assistance of Connie Shepherd.
The Nominating Committee (Cheryl Lockhart and Donna Stringer) are working hard to identity officers for 2018. If you are willing to serve let one of the committee members know. We could use one more member for the Nominating Committee. Remember our elections are at our September General Meeting.
Martha Garner, President
Blast from the Past
Feeding the Winter Birds
From the MHS Horticultural Notebook, May, 1983
Lawn Maintenance by John Boyette
Assistant Horticulturist at Dixon Gallery and Gardens
During recent years the economic times have made people stay home and not travel as frequently as they once might have. This has spurred homeowners to do more in their home landscape.
To have a nice lawn requires some extra effort of more time spent on it. The most important consid-eration in a lawn is watering. The basic rule of thumb is that one acre inch of water must be gotten each week whether by rain or irrigation.
Second, fertilization must be considered. The best way to determine fertility needs is to take a soil test. Because the soil in Memphis is mostly clay, turf needs a lot of nitrogen, little phosphorus, and a higher level of potash. These three nutrients availability are determined by the pH. Most warm sea-son grasses like a pH of 6.5 – 7.0.
Although ammonium nitrate is easily obtained , it is not the best source for nitrogen. Fertilizers with some quickly available N and the rest slow release is found to be the best. Fertilizers for warm sea-son grasses should have a 4:1:2 or 4:1:3 ratio to meet fertility requirements.
Scrape’s Trivia
Among its designations, August is:
Admit You’re Happy Month
National Catfish Month
Happiness Happens Month
One of the world’s most famous meteor shows, the Perseides, happens in the middle of August.
The annual World’s Longest Yard Sale starts the first Thursday in August along US Rt 127 (through Tennessee and Kentucky) and continues for four days.
84% of a raw apple is water; 96% of a cucumber is water.
Avocados have the highest calories of any fruit: 167 calories per hundred grams.
Eggplant is a member of the thistle family. The eggplant has a special place In folklore. In 13th-century Italian traditional folklore, the eggplant can cause insanity. In 19th-century Egypt, insanity was said to be “more common and more violent” when the eggplant is in season in the summer.
Quotes Worth Quoting
When summer gathers up her robes
of glory, and like a dream of beauty
glides away.
—Sarah Helen Power WhitmanFairest of the months!
Ripe summer’s queen
The hey-day of the year
With robes that gleam with sunny sheen
Sweet August doth appear.
—R. C. MillerWhilst August yet wears her golden crown
Ripening fields lush-bright with promise
Summer waxes long, then wanes,
quietly passing her fading green glory on to
riotous Autumn.
—Michelle L. Thieme, "August's Crown"No life is without difficulties.
No Garden is without weeds!
—C. L.. Fornari