TABLE OF

CONTENTS

BUILDING CONNECTIONS

1

TOM 2

GARDEN INFOFEST

4

NEW KIDS on the BLOCK... 6

FLAX 8

BOOK REVIEWS 9

MINUTES 10

ROUNDUP RETREAT

11

FALL FUN... 12

NEWSY NEWS 13

COOL SHADE FOR THE 3RD GRADE

14

GENERAL MEETINGS

15

ENABLED GARDENING

16

PRESIDENT’S CORNER

18

COMING SOON 20

2009 BOARD/ COMMITTEES

22

DCMGADCMGADCMGADCMGA

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S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9 V O L U M E X I I , I S S U E 3

This class allows those Master Gardeners who are interested in receiving "leadership" training that is especially helpful in the Volunteer sector. Hopefully, it will put many who have given it some thought, and shied away, the boost they need to step forward and lead a Committee, a Project, or take a place on our Board - We are always look-ing for and needing folks who don't mind taking a risk and leading. 1. Personality Traits of Leaders: Learn the difference between general personal-ity traits and common leadership traits. Learn to identify your personal leadership traits as well as those traits that can benefit from development. 2. Leading Teams: Learn about the ten essentials of team-work and how to facili-tate effective team-based tasks/work. 3. Working in Groups: Learn how to be an effective team member. Also, learn how to identify your own "technical skills" that can benefit a team task as well as your personal characteristics that help in the resolution of problems or differences that allow others to function as a team. 4. Motivating Others: Learn to identify the factors that motivate individuals. Learn about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, the Herzbergh Two Factor, and McClelland's Acquired Needs. 5. Understanding Boards: Learn how to target and select key individuals to serve on advisory boards. Learn about the characteristics of potential board mem-bers, how to establish criteria for board member selection and the responsibilities

associated with board membership. I hope that many of you will give this opportunity a chance to brighten your life and help make DCMGA better. Please note, we have 30 places available and it will be "first come, first enrolled". If we don't have a full enrollment we will offer this opportunity to Master Naturalist volunteers. To sign up, please contact Donna at 940.349.2883 or email her at donna.wolfe@dentoncounty.com. You can either bring or buy your lunch. We will have a menu in the morning and have lunch brought in for those who would like to purchase their lunch. There will be some light snacks provided throughout the day.

‘Building Connections’ Community Leadership Program

September 23, 2009 9:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.

Extension Office Large Meeting/Training Room

1989-2009 CELEBRATING

20 YEARS

TOM HARPOOL 1918-2009 A TRUE LEADER TO EVERYONE

HE MET, SEE PAGE 2

Tom had his garden planted this spring. Mostly okra this year. Only

one garden, now. There had been four gardens every year until just a

few years ago, and then only two; and now one. But then I guess at 91!

That’s what a seed man does: plant and grow things. That’s what a

man does to whom seedtime and harvest time are the two most impor-

tant seasons of the year. There won’t be any pepper jelly this year.

We knew this day would come. It had to. It has to for all of us. It’s

just that when someone has always been there-always been an active,

vital presence-always been an important part of everything. . .well, the

empty seat in the pew, and the vacant chair at the meeting, and the

absence of that smiling, warm and welcoming presence in our midst, is

more evident than usual; more intrusive into our lives than often such

an absence is.

And we are left to do what Tom Harpool always did at such times. We

pull up our socks and get on with it. We take another page from Tom’s

playbook and smile through the tears. We remember the multitude of

lessons he taught us, and re-double our efforts to try to follow in the

footsteps he left.

What do we do? We say, as one of Tom’s long-time friends said to me

several days ago: “Weren’t we lucky to have him with us so long?!” To

which I say: “Amen!” How lucky, indeed! How blessed we all have

been! And so I am giving thanks - joyful, happy thanks - that I had the

privilege of knowing Tom, and loving Tom, and working with Tom, and

serving with Tom, and learning from him, and finding in him a role

model, and an accepting, caring, loving, steadfast, loyal friend. And I

know I am not alone. Indeed, I am quite certain I am joined by each

and every one of you, and by a grand host of others. For we have all

been the beneficiaries of Tom’s presence in our lives.

It has been my privilege to know Tom Harpool, and to call him my

friend, for 42 years. Over that time I have come to think of him as

Denton’s George Bailey in Frank Capra’s classic Christmas film: “It’s a

Wonderful Life.” If Jimmy Stewart were still with us, I think he would

be perfect to play Tom in a sequel.

You may remember the premise of Jimmy Stewart’s movie. George

Bailey’s Guardian Angel, Clarence, is sent to show George the differ-

ence his life has made in his home town of Bedford Falls, and in the

lives of so many people. Well, think with me about what Tom’s Guard-

ian Angel could have shown him!

How different would things have been without the Harpool family: Tom

and his beloved wife of 67 years, Rebecca, and their seven children, as

a model of a close-knit, loving family unit. How different this congre-

gation would have been without his steadying influence, his welcoming

outreach, his mature judgment and spiritual leadership as an Elder and

Session member for 30 years as Steve has already reminded us.

How different the Kiwanis Club with it activities and service projects

would have been without his 68 years of membership and leadership.

How different the seed and fertilizer business would have been, not

just in this North Central Texas city, but across the state, and the

region, and indeed nationally without his involvement in seed research

and development, and the setting of high standards for honesty and

integrity in business practices, through his involvement not just as a

member, but as the president of industry associations such as: the

Texas Seedsmen’s Association; the Southern Seedmen’s Association;

the Texas Association of Nurserymen; the National Lawn and Garden

Distributor’s Association, and the Texas Certified Seed Producers.

How different the ambiance of our city would be without his work with

the Beautification of Denton program, and the Redbud Tree project,

and the Master Gardener’s program.

How different so many things are - how positively impacted so many

lives have been - because there was a Tom Harpool who lived among us.

What a wonderful life!

With Tom’s death, some may think that this meditation should be enti-

tled: “It Was a Wonderful Life.” I thought about that, and decided

against it. Because, in a real sense, Tom Harpool’s life has not ended.

Oh yes, his physical presence is gone from us - sadly. We will no longer

hear him say: “You don’t mean it?! Well, bless your heart!” We will

not have the inspiration of his infectious optimism, and the benefit of

his well-worn wisdom. But his legacy lives on, not just in the lives of

his children, and grandchildren, and great-grandchild, and in the

memories we all hold of him, but in so many ways in this community

and in this church, both of which he loved and served so faithfully for

so very many years.

On nearly every significant endeavor in the city of Denton over the last

70 years, we can see Tom Harpool’s fingerprints. I dare say that a half

century from now, young people in this community who have never

heard of Tom Harpool - and may never hear his name unless they go to

the Tom Harpool Middle School - will benefit from the projects Tom

worked on, and the policies Tom helped to initiate. I stand by my

decision to say: “It’s a Wonderful Life!”

“IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE”

A Meditation at Tom Harpool’s Memorial Service by Fred Cassell

June 15, 2009

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DCMGA is donating books to the Emily Fowler Library in honor and memory of Tom. If you would like to contribute, please bring your donation to the next general meeting in September.

Denton’s City charter has Tom’s fingerprints on it. The measures to

conserve and preserve the water resources for North Texas bear his

fingerprints through his work for half a century, and for the past 20

years as a member of the Upper Trinity Regional Water District Board

since its inception. The Good Samaritan retirement facilities have

Tom’s fingerprints all over them, because without his leadership as one

of three men who saw the need, and had the vision, and did the initial

leg work, Good Sam would not be in Denton. The Denton Independent

School District which so wisely and presciently named a middle school

in Tom’s honor just this past year, has Tom’s fingerprints on it, as for

example, it was during his 15- year tenure on the Board that Denton’s

schools were desegregated.

Denton’s Chamber of Commerce which years ago awarded him its Otis

Fowler award, still has policies in effect from the time of Tom’s presi-

dency in 1953. The United Way was turned from three years of unsuc-

cessfully reaching its goal to going over the top under his leadership as

its president in 1972-73. The Longhorn Council of the Boy Scouts which

awarded him its highest honor: the Silver Beaver, still bears the imprint

of his leadership. Should we go on? If it was good, and positive, and

progressive, and forward-looking, and of service to others, Tom was not

only a supporter of it, he was a leader in it.

This city, this congregation, and all of us whose lives he touched, have

been, and will be for years to come, the beneficiaries of Tom’s bound-

less energy, insightful wisdom, and sacrificial willingness to serve.

What a treasure! What a wonderful life!

Nearly 40 years ago, a young man called his friend, Tom, for some sage

advice. A group of people had decided they would like to run the young

man for a place on the School Board, and who better to seek advice

from than a long-time member of the Board. “What do you think, Tom?

Should I run?” With no hesitation, and with that positive enthusiasm

which he always had, he said: “I think it would be wonderful to have

you on the Board! You’d make a great member! Don’t run!”

He was right, of course. It was good advice, given with caring and

respect. And it was followed. Tom could give you an answer you didn’t

want to hear, and make you glad you asked. He had a way of holding

strong opinions, without making people angry who didn’t agree with

him.

Asked once what he would have liked to have been if he hadn’t become

a Seed and Nursery Man, he replied: “A Mediator.” What a mediator

Tom would have been! Agreed?! Indeed, in a real way, he was a me-

diator in all kinds of situations. Everybody - or nearly so - who has run

for public office in the last 60 years has wanted his endorsement. And

he gave it to many, many candidates, and to a multitude of causes. But

he did it in such a way that he never made those he couldn’t endorse,

angry. He had the knack of getting along with everyone. A long-time

friend of Tom’s and I were trying recently to think if we had ever heard

anyone speak disparagingly of Tom. We couldn’t come up with a single

instance. Tom was one of those people about whom Jesus was speaking

when he said: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called

children of God.”

I feel akin to Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg whose words I paraphrase:

“The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it

will long remember what he did in and for this city, this congregation,

this community of family and friends.”

And why was his leadership recognized, and the honors heaped upon

him as they were, and he was so universally loved and respected?

Because. . .Tom Harpool was the man he was: kind, honest, responsi-

ble, mature, wise, loving, caring, a gentleman in every way; warm, out-

going, interested in other people; a faithful, loving husband and father;

a man of deep, strong, tested Christian faith; someone for whom the

Golden Rule was not simply words in the Bible, but a maxim by which to

live; a man who loved God and loved his fellow humans; a man who

wrote his own epitaph when in an interview for a newspaper article in

2000 A.D. said he would like his epitaph to read: “He did love his

neighbors.”

Tom, you wrote it, and far more than that: you lived it!

And so we have come today not simply to remember Tom, because we

are not about to forget him. Not simply to honor his memory, for that

been done in the past. But we have come to give thanks to the God

Tom loved and served; the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ;

come to give thanks to God for the life and legacy of our friend, and for

the privilege we have all had to have been touched and influenced so

greatly by his wonderful life.

And we have come, too, to thank our God for the glorious promise

assured to us through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, that as

He lives, so we shall live, also; that God has so loved us that everyone

who believes in him - as our friend Tom most surely did - should not

perish, but should have eternal life. We have come to thank our God

that, as the great Apostle Paul wrote, when this perishable seed shall

put on imperishability, and when this mortal seed shall put on immor-

tality, then death shall be swallowed up in victory. Thanks be to God!

page 3

Vegetable

Gardening

Water

Conservation

Fall Garden InfoFestFall Garden InfoFestFall Garden InfoFestFall Garden InfoFest Saturday, October 3 9:30 a.m. — 3:00 p.m.

Upper Trinity Regional Water District

Zero Lot Line Veggie Gardening Mary Karish

Seeds for Today and Tomorrow Wayne Pianta

Rain Water Harvesting

Billy Kniffen How to Water Efficiently

Dotty Woodson

Add Charm, Beauty, Whimsy

& Movement

Building Rain Barrels

Drip Irrigation

DIY(Do It Yourself) for Water Issues

Landscaping for Water Conservation

Rain Gardens

Backyard Concepts Water features of all kinds; plants;

supplies; instructional classes

CCHBA & Carabella Farms Fresh unfiltered wildflower honey

Cross Roads Station Lawn Statuary - Yard Art - Gifts - Salsas/Relishes

Garden Shoppe - DCMGA Everything Garden - Books - Tools - Gloves - Yard Art

Go Green Lifestyles Healthier living with health and wellness products

Inspired Creations Angel crosses from TX stone & agate and wire-wrapped jewelry

Life Botanica Native plants & organically (non-chemical) grown hardy plants and herbs

Living Earth Soils - Mulches - Compost - Natural Stone

Lone Star Forge Yard Art and Metal Garden Designs

Massage Heights Therapeutic services & a full line of quality products for home use

Outdoor Wooden Furniture Quality outdoor furniture of all kinds, shapes and sizes

Stones by Nature Engraved Sandstones

Texoma Trees Trees - Ornamental grasses - Perennials - Annual Color - Shrubs

The Rain Barrel Connection Rain harvesting barrels (100% recycled food grade plastic) and tanks

S H O P P I N G

SPEAKERS

The ABC’s of Seeds

Community Gardens

Diggin’ Deeper

Soil Prep and Composting

Making Pretty

Winter Vegetable Gardens

Critters in your Garden

DCMGA DEMOS

SPEAKERS

DCMGA DEMOS

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Fall Garden InfoFestFall Garden InfoFestFall Garden InfoFestFall Garden InfoFest

WHERE ARE YOU NEEDED?

APPROX 40

VOLUNTEERS SPEAKERS ROOM

DCMGA DEMO BOOTHS WELCOME DESK DOOR PRIZES

SILENT AUCTION RAIN BARREL CONSTRUCTION

CONTACT DONNA WOLFE AT

940.349.2883 OR DONNA.WOLFE@DENTONCOUNTY.COM

CANOPIES

CONTACT SANDY READ AT 940.365.1762 OR

SVREAD@SBCGLOBAL.NET

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Dolores Payne...has lived in Argyle for 5 yrs and came from Mesquite. She enjoys perennials, landscaping and vegetable gardening. Dolores plans to design a backyard flower garden, a patio garden and create a backyard oasis for guests to relax.

Kere Post...has lived in Argyle for 2 years, moving there from Flower Mound. Her passions include vegetables and flower gardens. Her plans include educating homeowners on good gardening practices. Kere loves to make habitats for birds and enjoys her waterfall pond.

Ellen Robinson...has lived in The Colony 1/2 yr., she is originally from the Chicago area,

but took a shortcut to Washington for 4 yrs. She

says the flowers up north are incredible, the heat

and lack of rain in Texas making a big difference.

She has a passion for vegetables-creating and

maintaining a sustainable landscape. She plans on

learning how to take care of what the previous

owners placed in her gardens and would like to

help with local school gardens. Ellen speaks Span-

ish fluently.

New Kids on the Block...New Kids on the Block...New Kids on the Block...New Kids on the Block... Lots of new faces running around DCMGA-here are a few of their stories...

Pat Pape...lives in Copper Canyon for the last 1 1/2 yrs and has gardened in Waco and California. She likes gardening in California better, but living in Texas better. Her garden passions include veggies, trees and perennials. Pat plans to garden with knowledge gained instead of by the seat of her pants once she completes class. She and her tolerant husband live on 4.5 acres with 6 goats, 2 dogs, 2 cats and boards 2 horses nearby.

Natasha Pierson…has lived in Denton for 2

years coming to us from Houston. She is passionate

for all flowers, and plans on growing beautiful ones

once she completes class. Natasha’s children be-

lieves she can communicate with the fairies.

Kris Robinson...has lived in Flower Mound for 18 years and came all the way from Dallas. Her garden passions include attracting butterflies to her gardens by providing natural food sources and shel-ter. She plans to incorporate the living (plants) with the non-living (structures) items of interest in her garden. She has lots of ideas and is gaining the knowledge to put them to good use.

Martin Richards...has lived in Denton for 27 years, coming here from Georgia. He says there is less rain and humidity, soil is different, lots more wind, and more oaks, less pines here in this part of Texas. He has a passion for vegetables-esp. aspara-gus, grapes, figs, and strives for natural pest control. Martin plans to lower water usage, compost waste, try new varieties with low maintainence. He has been gardening since he was 10 years old and thanks his mom and dad for that.

Fall Garden InfoFestFall Garden InfoFestFall Garden InfoFestFall Garden InfoFest MEET THE SPEAKERMEET THE SPEAKERMEET THE SPEAKERMEET THE SPEAKER

Zero Lot Line Veggie Gardening Zero Lot Line Veggie Gardening Zero Lot Line Veggie Gardening Zero Lot Line Veggie Gardening Mary Karish Mary Karish Mary Karish Mary Karish

A 2009 DCMGA Intern, Mary is passionate about vegetable gardening and has turned her zero lot line yard into an abundance of vegetable gardens and flowers. She shares her methods of converting an all-grass yard into this oasis. She also explains how she deals with H.O.A. guidelines.

WELL, NOT QUITE IN THE BACK YARD!

WHILE TAKING A BREAK FROM THE TEXAS HEAT JANIE AND BRENT FARLER

ENCOUNTERED A MOMMA MOOSE AND HER BABY CROSSING THE ROAD WHILE

TOURING ALASKA THIS SUMMER...THE MOMMA MOOSE GAVE JANIE AND BRENT A

STERN LOOK TO MAKE THEM STOP SO HER BABY COULD CROSS...

1. The Nominating Committee will meet in early September, 2. The slate will be sent out in mid October,

3. The election takes place at the General Membership Meeting on November 11th.

CONTACT CONNIE GREGORY IF INTERESTED IN ONE OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTOR POSITIONS AT 972.539.9290 OR CONNEST@VERIZON.NET

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Linen, woven from flax, became the fabric of choice during the 8th century when

Charlemagne decreed that flax was more sanitary than wool and ordered his sub-

jects to cultivate flax. Then medieval herbalist Bartholomew said that flax was

the most useful herb to mankind. We’re not prepared to debate the subject but do

make note that Bartholomew obviously had no experience with polyester.

Having legal clothing was good but then Medieval herbalists passed the word that

flax would bring good fortune. Only good magic could be practiced in a field of

flax and a child who danced in such a field would definitely become beautiful. With

these attributes in mind we easily see that polyester is not even a close second.

Cloth production was deemed so important to the survival of the American colo-

nies that laws were passed requiring every household to spin a certain amount of

flax grown from the European flax seeds they’d brought to the New World.

The blue flowers are beautiful, the seed pods dry nicely, linen fabric can be made

from the fibers of the plant, linseed oil is extracted from the seeds but our inter-

est in flax lies primarily in the nutritional value of the SEEDS. Alpha-linolenic acid,

an essential omega-3 fatty acid, makes up more than half the fat in flax seed and it

is this acid that is thought to protect against coronary heart disease and stroke.

Flax is being studied in prevention of breast and colon cancer as well as for lower-

ing blood cholesterol levels. Research is finding helpful benefits from flax in the

treatment of arthritis and lupus.

Flax seed contains high quantities of both soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fi-ber reduces blood cholesterol and insoluble fiber improves bowel regularity. Surely

this daily function-demonstrating good health and utter comfort-must be what Me-

dieval herbalists meant when they said flax would bring good fortune.

Sprinkle crushed flax seed on your oatmeal, add the seed to breads, muffins and

cookies, toss a few crushed seeds on a salad and save out a few to plant next

spring. Be of good fortune!

Article submitted by Darryl and Marsha Herron from Olive Forge Herb Farm

located in Haddock, GA. The Herrons are Middle Georgia Master Gardeners.

Fall Garden InfoFestFall Garden InfoFestFall Garden InfoFestFall Garden InfoFest MEET THE SPEAKERMEET THE SPEAKERMEET THE SPEAKERMEET THE SPEAKER

Seeds for Today and Tomorrow Wayne Pianta

Ball Horticulture Burpee Seeds is now part of the very large Ball Horticulture Co. Mr. Pianta will share his knowledge about vegetable seed production and research.

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Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities By Amy Stewart Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, May, 2009

How would you like to have the most dangerous garden in the neighborhood? This is the book that could make that possible. Amy Stewart has compiled a collection of more than 200 of the most menacing plants imaginable. With a sometimes humorous approach to these daunting dangers of nature, this book is definitely not a dry recitation of the per-ils that may be planted out back by the patio. Did you know that the reason you don’t find raw cashew nuts in the gro-cery store is that they are a member of the family whose members include poi-son oak and poison ivy. The nut is safe but if it comes in contact with the shell or vine if could pass on the oils that give you that nasty rash. For most of the plants there is a bit of history, where you can find the plant, and what the problem is with the plant. As an added plus the book is beautifully illustrated with threatening line drawings of some of the plants. I found this to be a very interest-ing book, but I don’t think I will be adding any new plant ideas to my gar-den.

Carefree Plants Reader’s Digest Publishing, 2009

This book has descriptions and photographs of 200 low-maintenance plants that will add beauty to everyone’s garden. Surprisingly for a book written for a national audience most of the plants covered can be grown in north Texas. One page is devoted to each plant, starting with an explanation of how the plant should be used in a landscape. This i s followed by information on color options or some other unique characteristic about the plant. Easy to understand detailed information on how to grow the plant successfully, including maintenance, will help even the novice gardener provide lasting beauty to their landscape. For each plant there is also a list of Fundamental Facts, some of which are Attributes, Season of Interest, Quirks, Where it Grows Best, and Potential Problems. I think this would be a great book to peruse as you are planning a new or updated garden.

BOOK REVIEWS BRENT BLOECHLE

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DENTON COUNTY MASTER GARDENER ASSOCIATION BOARD MEETING

August 5, 2009

I. CALL TO ORDER President Linda Williams called the DCMGA Board of Directors meeting to order at 10:05 a.m. at the Texas Agrilife Extension office in Denton, TX. In atten-dance were Linda Williams, Sandy Hiatte, Brenda Wellenreiter, Lucille Del Vecchio, Annell Burns, Shirley Manfredi, Donna Wolfe, Connie Gregory, Zoe Brox-son, Sandy Read, and Sue Hudiburgh.

II. MINUTES Minutes for July Board meeting were forwarded to the Board via e-mail. Minutes were accepted as presented.

III. TREASURER’S REPORT Shirley Manfredi, DCMGA Treasurer submitted report. Report was accepted as presented.

IV. COMMITTEE REPORTS Project Administration—Connie Gregory submitted report. Janet met with Steve Spurger about the LISDOLA project. Fundamentally it is not a project anymore. Might become one again in the future as plans change. Connie has done some investigation of how other organizations handle projects. Tarrant County has different levels of projects—Certified and Non-Certified. Denton County may want to move towards something like that in the future. At the next general membership meeting, Linda Williams will be asking for volunteers to serve on a committee to look at raising service hours vs. instituting various levels of service.

A. Ways & Means—Sandy Read submitted report. Sandy has gone through the 2008 records to determine inventory of resale merchandise. In her opinion we are losing money. Do we want to retain the Garden Shoppe? Do we want to make money? Will present the need for a committee to look at these issues at the next general membership meeting on August 12. When she did the inventory, Sandy determined that we have a number of rain gauges with the old logo on them. Suggestion was made that we give these to the SWAT teachers who are meeting today. Plant stakes for the garden tour are currently coming out of the Ways and Means budget. Sandy recommends this amount go into the tour budget. This will be a conversation between the new President and the new Treasurer when they compile the 2010 budget.

B. Communications—Lucille Del Vecchio submitted report. Questions about how we want to publicize the Hoop House and Cold Frame Construction Work-shop that is coming up in September. Workshop will be open to both the public and Master Gardeners. Lucille will proceed with publicity. Lucille asked about how we want to handle paid publicity for the InfoFest. Last year we paid for an ad in the Denton Record Chronicle only. Consensus was that we want to do that again this year. Will try to get the event on the Neil Sperry web-site and get a mention on his radio show. Will also get some-thing in Neighbors Go.

C. Programs—Linda Williams submitted report in Carolyn Tinner’s absence. Karen Smith will talk with us about getting our trees ready for winter at the general meeting on August 12.

D. Member-at-Large—Brenda Wellenreiter submitted report. By-Laws Committee will probably be having its last meeting next week. E. Report from the County Coordinator—Donna Wolfe submitted report in Janet Laminack’s absence. Janet at SWAT meeting.

First Denton County Water Summit was very well attended, however not a lot came out of it. Next Water Summit is scheduled for September 14. F. Volunteer Coordinator—Donna Wolfe submitted report. Already have fourteen applications for the 2010 class. G. Speaker’s Bureau—Linda Williams submitted report in Annie Brackin’s absence. Speaker’s Bureau will be having a training session for potential new and

existing Speaker’s Bureau members on August 6 at 2:00 at the Extension Office. H. Scholarship Committee—Linda Williams submitted report. An e-mail was sent out to solicit suggestions as to how to use money donated in Tom Harpool’s

name, since the family designated the Master Gardener organization as a recipient of memorials for Tom. Three suggestions were received. The suggestion that was accepted was to give donated monies to the Lillian Miller Library and let them purchase gardening books in Tom’s name. Suggestion also made to open the donation process up to the other members of the organization to see if others would like to add to the total. Donations would be made directly to the Lillian Miller Library.

V. ANNOUNCEMENTS/GROUP DISCUSSION A. Leadership—Linda Williams submitted report. On September 23, Monica Santiago is going to teach a Leadership Training class at the Extension Office. The

session will be 6 to 8 hours. Linda proposed that we open the session up to the Master Naturalists and 4-H in order to ensure the 25 participants Monica requires. There is a max of 30 participants. If all goes well, we would like to have a follow-up session with different topics at a later date. Participants should bring lunch.

B. Watershed/InfoFest/VegHeads—Linda Williams submitted report. The next InfoFest meeting is on August 14 at 10:00 a.m. at the Extension Office. Sue Hudiburgh and Shirley Manfredi have been working on flyers and posters for the event. Proposed poster will be the same size as the garden tour poster. Colorful, smaller version of the poster with a map on the back will be the flyer. Will get 100 posters and 500 flyers printed. Sandy Read has approached fifteen vendors about having booths at the InfoFest. Three vendors have signed on as of this date. Sandy questioned whether we want to sell Steve Huddleston’s book at this event. He has a prior commitment and will not be available to sign them as he did at the Plant Sale. Zoe Broxson made a motion for us to buy a case of his books to sell at the InfoFest. Lucille Del Vecchio seconded the motion. There was discussion and the motion passed unanimously.

C. Demonstration Garden—Linda Williams submitted report. On August 12 Linda Williams, Janet Laminack, Connie Gregory, and Danny Brumley are sched-uled to meet with Judge Mary Horn about the possibility of using County land to establish a Demonstration Garden. Linda will report at the next Board Meeting.

D. State Board Meeting—Linda Williams submitted report. The quarterly Texas Master Gardener Board Meeting was held on Saturday August 1 in College Station. There were four major things discussed at this meeting that will potentially affect the Denton County organization.

1. Chartering—The State is asking that each organization be chartered from year to year due to such frequent changes in the Extension Agents. This would be standardized rules and regulations and best management practices from A & M.

2. Insurance Coverage—There was a presentation by Jerry Brown on liability insurance. AgriLife does not insure us under any circumstances. Some counties do have an organization liability policy. They add $1.00 onto dues in order to pay for the policy. We need to pursue this by get-ting some insurance cost numbers.

3. Dallas County asked for and received $5,000 in seed money for the 2010 Conference which they are hosting. There was a great deal of discus-sion at the State meeting about this action. If the State organization continues to do this, they will run out of money in just a few years. Should the money be paid back? Should State dues be raised in order to cover this cost? This will continue to be discussed at future meetings.

4. The State organization is going to begin delivering the Newsletter to individual e-mail boxes. E. Upcoming Roundup and Retreat—Connie Gregory submitted report. This year’s Round Up is scheduled for October 21 to be held at the Extension Office.

Connie requested we move the annual Planning Retreat to November because we are so busy in October. Suggested November 18. Linda Williams will call Upper Trinity to investigate holding it there.

F. 2010 Class Schedule—Zoe Broxson submitted report. All of the speakers for the 2010 class have confirmed. She will be convening a Planning Committee Meeting some time in September.

Meeting adjourned at 11:50 a.m.

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DCMGA RETREAT

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18TH

UPPER TRINITY REGIONAL WATER DISTRICT BOARD ROOM

9:00AM - 3:00PM

This is a great opportunity for all

Veterans and Interns, come and help plan DCMGA for 2010.

ROUND UP

AgriLife Extension Office in Denton

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21ST

10:00 a.m. - NOON

Join in for an informal gathering, enjoy refreshments, and bring a friend

who has a mutual interest in gardening to find out about becoming a

Denton County Master Gardener and what DCMGA is all about.

Are you looking for adventure and excitement in the great outdoors yet remaining close to home? Then come one and come all to the natural, native and wild “circus” at Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center or CCNHC located at the confluence of the Clear Creek and Elm Fork of the Trinity River, roughly ten minutes from the extension office. The current visitor/education center is located along the north end of Collins Road where it intersects with Hartlee Field Road. Clear Creek started as a joint project between UNT, TWU, Denton Parks and Recreation, Denton ISD and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. The Corp currently owns the land that is now leased by the City of Denton. It encompasses some 2700 acres of Lake Lewisville’s upper floodplain and will remain as a dedicated preserve with the exception of 50 acres that have been provided for a visitor center and numerous trails. The acreage is diverse featuring some rare bottomland forest area, wetlands, prairie and grasslands. Denton ISD is currently sending 2nd, 4th and 5th grade school children to the center

with continued plans for an expanded program. The City of Denton provides naturalist-guided walking tours on many weekends and the entire area is an open day-use facility. Our role as Master Gardeners is to assist the city and the Master Naturalists with the development of a na-tive plant demonstration garden to showcase and edu-cate the public about North Texas native plants and how to incorporate them into urban/residential land-scapes as well as to encourage resource conservation practices. The good news is that much of the hard work has already been done thanks to the efforts of many of the current MG and MNs onboard the project. We have conducted both rain barrel harvesting and drip-irrigation workshops including total hands-on im-plementation start to finish!! Ask the many tired and tanned helpers about their experience and visit our 2500-gallon tank that was filled after only one storm! We recently conducted a successful summer experi-ment with bed solarization – a unique, mud-wrestling event!! So, hopefully we now have captured your interest in this on-going project. We need your continued help and commitment this fall to finish the gardens. So…come help us wrangle Johnson grass from the newly solarized beds and bemoan the damage from our “resident” feral cow family. Help us plant tough-as-nail native specimens and observe as we finally get the drip system fully functional!! All joking aside, CCNHC is a wonderful location to get away from city life and experience the wonder of our native area lo-cated so close to home – you will not regret the op-portunity…and did I mention the free lunches??

MONIQUE GOODHART

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AVERAGE DATE OF FIRST FREEZE: NOVEMBER 22 EARLIEST FIRST FREEZE RECORDED IN DFW: OCT 22, 1898 LATEST FIRST FREEZE RECORDED IN DFW: JAN 24, 1972

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This morning I delivered all our pet food and pet related contributions to the Denton Humane Society (DHS). Needless to say, in this economic climate, everything we gave was immensely appreciated. We donated a wonderful group of food products, shampoos, a carrying crate, cash and checks.

I want to personally thank all of you who participated. The DHS is solely a volun-teer group as are we in DCMGA. So we can be assured that everything we gave will go directly to the care and ongoing health of the rescued animals. We hope to repeat this pet food drive at the November meeting. With that in mind, if any of you have a favorite rescue group you would like us to support, please send your suggestion to me or to Donna. We will draw one group from all the suggestions received. We will not include DHS again for this drive. Once again, thank you so much for helping out this worthy group and the animals that they rescue. Annell Burns

We all search the web, some almost everyday, some a couple times a month—by popular request, here is a list of favorite websites related to gardening to get us started:

dandlfarmandhome.com http://backyardheirloomseeds.net/default.aspx http://www.kitchengardeners.org/ http://www.nhg.com/ hobbyfarms.com http://www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/index.html auntsuesbarn.com

If you have a favorite gardening website you would like Included please send to hawkilitle@aol.com

Fall Garden InfoFestFall Garden InfoFestFall Garden InfoFestFall Garden InfoFest MEET THE SPEAKERMEET THE SPEAKERMEET THE SPEAKERMEET THE SPEAKER Rain Water Harvesting

Billy Kniffen Learn the how and the why about rain water harvesting. Billy Kniffen ‘walks the talk’ by living in a home that the only source of water is through rain water harvesting. A demonstration about building rain barrels follows immediately outside.

Project Leaders: Susan Loos and Susan Musgrave

Tree Distribution to LISD schools is

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22

AND

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23

Tree Bagging will take place at

LUCILLE DEL VECCHIO’S BARN

ON

DATE AND TIME TBD...

Please contact Susan Loos at 972.977.0663

or looswoman@verizon.net

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DCMGA MEETINGS

SEPTEMBER 9, 9:00 A.M. Flight of the Monarchs – Dale Clark

Get your queries ready regarding these fantastic flying royals. Dale has been fascinated by butterflies since he was a kid and is one of two founders of the Dallas Lepidopterists Society. The butterfly season of March through October keeps him very busy so we are

lucky to ‘net’ him for our meeting.

NOVEMBER 11, 9:00 A.M. Fine Feathered Friends – Carolyn Oldham

A favorite speaker for last year’s InfoFest and one of our library series presenters, Carolyn Oldham returns to talk about birds. Carolyn is a longtime member of the Collin County Prairie and Timbers Audubon Society and operates her own landscape design and installation

company. There is so much to learn about birds that even if you have heard her, you will probably learn something you didn’t know.

OCTOBER 14, 6:30 P.M. Carnivorous Plants – Paul Riddell

This evening meeting in the Halloween month seemed a perfect time to hear about these special plants. Paul’s company, Texas Triffid Ranch, is a nursery dedicated to the propagation and sale of

carnivorous, prehistoric and other unique plants of all sorts. This

topic should be very interesting but I doubt that it will be too scary.

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Sher Harnish The most common gardening experience people describe is often one containing sweeping vistas of shape and texture, shades of green and vibrant swaths of color playing against each other, arching, tangled vines reaching towards the sky or fuzzy mounds of tiny blossoms creeping across the garden path. For many of us, it’s a visual experience first. For persons with visual impairments, gardens can be a very different, but no less enjoyable experience. In this third article on enabled gardening, I want to offer tips that can enable the visually impaired or blind gardener. According to the National Eye Institute, most people with visual impairment are not totally blind; only 10% of the 14 million visually impaired in the US are blind. Design: Organization is the key when laying out a garden design for the visually impaired. Provide direct routes through the garden. Paths should have a clear beginning and end. Garden plans should be simple, avoiding curves and intricate paths or planting designs. A grid design works well. A textural change between the edge of a path and the surroundings is essential for staying on the path: raised edging can be a trip hazard, though, and should be even with the paving, not the mulch or soil. Use textural change across a path as a signal – for an entrance to a patio, a tree with unusual bark, a clump of fragrant plants, a bubbling water feature. We’re all familiar with the mix of brick and cobbled concrete texture of crosswalk ramps; use this as a guide to make indicator strips that are flush with the existing sur-face, about 18” wide and made with a noticeable contrast such as gravel to grass, brick to planting bed, wood to bricks. Make flower beds or borders no more than 3 feet across so the gardener can reach while kneeling and working with short-handled tools. Island beds can be double wide so long as they can be reached from both sides. Consider compact beds (1 yard square) for vegetables instead of long rows. Each small plot can be planted with a single crop making weeds easier to identify. Use sound makers, wind chimes, flutter mills or small noisy fountains to help orient & locate features, or to mark a change in path direction. Install lighting at the porch, steps and along pathways. Use large pebbles or river stones in areas where it’s dangerous to walk (under casement windows, near faucets/sprinkler heads or A/C units). Tools: Choose brightly colored tools or paint handles white or a light color so they standout from the brown-green background of garden beds, both to prevent loss and accidentally grasping sharp edges. Color contrast is also good for containers, pathways, handrails, fences, gate latches, steps, garden furniture and bed edg-ing. Using short-handled tools in raised beds or from a kneeling position offers more control and precision than long-handled tools while standing. Since much gardening is done while kneeling and seeing those sticks and stones may be difficult, use knee pads.

Adapted Gardening Tips for the Visually Impaired

A narrow wooden planting board with equally spaced notches or a string with spaced knots works well to space plants evenly. Secure the string at both ends of a row and plant at the knots – this also helps identify the plant location when it’s time to weed! Use ‘one-handed’ shears so the other hand is free to feel the plant. Keep tools in a white paint bucket or gar-deners’ apron. Plastic rings made out of white milk jugs can be used around newly planted seeds or seedlings to help distinguish them from weeds. Keep tools in a bucket or gardeners’ apron or tool belt. Use trowels with etched markings to indicate soil depth. Use soaker hoses or drip irrigation to get the water where the plants are. Although some assistance may be needed by the visually impaired for the initial set up, planned irrigation methods are essential to sustain the garden and conserve water. If using chemicals, use separate colored cans for watering and weed killer; use a red one or a metal one or a distinctive shape for weed killer only. While independence is ideal, spray-ing chemicals, whether weed killer or fertilizer, is best done by a sighted gardening buddy. Plants: Plants with distinctive foliage, color, texturel, shape and smell are easier to separate from weeds. Group plants in regularly spaced sets of 3, 4 or 5 plants. Use plants that are easy to maintain and require little pruning. Plants should not overhang pathways or snake across pathways (keep that wisteria at a far corner of the garden or get help trimming it into a compact, safe shape). Thornless plants are preferred. Plants that make noise are a bonus! Bamboo stems that knock together, rustling grasses, swishing palm fronds, rattling seed pods all draw attention. Avoid too many scents planted together, such as a collection of scented geraniums; their different scents tend to run together in a mush of indistinguishable odor. Use scent spar-ingly and spread it around the garden. Include plants that release their scent in the warmth of the sun, as well as those that release fragrance at night. Plants that release odor when crushed are good for garden paths or in containers where they can be readily handled. Avoid vegetable plants with green fruit which can be difficult to distinguish from foliage. Try purple pod or wax beans instead of the typical green beans, red and yellow peppers instead of green ones. Include plants for touching (lamb’s ear, begonias, ferns), plants with scented leaves (all those geraniums, mint, lantana, lavender, lemon verbena, sage), and fragrant flowers for all seasons, and of course herbs. Oh, those herbs! So many to consider – basil, laurel, bee balm, peppermint, dill, fennel, rosemary, marjoram and thyme). Other Resources: http://www.Gardenforever.com/pages/artVision.ht http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pdf/em/em8498-e.pd Methods and techniques to make gardening easier for those with visual impairment. In-cludes info on design, seedlings, tools and maintenance. http://www.ces.purdue.edu/vanderburgh/horticulture/garden4blind.ht Practical tips for planning and maintaining a garden. http://www.infinitec.org/play/gardening/accessibleenvironments.htm#blindgardenin

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Over the last few weeks, there have been many opportunities to communicate with the general membership. This is always a pleasure to do, and I hope that everyone doesn't just gloss over emails that seem to be sent to everyone. There is much to be learned. Our organization is continuing to grow - And as I look over the past year and the other years I have served on the Board or as President, the change I see is we move faster with each passing year. This speed is good - but I am not sure that anyone can be totally aware of all the facets of Master Gardeners in Denton County. Something that I have toyed with over the past months is introducing the concept of a "steering committee" of sorts - It's great to have our Board of Direc-tors. But (there is always a but in everything) they don't really have time from first of term to end of term to make long range plans. Does it make sense to have another group of folks who really don't have any authority, but who blue sky and think of where we might like to go and how we might get there? You tell me. Another thing that I have given a lot of thought to during this year....Leadership and Pro-jects. You know, we have a great need for folks who will take on projects and/or be leaders in our organization...I hope that you are considering the course we are offering later this year. As for projects, do you think they kind of have a life of their own - much like our gardens. They are planted (begun) they are nourished, pruned and give fruit......then they wane. Should we be re-living our projects each year even though we often "tweak" them - Should we be tossing them out and putting new ones in each year.....or should we have a combination of both. I think eve-ryone should think about that and let their thoughts be known. Finally, graduation and awards are around the corner - I have already asked for your considera-tion on awards -please let me know if you have any nominees for the slots we have identified, or if you have some thoughts for new awards, please pass them along. Enjoy - See you at InfoFest Linda Williams Here is what is happening on the state level:

What’s Happening at TMGA

The first weekend in August I went to College Station for the TMGA Board Meeting. I wanted to let you know some of the things that were discussed, as they will be things that will impact us and/or things that we will need to consider as we move forward. 1: Doug Welsh announced that TMGA is looking at “chartering” member Master Gardener Asso-ciations around the state. The timeline for this is January 1, 2010. The reasons for this are: (1) To offer continuity to associations. This is especially important in times when agents are making moves to other positions or counties and an association could be without an agent for some pe-riod of time. (2) To offer a guideline to Best Management Practices to the various associations. (3) To define and help establish relationships with all associations. (4) To put into place some guidelines for financial management/responsibility and accountability. At least this is what I heard. The 4-H clubs have been chartered for years and I believe Master Naturalists are, as well. Janet has more information on this, and I will forward details as they are available.

2: We had a presentation made to us on “Liability Insurance” by Jerry Brown, A&M System Office of General Counsel. The bottom line here is that we are covered by 3 (three) stat-utes. (1) Immunity from Liability for Volunteers to Higher Education (TX Education Code 51.937) (2) Texas Charitable Immunity and Liability Act of 1987 (TX Civil Practice and Remedies Code, 84.001-84.008) and (3) Federal Volunteer Protection Act (42 USCA 14501-4505). Agrilife does not insure us. At the August meeting I asked for volunteers to look into liability insurance. Carolyn Tinner has agreed to do that and we can expect a report from her prior to the end of the year so we can consider it for next year. We are also looking into event coverage for our InfoFest.

A. We have some Counties/Cities in our State who are requiring insurance for folks to work in their areas.

B. Everyone should check with their Homeowners Insurance to determine if they are covered for “volunteering”.

C. Event policies are typically not expensive and a good way to go D. Some associations are buying coverage and I heard things like – Our dues are $15.00

– plus $1.00 for insurance/year. So that is something we should probably investi-gate a little more. We will know more when Carolyn is able to give us some num-bers of what our coverage could cost.

3: Also, Dallas County asked the Board for $5,000 seed money for their conference. The request had attached a statement that after final accounting they would pay back the money. This led to a long discussion and it is going to be up for vote……Does the State owe seed $ to the hosting Counties of our conference? If they do, should the $ be repaid? If it is not repaid – where would this money come from? We currently pay $2.00/year/member in dues – One suggestion was that we increase that number by $1.00/year for this purpose. Is there a magic number that should be seed money? Think about this – there are many +/- …..Interesting topic. 4: Finally, the State Newsletter is going to begin to come to each of us, in our email box. It is called “vertical response”. You can sign up for this yourself on the website. Or, they will catch up with you eventually. We can submit our roster to the Editors, and they will put everyone into the mailing list. I will see what it might cost or how much work it would be to have this done on a local basis. That is about all from this meeting. If anyone would like to go to the next meeting – we will be having State Elections then – it will be the first weekend in December, please let me know. The meeting is from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. and depending on how it is done, is either an overnight or an all day event. Thanks – much to think about and talk about.

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Janet, Connie, Danny (County Facilities Director) and I met with Judge Mary Horn. We went equipped with pictures of other demonstration gar-dens and some thoughts about our own. Included in those thoughts were potentially some of the things we would want to do:

(1) Trial gardens,

(2) Best practices of gardening in our area,

(3) Best plants for our area.

Judge Horn was on board, without hesitation - and asked that we pre-pare a presentation to the Commissioners Court for assurance that any and all questions could be handled. So, Janet and I are going to work on a short presentation for Commissioners Court. We are going to try to get this done and presented on September 22. If all goes well, we will have a meeting in October to begin the planning process. Remember: This is a temporary location. Danny will be speaking to the architects about permanent spaces at the new County facilities and there are a few ideas on how that might work. Be thinking about what we want to do, how we want to do it, how much $ we are going to re-quire (there is a possibility that we will have to pay for the water in our gardens) How do we plan to get this $. What part do you want to play? It has been my pleasure to bring this opportunity to DCMGA - I will head up the first meeting and be part of this project - However, I have no desire to be part of the Management of this project. I do see where this might be a committee management opportunity - So, be thinking about these things. Linda Williams

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Awards: Interns and Veterans alike - I hope that you have been paying attention this year! There has been much going on - there have been some wonderful pro-grams, projects and opportunities to get to know one another. Please begin to think about these events as they relate to our Awards Banquet that will be held in January along with Graduation of the 2009 class. The following are some of the awards that we present - I would also entertain other awards that you might like to include: Educator Award: Someone who has shared their knowledge with the rest of our group or the public at large. Is generous with time and knowledge. Project Manager Award: A project manager who stands out as organized, keep-ing projects moving, meeting goals, available to those serving be that public or other members. Someone who you would like to emulate or learn from when it comes to leading a project. Special Merit Award: Someone who always seems to be there doing the right thing at the right time - doesn't necessarily take a leadership role, but who you can count on. Special Merit Award for an Intern: See above, from the class of 2009 Community Partner Award: A person or organization in one of our Communities who stands out as a Partner of DCMGA and who work with us to advance our mis-sion. Others?????? You tell me...let your voice be heard about the folks who you feel have done a good job.....Nominate someone, and then be sure to come to the Christmas Party to elect them...Thanks and look forward to hearing from you I can be reached by phone at 972-355-3780 or email at lylelinda@verizon.net

Fall Garden InfoFestFall Garden InfoFestFall Garden InfoFestFall Garden InfoFest MEET THE SPEAKERMEET THE SPEAKERMEET THE SPEAKERMEET THE SPEAKER

How to Water Efficiently How to Water Efficiently How to Water Efficiently How to Water Efficiently Dotty Woodson Dotty Woodson Dotty Woodson Dotty Woodson

Learn ways to save money and water while maintaining a beautiful, sustainable landscape. Find out what an ‘irrigation audit’ is and how you can do one yourself.

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PRESIDENT LINDA WILLIAMS

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT CONNIE GREGORY

SECOND VICE PRESIDENT TBD

SECRETARY SANDY HIATTE

TREASURER SHIRLEY MANFREDI

VOLUNTEER DIRECTOR DONNA WOLFE

PUBLICITY/COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR LUCILLE DEL VECCHIO

DELEGATE-AT-LARGE BRENDA WELLENREITER

PAST PRESIDENT ZOE BROXSON

PROJECT ADMINISTRATOR

CONNIE GREGORY HOSPITALITY CLARICE LUCE

WAYS AND MEANS SANDY READ SPEAKERS’ BUREAU ANNIE BRACKIN

RESOURCE ROOM JILL PEAK RETENTION ANNELL BURNS

WEBSITE JANIE FARLER SCHOLARSHIP MARY MORROW

ROTO TELLER MARY MORROW TECHNOLOGY LUCILLE DEL VECCHIO

PROGRAM CAROLYN TINNER PUBLICATIONS MARY MORROW

ADVANCED TRAINING DIANA BLOCK JMG JENNY ESTES

AUDIT ANNIE BRACKIN PHOTOGRAPHY JANET GERSHENFELD

MENTOR MAURINE LEBEAU HELP DESK ELIZABETH SNAPP

AWARDS MAURINE LEBEAU “Nothing is more the child of art than a garden” Sir Walter Scott

2009 COMMITTEE LEADERS

2009 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS ROTO TELLER STAFF

Monique Goodhart- - - - - - - - - - - - - Class of 2002 Connie Gregory- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Class of 2008 Sher Harnish - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Class of 1999 Linda Williams - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Class of 2000

Janie Farler.................................Class of 2003 Mary Morrow............Editor............Class of 2001 Brent Bloechle.............................Class of 2003 Diana McMillin.............................Class of 2009

We hope you enjoyed your Quarterly ROTO TELLER; let us know what you like and don’t like— E-mail the Editor at hawkilitle@aol.com. Also send suggestions, comments, or questions.