Programs: October 2008 Archives

The Smith County Master Gardener program begins a new training class in January, 2009, and we are seeking gardeners who are interested in 1) increasing their gardening knowledge through an intensive series of classes covering a wide range of gardening and horticultural topics, and 2) who would then be willing to share their knowledge, love of gardening and expertise with adults and/or children in Smith County.

The Smith County Master Gardener program is a very active program with several educational activities ranging from hosting conferences, speakers for garden clubs, schools and civic groups, creating and maintaining demonstration gardens, publishing gardening guides and tips for newspapers, assisting school gardens and Junior Master Gardener programs, plus a lot more.

Participation in the program is through application, which is available in the Smith County Extension office, or online at: EastTexasGardening.tamu.edu/programs/programs.html Along with the application is a detailed cover letter describing the program, dates of the training, and more.

We will hold an orientation meeting December 3, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. at the Extension meeting room in the Smith County Cotton Belt Building for you to learn more about and ask questions regarding the Master Gardener program. No pre-registration is required. All applicants are required to please attend this orientation meeting.

Deadline to register is December 15.

Now is the time to be purchasing and planting bulbs for next year's blooming display. Not all bulbs are equal in terms of having long-term stay in your garden and landscape. Too often, bulbs will bloom the first year, and then just come back as leaves - no flowers, or worse, not come back at all the following year.

This is why the Smith County Master Gardeners, a volunteer organization of Texas AgriLife Extension Service, several years ago set about providing heirloom and other bulbs that are known and proven to bring years and years of lasting blooming enjoyment. This is done through the annual Bulb Sale which is held in conjunction with the Fall Gardening Conference in Tyler.

The Conference and Bulb Sale this year are on October 11. The Conference will be held at Marvin Methodist Church, starting at 8:30 a.m. with renown horticulturists Dr. Bill Welch and Chris Wisenger speaking about bulbs, perennials and using these plants in the landscape. After the Conference, the everyone will take the short drive over to Harvey Convention Center, where the Bulb Sale will take place starting at 11:45 a.m. and going until 3:00 p.m.

Don't miss this opportunity to get some premium, hard-to-find bulbs for your landscape. For details, go to East Texas Gardening Events and News and click on the links.