From the desk of...Susan Grupp
Our new DuPage County Extension website was introduced in late fall, and it has really taken on a life of its own. We have already doubled the number of "hits" per month! I hope you will visit us at www.extension.uiuc.edu/dupage.
All of our staff received training on managing the site. Mary, Sarah and I will be responsible for the horticulture portion and we are strategizing on how to use and expand it. In the past few weeks, Mary has worked very hard updating it and adding new features.
One thing we are contemplating is creating a MG message page with current updates. This page could be very helpful to all of us, allowing for quick communication.
Another concept is developing a photo gallery that illustrates our MG community service projects.
All of us are excited to have this opportunity to use technology in this way.
MG Help Line: Helpline Procedures: The "Complete" basket is now is Sarah's office. Please be sure to place all completed Helpline forms in the basket on her bookcase. Even if there is something that needs to be snail mailed or emailed to the client, it should go in the basket. Time cards still go upstairs to Joan. Thanks!
When you are answering questions on our MG Help Line don't forget to refer each client to our new website: www.extension.uiuc.edu/dupage
for additional information on their questions or just to make them aware of what we have to offer. Because of rising costs, try to give the caller a complete answer before offering to copy and mail information. Check with Sarah for publications that are available for the client to purchase.
New Reference Books: We have 3 new books on our MG library shelves.
•Diseases of Midwest Trees by J. Cedric Carter covers the causes, types, and diagnosis of tree diseases.
•NPCA (National Pest Control Association) Field Guide to Structural Pestsis a wonderful reference guide to all kinds of household pests. It even includes bedbugs. The guide has photographs and very detailed information on recognition, biology, habits and control of structural pests. It is a great reference tool, but always remember to use the U of I Home, Yard and Garden Pest Guide chemical recommendations.
•Field Guide to Native Oak Species of Eastern North America is a USDA publication that was highly recommended by MG Warren Senneke. It is a complete guide with color photographs and information on over 40 types of oak species.
Look for these in the "Arrivals" section of our library.
Squirmin' Herman Worm Lesson:
The Worm Lesson Program is as active as a "can of worms" this spring. We contacted parochial schools and targeted some communities in DuPage County. The response has been very positive. If you are on the worm team, please consider taking advantage of these volunteer opportunities. We would hate to turn away a school due to lack of volunteers. If you are interested in getting trained to do the worm lesson please contact Mary Horek at the office or e-mail her at mhorek@uiuc.edu. Thank you to everyone who has already signed up.
Marketing our Gardeners Corner Newsletter:
After contacting the libraries in DuPage County, we received many requests for a quarterly supply of the "Gardeners Corner" newsletter publication. The library patrons are enjoying this publication very much. Thank you to all the MGs who made deliveries this winter. We are getting requests for more and plan to distribute the spring issue soon.
Spring/Summer Help Desks:
If you know about a community or organization that is having a garden event and you think a Master Gardener Help Desk would be appropriate, please let us know. We are currently booking Help Desks for the summer months.
MG Class-Diagnosing Plant Problems and Potluck:
This class was such a hit with all of you as trainees, we decided to offer it to our Online MGs this year. We're opening up this class and potluck lunch to all MGs. It never hurts to review samples and specimens, and this will be a great way to meet our Online MGs. Class will be held at our Extension office on Wednesday April 26th, 9:30 – 11:30 am with a potluck lunch immediately following. Please consider joining us for a fun and educational morning. We have limited space so call the office soon. We'll keep track of who is bringing what for the potluck, so we end up with a great buffet!
Registration Deadline: April 19th. This class qualifies as enrichment training.
Off-site MG Help Desk Training:
If you plan on volunteering at one of our many off-site MG Help Desks, consider attending this session. Come learn about our marketing materials, fact sheets, guidelines for reporting your client numbers, etc. Call the office by April 5th to register. This workshop will qualify as volunteer time. It will be held at the Extension office on Tuesday, April 11th, 10-11:30 am.
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, April 5th.
Annual Herb and Scented Plant Sale Urban Herbs
Annual Herb and Scented Plant Sale – Urban Herbs
More than 250 unusual herbs, veggies for small spaces, clematis, scented geraniumsand fragrant miniature roses!
When: Saturday, May 6th: 8 am - 3 pm
at the
Oak Park Conservatory, 615 Garfield Street, Oak Park
For more information, call (708) 725-2460
This issue's herb is santolina. Like chamomile, it has a variety that is mostly perennial in our zone 5, and another that must be considered an annual here.
The perennial form is Santolina chamaeciparissus, known as grey santolina or, by its charming common name, lavender cotton. As is often the case with common names, however, this plant is no relation to any lavenders, nor does it resemble cotton, except perhaps in that its grey-green leaves are somewhat wooly (or is that cottony)? Santolina is in the compositae, or daisy family. Its flowers are bright yellow buttons, borne from mid- to late summer, though the heavy pruning often used to shape this plant may prevent their formation.
In previous issues we have discussed herbs such as hyssop and germander, which are often used as edging or short hedges or in knot gardens. Grey santolina has an even neater habit than these, which makes it ideal for such uses. It grows from 12"– 24" tall (though there is a cultivar, S. nana, which only reaches 8"). It may be clipped to shape in spring or summer: later trimming can result in soft new growth which may be killed, or even result in the death of the entire plant, in the following winter.
These plants are highly aromatic, as is often the case with herbs that grow in hot, dry places – rosemary, for example. Its leaves are silvery grey, somewhat wooly, and finely divided, resembling a very thin fern frond or evergreen sprig. Also like rosemary and hyssop, its stems may get woody in later years. Santolina is happiest in poor, dry, mildly alkaline soil in full sun – an ideal candidate for that sunbaked strip nearly everyone has somewhere in their yard. If that strip is near the street, all the better; santolina is salt tolerant, too.
Annual santolina is Santolina virens (or sometimes S. viridis), known as green santolina. As you would expect, its leaves are vivid green and threadlike. From a distance it might be mistaken for rosemary
- Sandy Lentz
Squirmin' Herman
One of the volunteer opportunities Master Gardeners have is lovingly known as Squirmin' Herman. Officially called Worms in the Classroom, this program is designed to introduce third and fourth graders to worms and their roles in the environment and in the food chain (the worms, not the third and fourth graders!)
Working in teams of four, Master Gardeners spend about an hour and twenty minutes in the classroom teaching about worms using skits, games, coloring sheets, booklets and worms they brought in their very own "worm bin".
Each Master Gardener who participates must first go through a three hour training program. The Master Gardeners get some background in worm anatomy and review the benefits of worms in the garden. They then go through the whole program as the students would; many are relieved to discover the program is very well thought out and structured, so there is little chance of an individual "messing up"!
In the classroom, the students are divided into small groups and assigned a Master Gardener as team leader. After a short skit, each Master Gardener gives everyone in their group their very own Petri dish, hand lens and worm. (Squeamish MGs can use a wooden spoon or toothpick to handle the worms, but they're really not so bad.) The groups observe the worms and use a 12-page booklet to go through the material. Some of the worms seem to have their own distinct personality: some are adventurous, working their way out of the Petri dish; some are skittish and recoil greatly when touched; some are very laid back.
After each group is finished with the booklet, the teams compete against each other to play a Jeopardy-style game called "Wormania". Of course, everyone's a winner, and each student is rewarded with a gummy worm.
The enthusiasm of students at this age is amazing! Most of the children are incredibly interested in and curious about their worms. Some of the students enjoy naming their worms. They enjoy sharing what they've learned and "showing off" what they know; if only we could bottle that energy!
Squirmin' Herman has been growing since its inception five years ago, mostly by word of mouth. The program was conducted at about ten schools last year, reaching over 350 students according to Mary Horek. If this sounds like a program your school would be interested in, please contact Mary. We have many eager Master Gardeners ready to play "Wormania" again!
- Debbi Heinze
We're almost there....
To spring, that is! While it hasn't been a terrible winter this year, it's been winter all the same. And while I enjoy the change of seasons, spring has always been one of my favorites. More birds start singing, the air starts to smell different, the sun shines more often. And so, my thoughts turn to what new plants should I try this year, and more importantly, where will I put them? The amount of grass in our yard is slowly dwindling, giving way to larger planting areas, and less mowing.
So, if you haven't already been online checking out the different nurseries, now is the time, before that new variety you were hoping to purchase is sold out! You'll see that several of the nurseries and arboretums have activities to coax us out of the house. We're lucky to have such a number of great nurseries and two arboretums in the Chicago area. Some are offering discounts or rewards programs, and upcoming activities, so be sure to check them out.
The Growing Place with locations in Naperville and Aurora list April 1st as Opening Day at their nursery. They are also having a Spring Festival at their Aurora location April 8th and 9th, and a talk on Fragrant Plants at the Naperville location on April 29th.
Planter's Palette in Winfield is having a Symposium 2006 on March 3rd at their Winfield location, and a Perennial Festival July 9-17, celebrating their 25th year in business.
Bluestone Perennials has many new selections online, including some striking new clematis, and offer a 15% off discount on certain items. White Flower Farm also has many new perennials, available online, including the exotic and beautiful Jack-in-the-Pulpit, plus many other new shrubs and perennials. Open from 9 – 5:30 in Litchfield, CT, their display gardens could be an interesting addition to summer vacation plans on the East Coast. Both of these online companies offer free catalogs.
For a dose of spring and inspiration in the meantime, don't miss the Chicago Flower & Garden show this March 11-19th. Or just a trip to the new Gift Shop at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle is fun on a cold day.
Enjoy!
- Lisa Olmstead
Pollution Solution
When is it time to put a plant down? This has been my "Point to Ponder" for the past 2-3 weeks. Having all the knowledge of every insect that houseplants "get", I feel that my plants are resting comfortably. Although, the vibrant colors of those coleus I brought in from summer are just fading away. It's so sad to see how small their leaves have become. I've tried heavy sunlight therapy by putting the plants in southern exposure windows, however, I'm holding out for intensive grow light therapy as long as I can. I'm re-assured that none of my plants look stressed. I know that's the big killer. But, how is the quality of their life? My loyal house plants! Even though they are looking leggy, and their leaves are faded and small, they're still giving back... just by being in the same room with me. They're using their entire being to transform my dirty polluted air into oxygen rich clean air. I make the just-trying-to-exist plants work even harder by placing them in rooms with carpeting and plastics that give off gases. I further expose my plants to harmful vapors by using cleaning products and giving myself manicures. All those "niceties" for me, in plant life, boils down to chemicals like benzene, formaldehyde or... POLLUTION! And whose job is it to clean the air...? That plant I'm thinking of putting down. Definitely, a "Point to Ponder".
- Ambi
When my garden buddies marvel at the fast multiplication of their garden plants, I picture a surplus of Echinacea purpurea, Helianthus or maybe Physostegia virginiana--but banana trees?!
Julie Putman of Hinsdale got started growing bananas as tender perennials after her brother in Kentucky ran out of space for his banana trees. He had started off with just one plant retrieved from a refuse pile by the roadside but ended up with a thriving grove of fifteen or twenty trees--not hard to imagine considering he lives so much farther south. But, Julie wondered, did it make any sense trying to get those babies growing here? She felt that her garden's location, just a few blocks east of Route 83, which is in zone 5b, not just plain old 5, might help. In addition, she has a nicely sheltered, yet sunny, microclimate in her back yard as a result of a steep drop away from the house.
So, three summers ago, she planted her baby banana tree directly into well-composted soil and watered it heavily, every year digging it up and storing it for the winter. Last summer, she was rewarded with the shade of a ten-foot high tropical beauty sporting five-foot long leaves and several little transplantable shoots at its base. As a backdrop for vertical shoots of bamboo, the yellow flowers of Allamanda, the billowing leaves of elephant ears, and shade-loving Clivia, the banana tree became the striking focal point of an ever-enlarging "jungle-ette."
To sustain all this beauty, Julie has put in quite a bit of effort.Every year she has dug up the roots of the banana tree and carefully guided them into a bushel basket and then pulled the tree, now a hefty five inches in diameter, into her attached,un-heated garage and laid it down horizontally. There the tree lies dormant all winter under the protection of light-blocking blankets. Even though he lives farther south, her brother goes through the same procedure. Their banana trees always come through in excellent health. Her other plants, by contrast, being small enough to be taken into the basement, are pampered under grow-lights but merely survive the winter.
Maybe the banana tree's success points the way to laissez-faire gardening. Can there be an easier way with this plant? Might the roots survive the winter under a heavy layer of mulch?
Recently Julie has been inspired to take the plunge into "easy" by a magazine article written about David Francko of Oxford, Ohio, author of the book, Palms Won't Grow Here and Other Myths: Warm-Climate Plants for Cooler Areas. He touts the Japanese fiber banana, Musa basjoo, as foolproof in the Midwest if left in the ground well mulched. Despite not knowing the species of her banana tree, Julie is tempted to try doing the same next fall. Bringing in only a few of the young banana trees while leaving out the mature plant would eliminate the risk of losing her entire fledgling grove and save her from most of the digging and dragging. In the face of this win/win situation, Julie says, with characteristic enthusiasm and optimism, "Banana trees forever!"
- Marti Travelli
Speakers' Bureau Presentations:
Our MG Speakers Bureau Team is in great demand. For the complete listing and where to contact for reservations to attend a public presentation visit the "Horticulture Speaker's Bureau" on the website. We thank each of you for agreeing to present so many talks this spring---please see below:
March 6: Perennials
Westmont Garden Club 7:00 PM
March 7: Garden Calendar by Season
Winfield Area Gardeners 7:30 PM
March 9: Annuals: Three Seasons of Color
Lisle Park District 10:00 AM
March 14: Vegetable Gardening
Grapevine Garden Club 7:30 PM
March 23: Seed Starting
Downers Grove Public Library 7:00 PM
March 23: Garden Calendar for Season
Elmhurst Public Library 7:00 PM
April 1: Garden Calendar by Season: Spring
Wood Dale Public Library 1:00 PM
April 4: Composting
Helen Plum Library 7:00 PM
April 5: Container Gardening
Glen Ellyn Park District 7:00 PM
April 6: Container Gardening
Roselle Public Library 7:00 PM
April 8: Vegetable Gardening
Aurora Public Library 11:00 AM
April 10: Shade Gardening
Villa Park Public Library 7:30 PM
April 11: Perennials
Clarendon Hills Public Library 7:00 PM
April 19: The Herb Patch
Hanover Township Sr. Center 1:00 PM
April 24: Ornamental Grasses
Darien Park District 6:30 PM
April 27: The Herb Patch
Indian Prairie Library 7:00 PM
April 29: Container Gardening
Trinity Lutheran Church 12:45-1:30 PM
May 3: Perennials
Itasca Community Library 7:00 PM
May 9: The Herb Patch
Village Garden Club of Villa Pk -7:45 PM
May 12: Annuals: Three Seasons of Color
Medinah Park District-Sr Club 12:30 PM
May 15: Sure Fire Perennial for Northern IL
Suburban Garden Club 8:00 PM
May 22: Container Garden Demo
Carol Stream Public Library 7:00 PM
May 30: Container Garden Demo
Hinsdale Community House 1:00 PM
June 5: Ornamental Grasses
Bloomingdale Public Library 6:30 PM
Newsletter Deadlines for 2006
"The Garden Thymes" is the official newsletter for DuPage area MG's. If you misplace your copy, it can be found at our DuPage County Extension website. From time to time, you may have something you would like to share with fellow MG's or perhaps include an article of your own. We would love to hear from you!! As always, your comments and suggestions are most welcome.
· Issue #3- April 28
· Issue #4- June 30
· Issue #5- August 31
· Issue #6- October 2
IMPORTANT MG DATES
March 7
"Dwarf & Unusual Landscape Conifers"
12:45-2:30 p.m. $10 Fee
March 21 & April 4
"Growing & Cooking Healthy with Herbs"
6:45-8:00 p.m. $20 Fee
April 11
MG Off-site Help Desk Training Workshop
10-11:30 am
April 18
"Summer Flowering Bulbs"
12:45-2:30 p.m. $10 Fee
April 20
"Summer Flowering Bulbs"
6:45-8:30 p.m. $10 Fee
April 26
MG Class: Diagnosing Plant Problems & Potluck
9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
May 2
"Uncommon, Unusual and Underrated
Landscape Plants"
12:45-2:30 p.m. $10 Fee
May 4
"Designing and Growing Beautiful Container Gardens"
6:45-8:30 p.m. $20 fee
May 16
"Shade Gardening"
12:45-2:30 p.m. $10 Fee
May 18
"Shade Gardening"
6:45-8:30 p.m. $10 Fee
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