President’s Message

“Anyone who thinks that gardening begins in the spring and ends in the fall is missing the best part of the whole year. For gardening begins in January, begins with the dream.” Josephine Nuese, The Country Garden January is the two-faced month; we learn from last year if we have good sense, but turn our gaze ahead, invigorated by dreams, gardener gifts, and seed catalogues hot off the presses. Our dream for JCMGA is to extend the arms of the Extension Service with your shared knowledge and experience branching out through Jefferson County. We are hopeful that our organization will fuel your dreams, become your tool, and seed good projects across the area. According to tradition, this is the time to remind all members to account past year’s hours and to renew JCMGA membership. Dues are $35, enroll members for the calendar year (through December, 2018), and can be paid online or at our next meeting. Go to the “For MG’s” tab on our website, http://www.jeffcomg.org/about-us/about-us.html , where you can find a link to PayPal. We welcome newcomers any time of the year, BUT late renewal does shorten your term of membership and complicate rosters and bookkeeping. If you are reading this letter, please check that you’re up-to-date with your dues. While at it, record your hours by going to the “Master Gardener Service Report” link on the right and keying in your information. All 2017 volunteer hours need to be input by January 15, 2018. Your hours validate the Master Gardeners program.     Take a look at what Kathy Connolly is planning for the upcoming year and mark your calendars for monthly daytime and quarterly evening meetings. Feel free to sit-in with the current crop of JCMG interns on Thursdays, January 11 – April 19, to refresh your skills. Plan on attending “Learn, Nurture, Grow,” the state conference in Birmingham this spring, May 3-5.

Welcome the New Year

JCMGA January Program Notes

January 9, 2018

BBG Auditorium 9 am Social Hour 10 am Meeting

January 2018

Kathy Rostand, Editor

RRRooooootttsss aaannnddd SSShhhooooootttsss

All About Poinsettias: The Legend, History and Botany of America's

Most Popular Potted Plant

Brooke McMinn BBG Plant Adventures Program Specialist

President’s message continued, I’ve just come in from a walk around our weedy back lot, now trimmed by frost and my husband’s chainsaw, worthy of a few plans and tons of plants. It’s time to sharpen tools, take advantage of cool temperatures and short work days, and dream of Spring. I hope to see you January 9th

Gail Pless President

Roots and Shoots

January 2018

Annual Reach for the Stars Pot Luck Lunch and Awards Ceremony

Tuesday, February 13 9:00am Social Hour

10:00am Awards Ceremony Potluck lunch follows the awards ceremony.

Please bring a potluck luncheon item to share; beverages provided.

In order for your hours to count toward the awards at the 2018 ceremony, you must have them entered in the computer by January 15, 2018! Please contact Ken or Alicia Hall ASAP if you need help entering your hours. At the March meeting, Dr. Dan Jones will speak to us about growing ferns. In April, Dr. Larry Davenport will tell us about the beautiful Cahaba Lily. Kathy Connolly

Kathy Connolly Gail Pless Roger Clarke Bonnie O’Bannon 1st Vice President President Treasurer Secretary Chris Pugh, 2nd Vice President is not pictured

Jefferson County Master Gardeners Association New Officers 2018

Upcoming Programs for 2018

January 2018 Roots and Shoots

MASTER GARDENER CLASS, WINTER 2018

Jefferson County Thursdays, 8:30 AM-2:30 PM

Each meeting date has two refreshment breaks: 10:00 – 10:10 and 1:20 – 1:30

January 11 Introduction and Pre-Test Bethany O’Rear, REA Jefferson, Blount, St. Clair Landscape Myths January 18 Plant Biology Dr. Rudy Pacumbaba, Extension Specialist,

Home Grounds, Garden and Home Pests Alabama A&M University

January 25 Soils Dr. Charles Mitchell, Auburn University (retired) February 1 Plant Care & Maintenance Bethany O’Rear, REA Jefferson, Blount, St. Clair February 8 Home Vegetable Production Gary Gray, Regional Extension Agent

Backyard Fruits February 15 Home Lawns and Weed Control Eric Schavey, REA Northeast Alabama February 22 Plant Pathology Dr. Jim Jacobi, ACES, Plant Pathology Specialist Entomology Dani Carroll, REA East Central Region March 1 Invasive Plant Identification and Control Sallie Lee, Urban Regional Extension Agent Natives John Manion, Curator, BBG Wildflower Garden March 8 Woody Plant Selection Dr. Mike Rushing, Jefferson County Master Gardener March 15 Herbs Donna Taylor, Jefferson County Master Gardener Perennials Janet Taylor, Jefferson County Master Gardener March 22 Landscape Design Dr. David Williams, Department Head,

Auburn University Horticulture Department March 29 Plant Propagation Karen Smith, Jefferson County Master Gardener April 5 Heirloom Plants Jason Powell, Owner of Petals from the Past Fruit Crop Walking Tour Dr. Arlie Powell, AU (retired fruit specialist) Field Trip Thorsby, Alabama April 12 Volunteer Opportunities Bethany O’Rear, REA Jefferson, Blount, St. Clair

Answering Garden Questions Post-Test April 19 Optional Aldridge Gardens Field Trip Aldridge Gardens, Hoover, AL

Has it been a while since you took the Master Gardener Class? Would you like to refresh/update your knowledge? The new class begins January 11th. Check the

schedule below and find one or two that would be of interest to you. Let Annette or Bethany know you will be attending. CEU’s apply.

Roots and Shoots

January 2018

Learn the correct guidelines for pruning trees and shrubs, how to eliminate “crape murder,” and the best ways to remove unwanted limbs and stems to bring new vigor to your landscape. Using branches from the grounds, Rip will demonstrate how to correctly prune some of our favorite shrubs and specific landscape plants.

Upcoming Events at Aldridge Gardens To find information about other events or to register for classes, visit http://aldridgegardens.com.

To volunteer at Aldridge Gardens, contact Phyllis Giles at 205-682-8019 or volunteer@aldridgegardens.com.

Stop “Crape Murder” Pruning for Form Workshop

Tuesday, January 23, 2018 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Learn how to avoid doing this to your beautiful crape myrtles

$15 Members/$18 Non-Members Class size is limited. Pre-registration suggested.

Instructor Rip Weaver, CLARB, ASLA and Executive Director,

Aldridge Gardens

Dues are Due Master Gardener dues for 2018 are due now. They are $35. You can pay by PayPal at the JCMGA website, or by check or cash. Send it by mail or drop by the Extension office at BBG and leave your payment with Annette.

Treasurer’s Report January is the month we transition treasurers from Tom Douglass to me. I want to thank Tom for all he has done over the last three years to keep up our financial records. Tom I owe you coffee at the Red Cat when Pepper Place starts back up! Dues became delinquent January, 2018! Please mail checks to: JCMGA c/o Birmingham Botanical Gardens 2612 Lane Park Road Birmingham, AL 35223 I hope to have Square operating to be able to take credit card payment of dues at the January meeting. Monthly financial reports will start with the next issue. Any questions, please contact me at (205) 871-7470, or roger_clarke@bellsouth.net

January 2018 Roots and Shoots

News from the Library at Birmingham Botanical Gardens For more information, visit www.bbgardens.org/library.

Thyme to Read Book Club

Tuesday, February 6 at 6 PM

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See

No registration is required

For more information contact Hope Long, Library director, at 205-414-3931 or hlong@bbgardens.org

Art Gallery News

2018 Thyme to Read Book List January 9 Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life: The Plants and Places That Inspired the Classic Children's Tales. by Marta McDowell February 6 The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See March 6 Cutting back: My Apprenticeship in the Gardens of Kyoto by Leslie Buck April 3 Ecoviews too: ecology for all seasons by Whit Gibbons May 1 Truffle Boy by Ian Purkayastha June 5 Listen to the Land by Louise Agee Wrinkle July 10 The Forbidden Garden by Ellen Herrick August 7 The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative by Florence Williams September 4 The Secret Wisdom of the Earth by Christopher Scotton October 2 Gifts of the Crow: how perception, emotion, and thought allow smart birds to behave like humans by JohnMarzluff November 6 Maman's Homesick Pie: a Persian heart in an American kitchen by Donia Bijan December 4 Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant: Confessions of Cooking for One and Dining Alone by Jenni Ferrari-Adler

“Resilience” In January and February the Art Gallery will

feature the work of Lauren Pigford

Roots and Shoots

January 2018

Educational Opportunities at Birmingham Botanical Gardens Register online at www.bbgardens.org or, for more information, call Dawn Coleman at 205-414-3958.

Peter Rabbit's Garden Exploration

Instructor: Dawn Coleman Lee, Education Activities Specialist Saturday, January 13|noon-4 p.m.

Location: Birmingham Botanical Gardens - Orientation Room Members $10|Non-members $12 (1 adult & child) Additional family members $5

Join our education staff for an afternoon of blackberries, tea, and crafting inspired by the classic children’s tale of Peter Rabbit. Families will enjoy story time (group or individual story time) and various craft stations to explore at their own pace. Feel free drop in and out during this 4-hour time frame by building in garden exploration for the family. Registration includes all materials and supplies.

Sip & Craft: The Art & Science of Tree Rings Must be 21+ Instructor: Dawn Coleman Lee, Education Activities Specialist

Thursday, January 25 | 6-8 p.m. Location: Birmingham Botanical Gardens

Members $30|Non-members $35 Members $10|Non-members $12 (1 adult & child) Additional family members $5

Join us for a glass of wine and crafting at the Gardens. Under the guidance of Education Activities Specialist, Dawn Lee, participants will learn the source of tree rings and how they are used by scientists in the field of dendrochonology before trying their hand at acrylic pouring to create a tree ring art piece for their home. Come prepared for messy art play (Acrylic paint)! Fee includes instruction, materials and two glasses of wine. Space is limited; register soon!

Table Top Flower Arranging Must be 21+

Instructor: Jessica from Flower Magazine Monday, February 5 | 5:30-7pm

Location: Hodges Room Members-Only

Jessica Cohen of Flower Magazine will be leading the class in making a small table arrangement. All materials will be provided.

January 2018 Roots and Shoots

Keynote Speakers

ALABAMA MASTER GARDENERS

2018 STATE CONFERENCE BIRMINGHAM

MAY 3-5, 2018

THE SHERATON DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM

Registration coming in February

Dr. James B. McClintock is the Endowed University Professor of Polar and Marine Biology at the University of Alabama Birmingham. His research, funded over the last 25 years by the National Science Foundation, has more recently included studies of the impacts of rapid climate change. He recently returned from his 15th research expedition to Antarctica where over the past 20 years he and his research collaborators have become among the world’s authorities on Antarctic marine chemical ecology and drug discovery. Dr. McClintock’s expertise on the ecological impacts of climate change has garnered numerous invited lectures and he writes in the popular literature on this timely topic.

Felder Rushing tends gardens in both Mississippi and England and is a 10th generation Southern gardener who has hosted NPR’s Gestalt Gardener radio program for the last 15 years. You can also catch Felder as an online Q&A guy for HGTV. In addition to being a newspaper columnist, articles contributor to many national magazines, and author or co-author of 18 gardening books, some of which were national bestsellers, Felder is a longtime board member of the American Horticulture Society, founder of the international Slow Gardening movement, and was named by Southern Living as one of the “25 People Most Likely to Change the South.”

Tom Underwood currently serves as the Executive Director of the Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens, having assumed that position in February 2017. Tom holds a Bachelor's degree in Ornamental Horticulture from California Polytechnic State University and a Masters in Science Education from the University of Central Florida. Prior to moving to Birmingham, he was the Executive Director of the American Horticultural Society, the nation’s oldest gardening organization. He worked at Walt Disney World Resort for 20 years in various capacities, including Manager of the Horticulture Services Department.

Roots and Shoots

January 2018

Bethany A. O’Rear Regional Extension Agent Alabama Cooperative Extension System C. Beaty Hanna Horticulture and Environmental Center 2612 Lane Park Road Birmingham, AL 35223-1082

Master Gardeners We have a Jefferson County Master Gardener FACEBOOK page and a Jefferson County Cooperative Extension System FACEBOOK page. This is an easy process. Go to our website: jeffcomg.org. On the right hand side of the page you will see several icons. Scroll down to the Facebook icons and click on each one. When the page comes up, hit the “like” button.