Dining Room Drama!

SPROUTS!

look closely...

I've known for some time that persistence pays off, but

I was becoming impatient with my tomato seed project.

Last week I planted these tomato seeds in egg cartons

& placed on dining room table:

* Mortgage Lifter

* Marianna's Peace

* Sugar Lump

* Marisol Pink

all purchased from "Marianna's Tomatoes"

Realized by day 5 that I needed more "bottom heat"

for germination. Transferred cartons to kitchen counter

while the dishwasher ran...

hot granite countertop + covered(plastic) cartons = SPROUTS!

"Mortgage Lifter" sprouted first!

Meanwhile, I've placed all cartons in the kitchen warming drawer!

Blessings from the Garden...

ML

March To Do's

It seems unbelievable, but spring is right

around the corner. Even though there's a chance

of snow, it's still time to prepare the garden...

Here is a list for you.

• Clean out hummingbird feeders, they'll be here soon.
• Pre-emergent herbicide for lawn
• Fertilize fruit trees
• DON'T MURDER YOUR CREPE MYRTLES!
• Take the Grow Your Own Challenge...
• Plant radish, lettuce, cabbage, carrots, asparagus, broccoli, english peas outside now.
• Start tomato seeds inside now.
• Add compost to your old beds, start new ones!
• Check out www.Wintersown.org. See how to get a jump "start" on the veggie/annual/perennial planting for spring/summer!

Blessings from the Garden

ML

Garden Clubs of GA response

FLIP THE BIRDS

Please see response below from GCGA

State Legislative/Governmental Affairs

Chairman, Mary Lovings

I've now received four emails from those receiving legislative messages about Flip the Birds and will respond. An Augusta owner of a chain of restaurants specializing in serving chicken, Chris Cunningham, has a website to encourage changing Georgia's official state bird from the brown thrasher to the Cornish chicken, the widely reared domestic poultry for food species in Georgia or to, as he includes, "Ruffle some feathers." GCG initiated the official brown thrasher designation in 1970.

At http://sos.georgia.gov/archives/state_symbols/state_symbols.html the entire list is available. Note that Georgia's officially designated flora and fauna tend to be native species. Not on the list yet is the brookie, the Southern Appalachian brook trout, for which GCG advocated enthusiastically knowing that it was declining in great part because of degraded streams and continued legislative moves to reduce beneficial stream buffers that would continue to reduce water quality. An associate in another organization sent Flip the Birds a month or so ago, thinking I'd find the website and the situation describing us as radical funny, which of course I did for several reasons, especially because of the site's other inaccuracies and errors.In economic times like these, I mostly consider Flip the Birds comic relief, akin to that dramatic device in Shakespeare's tragedies. People can stand only certain amounts of intense and tragic drama.

As far as I have experienced, GCG is not a radical organization, far from it.The website suggests contacting one's Congressman - those fine folks represent us in Washington in the U.S. Congress. Our Georgia General Assembly House Representatives and State Senators are the ones who make designations of official birds and fish and rocks and songs and on and on.Audubon did not describe the brown thrasher as migratory. In some states it can be, but it's considered a native in Georgia which is of course why GCG worked had it designated the State's official bird.The Cornish chicken is considered a domestic fowl and isn't a native species.The BROWN THRASHER section of the Flip website is the one that speaks of the radical Garden Club of Georgia.You can go to http://www.flipthebirds.com/ and enjoy the fun.

Garden City February To-Do's

Spring fever is imminent, so get ready.

We will probably freeze again, so be careful!

Tomato plants are in the stores, but they

don't like cold weather...

Here are some things to do this month:

* plan your veggie garden...count on planting

foods you buy at the store...create a mini farm

in your back yard

* buy seeds from some of the catalogs I listed on

January 1st blog post.

http://www.mlchgarden.com/2010_01_01_archive.html

* add compost/mulch to your garden,

get your bed(s) ready for veggies in march!

if no bed, make one!

* cut liriope or "monkey grass" back before

new growth

* check out the "cool season" veggies available

now at your local garden stores--broccoli, lettuce,

chard, brussel sprouts, spinach.

* begin planting fruit trees, bushes. blueberries,

peaches, pears

* plant sweet peas from seed, be ready with supports

for these delightfully fragrant plants.

* wack your butterfly bushes back by 1/2...

Wedding Weekend

White Wedding

(ml with candle wreath)

What an honor to prepare floral designs

for one of the most memorable days in the lives

of two people...

My indulgent assistant, Mary Louise, and

I (yes, there are 2 of us!) took the most beautiful

flowers and formed delightful creations....

sweet peas, creme vendela roses, camellia buds,

and double lisianthus in aged garden pots on cocktail tables

36" glass pedestals loaded with orchids, flowering quince, creme vendela roses, sweet peas, double lisianthus, snapdragons, and hydrangeas

this centerpiece was designed around an iron

"votive tree" which is about 4 feet tall. it contains

long stemmed french tulips, flowering quince,

orchids, sweet peas, hydrangea and moss.

simplicity at the church...

it is the season of lent at the Catholic church, no flowers

within the church. simple arrangement in the narthex with

long branches of flowering quince, long stemmed french tulips

and creme hydrangea. very simple...

Blessings from the Garden

ML