THINGS I HAVE LEARNED ABOUT MYSELF AS A MASTER GARDENER Mary Jane Bosworth

Before we moved to North Carolina, I never knew there was such a thing as a Master Gardener. One day, as I was taking a break from helping my husband put siding on our new house, a neighbor drove over, all dressed up and with make-up on and I asked where she was going? She said she was going to a Master Gardener Meeting and after explaining what it was, asked if I would like to join? This was just after a worker with a backhoe offered to dig holes for the bushes I was trying to plant in solid, hard packed clay. Could I learn anything from going to a few meetings? I might. Also, I immediately thought how going to meetings would get me out of some construction duties and off ladders, so I said yes. The rest is history, some good, some bad, and some downright ugly. I did learn things. Most importantly, the soil in the South is different from that in Western New York. When you plant bushes in clay soil you don't include peat moss since it holds water and causes bushes to drown. As my gardening progressed over the years, through experience, I also learned other things. Don't believe everything you read on the label included by the company selling the plant. For example, if the label says the plant will grow to be 5' tall, it will most likely end up being 7'. Did you know that most bushes in NC grow to be the widest bushes in the world? Even becoming a Master Gardener did not prevent me from making these mistakes. See, I've always bought plants by price first and attributes second. I was made that way. It is not always a good thing when you are a gardener. I am now suffering from my previous picadillos. I have tall bushes where I should have short bushes. I could prune 24/7. Plants are spreading where I don't want them to and those I wish would spread, don't seem to know how. Over the years I have expanded gardens to completely surround the house. When my husband suggested I plant flowers on the side of the house so he wouldn't have to cut the sloping lawn, of course I obliged (now he complains about not being able to get to the house to power wash it because of the plants, but that is another story). Finally, I realized that something had to be done. The garden could take over my life. The only thing to do was to take drastic action. I made a plan and realized it would take a few years to complete. Along came Covid and gave me more time to execute my plan. I took stock of what I really liked about gardening, like: getting things organized in the spring, not working in the hot summer days, enjoying a few veggies from my garden, getting exercise in cool weather. On my “I hate to do list” were things like: having to prune too many bushes that were too big for me and required a ladder, constant weeding, bugs, deer, rabbits, squirrels, generally all creatures viciously attacking MY plants. Stage 1 included removing all things no longer wanted. Like puppies, the plants were cute when they were little but now they were like 300 pound dogs. Ten Burford Hollies were cut and killed. I was merciless. Nandina, spreading beyond belief, cut to the quick and sprayed to death (I hope). Pampas grass gone (with the help of heavy equipment). I did not have a clean slate to work on but I had eliminated a lot of tedious work. I must admit, I will miss the berries. Stage 2 required reformatting the gardens. Raised beds were constructed (thanks Bill) to organize and limit my veggie planting. Also with raised beds the crops could more easily be protected from deer with poles placed on the corners and a net covering. To access these raised beds, I made a WIDE path (eliminating more garden). One garden in the center of the lawn was completely eliminated and grass planted, making grass cutting easier. Stage 3 will happen this spring. If everything dies that is supposed to, I will be able to plant some nice, friendly plants. I do not want anything tall as I keep getting shorter. Nothing over 3 feet. Nothing prickly. I do not like pain. Nothing that will spread like crazy. I like plants that know their place. In conjunction with this, if anyone offers to share something from their garden I will be wary, as it MUST be spreading like crazy in their own garden. If I can't find enough plants to fill my garden, I will resort to garden décor; gnomes, statues, whirlygigs, pink flamingos. You get the idea. After almost 20 years as a Master Gardener, I still don't know if I am a Master but I do love the gardening, only now on my own terms. It only took me 20 years to figure this out but I learned a lot and had fun along the way.

ALL THE BUZZ by Bea Leach

All the Buzz, by Bea Leach It has been a mild winter here in Vance county until these last couple of weeks. This is the wettest winter I have experienced since moving here. I have enjoyed working in my yard on dry afternoons. On wet days, I do a walkabout looking at the plants and wondering what should be done in spring. When we moved into this house there were many plants, trees and shrubs that had been sadly neglected. Those that we knew weren’t going to make it were removed or transplanted to a spot that was more to the plants liking. But there was this one shrub. I just never could come to like it but yet, I didn’t feel like we should get rid of it either. The Berberis bealei, commonly known as Leatherleaf Mahonia, is just an odd looking plant. The irregular, long stems come out of the ground every which way. There is no form. And for goodness sakes, you do not want to back into that thing! Those spiny leaves are lethal. Somewhere in mid-January, it started to bloom with its showy yellow clusters. Meh, it has that going for it at least. I know those blooms will turn into clusters of purple berries that the birds love. But then I noticed something else about this shrub. Once the sun warmed things up, the bees came out and started enjoying the pollen from these flowers, and providing a winter nectar source is a great way to support our pollinator friends. However, I noted that the NC State Extension Plant Toolbox (https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu) lists the Berberis bealei as an invasive species. We have not had any problems with containing ours, so I asked the local Horticulture Agent, Paul McKenzie, why it was classified as such. Here’s what he said: “Plants are classified as ‘exotic invasive’ not necessarily due to spreading in your own yard, but because of their tendency to spread beyond your yard into places they’re not wanted such as natural habitats. In those habitats, they can compete or even displace native plant species, and while they may provide berries, nectar or other food, the quality of that food is generally inferior to what’s provided by native plants.” Another winter bloomer in our yard is the Chaenomeles speciosa, Flowering Quince. It has just started blooming bright reddish pink flowers. This shrub has been in our yard for the twelve years we have lived here. It obviously does not like its current location as it hasn’t grown in these years so we will move it to a sunnier location come spring. The other entertainment in our yard this winter is the birds. There have been so many birds that I have had a hard time keeping the four feeders and three suet baskets full. I am also feeding dried mealworms and scattering seed in the underbrush. The birds visiting my backyard are the usual suspects; Cardinals, Tufted Titmice, Carolina Wrens, Black Capped and Carolina Chickadees, Dark-eyed Juncos, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird and Mourning Doves. Before this late winter cold snap, there were many Eastern Bluebirds dining at my feeders. We also have two pairs of Eastern Towhees! I was excited to see them return after a couple years absence. There is a pair of red bellied woodpeckers that can be seen every morning and again in the evening at the suet feeders. Mr. Checkers takes a chunk of suet and flies to a nearby branch where Mrs. Checkers is awaiting a bite. It is endearing to watch. Another bird always entertaining me is the White-breasted Nuthatch. These little characters are avian acrobats, hanging and walking upside down from branches and feeders and hopping head first and backwards along branches. They are the only bird that can go down a tree head first. Nuthatches store food by food caching. They wedge seeds, nuts or insects into the bark of a tree, then they cover it up with a bit of bark or lichen for winter eating. Like the woodpeckers, nuthatches are also monogamous and keep their mate for life. And then there are the bad boys of the backyard, the Blue Jay. People either like them or they hate them. I’ve always been partial to the bad boys, so I am in the camp that likes them. These loud, boisterous birds have many qualities that make them interesting and wanted in my backyard. The bright coloring of a Blue Jay is a welcome sight on a dreary, gray winter’s day. Blue Jays are members of the Corvidae family which include crows and ravens, birds that are considered very intelligent. One smart thing a Blue Jay does is imitate the call of a Red-Shouldered Hawk, thus alerting them and smaller birds to a predator in the vicinity. Blue Jays are thought to be the biggest reason oak trees have been spread across North America. Their love of nuts and seeds has led to many a tree or flower growing from a forgotten meal hidden away for winter. During spring and summer, they will feed nasty insects and caterpillars such as tent caterpillars and wasps and wasp larvae to nestlings. Blue Jays are also monogamous and the males work just as hard as the females to build a home and take care of their babies. If you are interested in birds, you need to check out Lesley the Bird Nerd on YouTube. She is amazing and has developed some pretty interesting relationships with the birds in her Canadian environment. Here’s hoping that all this wet weather makes for a lovely spring. Until next time…