The Prez Sez:

Hello to all the MG’s-you are surely missed! What a difference a few

months makes in our lives. In January, we had not much idea that anything like

our current pandemic would come upon us and alter all of our lives, our jobs, our

relations, our country, our world. But here we are, getting acquainted with

Zoom meetings, and trying our best to stay safe in a suddenly unpredictable

place.

I hope you know by now that requirements for volunteer and continuing

education hours are waived for this year. That is not to say you can’t volunteer

when called upon; everyone must make the decision about staying well that is

right for them. Jamie and Carrie are working trying to find ways for us to be

safely involved within the boundaries of the UK rules. It’s as frustrating for them

as it is for us, I’m sure. We all miss the social aspect of gardening and the

camaraderie with our friends, and can only hope that soon there will be a real

breakthrough in a vaccine or effective treatment for the Covid-19 virus.

This break definitely made me spend more time at home and in my yard.

Housecleaning, cooking, computer stuff, and organizing suffers on nice days

when I can be out and I know many of you are the same. So maybe somewhere

in our gardens, we can win against a foe. This year I successfully grew lupines for

the first time. And I have had a ton of failures this year too-mostly damping off

and fungal problems. Failures are learning opportunities, I tell myself. Hah!

But at heart, a gardener is an optimist. You plant a

seed believing it will come up. You plan a garden hoping to

create peace, find shelter, to share or nurture plants. An

unknown author said: “Gardening is medicine that does not

need a prescription—and with no limit on dosage.” So, take a

gardening pill and take care of yourselves.

Stay safe,

Susan Umberger, President

Association Dues

If you haven’t yet paid your dues, please send a $20 check payable to FCMGA to: Kay Fisher 1905 Port Royal Ct., Lexington, KY 40504

Newsletter Summer 2020

Fayette County Master Gardener Association

Do you know which country is named for a tree?

Answer at the end of the Newsletter!

Newsletter Committee

Susan Miller, Chair Mary Miller, Co-Chair Sharon Bennett Nancy Boland Stacy Decker Debbie Johnson

Susan Umberger’s Garden: The Happy Surprise of Lupines!

Susan Umberger said she had no idea what she was doing when she

planted lupine seeds, but she had a feeling a nice cool day in February

last year might be a good time. “I planted them with some poppies,

with not much hope,” she said. The seeds were a combination of

Russell hybrids and an unknown variety she received from a friend.

When they germinated and grew in spring, she was totally

surprised. They had plenty of foliage, but no blooms that first year.

To her amazement, they came back with bigger, nicer foliage this

spring and started pushing bloom spikes by the first of May. “Success

and so sweet,” she said. “They make such a good cut flower.”

The lupines are planted in the front border of her cutting garden in

nearly full sun with very good drainage. She waters them a few times

a week and did nothing to protect them over the winter. Just in case

they don’t come back, she is saving plenty of seeds for the future.

“I’m not taking any chances,” she said.

“I love the colors and they are such beauties. Give them a try because

it’s only a pack of seeds!”

Other treasures from Susan’s garden:

Crested Iris Bartzella Peony

Yellow Lady Slipper Orchid

Reprinted with permission from Chevy Chaser and Southsider Magazines, May 2020

Seeds of Life (continued) from Chevy Chaser and Southsider Magazine

Gardening Safely by Sharon Bennett

One key to enjoying injury-free gardening is doing tasks in ways that minimize the impact on your back, knees,

shoulders, arms, wrists and hands. Try using ergonomic garden tools which help keep your body in a neutral,

comfortable position while working. Ergonomic simply means that a tool is designed to minimize physical

effort and discomfort while maximizing efficiency.

General guidelines for choosing tools— Tools should fit you—consider the weight, handle size and shape, overall length and gripping surface of a tool. 1. Choose the lightest weight tool that’s sturdy enough to do the job. 2. While a fatter handle might feel comfortable to your wrist, it may fatigue your hand more quickly. Your thumb and forefinger should meet when wrapped around the handle. 3. A tool with a curved handle reduces how much you need to bend your wrist during a gardening task. 4. A textured, non-slip surface minimizes the gripping strength required. 5. Handles covered with a soft material provide cushion for comfort, firmer grip, and minimal slippage. Small hand tools— Ergonomic hand tools have handles which let you keep your wrist straight. This allows for greater gripping strength while reducing the stress on hand joints.

Ergonomic trowel

If you have wrist problems, you might look for tools that have forearm braces so your arms do more of the work with less strain on your wrist.

Cultivator with arm brace Scissor grips and ratcheting gears on pruners make them easier to hold and require less hand and shoulder strength. Long-handled tools and sitting and kneeling tools— Long handled and telescoping tools let you work standing up or sitting without having to reach, bend over or kneel, which reduces strain on back, hips, shoulders and arms

Sitting and kneeling tools provide a place to sit and rest while working in your

garden and help relieve stress on the lower back, hips and knees.

A combo kneeler/seat makes it easier to garden while seated and can help you rise from a kneeling position. You can also find small rolling garden carts that can be used for transporting tools and as a seat.

While the right tools can make gardening easier and more enjoyable, remember the basics—

• Warm up before starting.

• Change positions often.

• Alternate between heavy and light activities

• Take frequent rest breaks.

• Most importantly, listen to your body—if you have pain stop that activity and/or change your working position.

The Secret Lives of Spiders by Debbie Johnson UK Extension Entomologist Dr. Jonathan Larson shared the secrets of spiders at the February 26th Continuing Education class “The Secret Life of Spiders.” He discussed what kind of animals spiders are, how their bodies work, and how to identify common Kentucky spiders. Some of the more "dangerous" species (brown recluses and black widows) were also discussed in detail. Master Gardeners were fascinated by the many exhibits Dr. Larson brought and for those who were brave enough, a tarantula to pet.

Spider vs. Stink bug

Mayapples

by Stacy Decker

Down in the shady woodland

Where fern fronds are uncurled,

A host of green umbrellas

Are swiftly now unfurled.

Do they shelter fairy people

From sudden pelting showers

Or are the leaves but sunshades

To shield the waxen flowers?

“Mandrakes” by Minnie Curtis Wait

Reaching only about one to one and a half feet tall with pristine flowers hidden under their

parasols, mayapples do indeed have a magical quality. Popping up their little umbrellas by the hundreds

at the edges of woodlands this time of year, their quaint charm at a distance belies their darker side.

Almost entirely poisonous, the delicate looking Mayapple is sometimes called devil’s apple or

American mandrake, in comparison to the ominous European herb of that name. The acutal apples are

the only edible part of mayapples; these are rose-hip-like and plum-sized fruits that ripen to a yellow color

in mid to late summer. Sometimes called wild lemons, they must be picked only when very ripe and soft

to avoid any toxicity. Once employed in small amounts as an emetic (inducer of vomiting), purgative

(violent laxative), or vermifuge (expeller of intestinal worms), it’s probably still not a good idea to eat too

many of them! But, not all hope is lost for scientists are

managing to derive some anti-tumor drugs from the

plant’s toxic tuber. The mayapple may turn out to a

lifesaver after all.

The Indiana writer and poet, James Whitcomb

Riley, in “Time of Clearer Twitterings” asked, “And will

any poet sing/ Of a lusher, richer thing/ Than a ripe

May-apple, rolled/ Like a pulpy lump of gold/ Under

thumb and finger-tips,/ And poured molten through the

lips?”

With toxicity warnings in mind, I doubt ever

having the courage to know the answer.

Birds and Bees: Susan McDaniel’s Garden Beautiful gardens attract visitors – and gardeners love to host pollinators and birds. Susan’s garden is a perfect spot for birds and bees!

Cardinal nest Bees swarming pink Dogwood

Smokebush budding out Spryng Break Tulip

Bleeding Heart

Let Me Plant Hope

by Stacy Decker

We brought the seedlings up from the basement today.

Started as a distinctly unpromising experiment a few years ago, the

gathered acorns from my parent’s property have surprisingly

transformed into the smallest of oak trees. They have survived

despite the questioning of what, really, can grow from such

minuscule bits of plant buried in dark, clumpy earth?

Life feels very uncertain right now. So many things I don’t

know. How long this will last? What it will look like on the other

side of it all? My children’s future isn’t as clear as I once believed it

to be and I wonder how I can prepare them for the changes I think are coming their way? How, as I sit at home,

do I help those who are hungry and dying? How do we grieve for what has been lost…when I’m not even sure yet

what that will be?

This morning those inauspicious seedlings have recalled a fact growing in truth and urgency as the days

pass. The world as we know it will never quite be the same, but the shape it takes will be rooted in the way we

are living right now. When we are back to normal life, the seedling that sprouts and blossoms will have been

planted in this time of waiting by what I chose to make, say, and create.

While often wished for, I know life isn’t an abstract season I can pause until I’m ready to continue. No, life

is what I make of every minute, the gathering of every hour’s use. This is the time I’ve been given. No alternate

world awaits my return to resume the normalcy I left behind. My choices made in this moment of time will grow

and spread into the soil of the future becoming a garden of my own making.

So, with this thought I have a new command for myself: let me plant seeds for the world ahead.

Being together all the time, the impulse to use harsh words is ever-present… Let me plant gracious words.

Having everyone home all day makes for a seemingly endless routine of cooking and cleaning. So, despite

the mess…. Let me plant the pleasure of fresh homemade bread.

As the music of our lives becomes a discord… Let me plant order.

During this time of necessary isolation… Let me plant the comfort of home.

At this time of loss… Let me plant hope for a better tomorrow.

In the dark, clumpy soil of these unpromising days…

Let me plant hope, trusting that in the world ahead its roots will grow deep, never having reason

to fear the wind.

Answer for “Do you know which country is named for a tree?”

Brazil is named after the brazilwood tree which was originally harvested for a red-colored dye

which was shipped to Europe. It was exploited for its dye in the 18th century and has now lost

much of its original range.