May 2013 Cutflower Gardening

Welcome to the Aransas/San Patricio Master Gardeners website

We’re your neighbors who love gardening and want to pass that love along.  Here you’ll find tested advice about gardening in the Coastal Bend area of South Texas.  The lack of severe winters, heat and humidity, wind, unique soil, and lack of water – all conspire to form a unique and challenging environment for growing plants.

Whether you’re a newcomer or an experienced pro, we’ve got the scoop on the latest and greatest in gardening for our area.

• What to plant?  Take a look at “In Our Coastal Gardens” under PUBLICATIONS AND RESOURCES at the top of the page.  This booklet is available free (thank you San Patricio Water District) at the Agrilife Extension Office and covers trees, shrubs, palms, tropicals, and even what not to plant.  If vegetables and herbs are your cup of tea, we’ve got the when and how for our area.

• When plants have problems.  Contact our help desk, either by phone or come in to the Agrilife Extension Office.  We’ve got experienced gardeners available as well as printed articles on plant diseases, soil conditioning, insects, and all topics garden-related.  Bring in a sample of the problem (in a zip-locked bag) and we’ll put our best detectives to work on it.  We also come to you – request a visit from our “Tree Team” to sleuth out what ails your prized arboreal specimen.

• Meet and learn from other gardeners.  Throughout the year we have talks by local and area experts.  Our monthly Brownbag talks are one hour long at noon – take a break at lunch and find out what’s new and exciting.  Seminars are held at various times of the year and are a more in-depth look at timely topics.

Who are the Master Gardeners?  We are members of a non-profit program of Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service designed to increase horticultural knowledge in our area and around the state.  Started at Washington State University in the early 1970s, the Master Gardeners program spread to Texas A&M University in 1978 and then to all 50 states and 4 Canadian provinces.  Currently, the program has almost 100,000 members who volunteer 5 million hours of service per year to their communities.   Master Gardeners is a federal and state non-profit program and depends totally on donations and fund-raising for its programs and activities.

Locally, the program is led by Ginger Easton Smith, County Extension Agent for Aransas/San Patricio County.  To join Master Gardeners, we offer a 3-month training course starting in August.  Please contact the Extension Office, 892 Airport Road, Rockport, Texas, 78382, 361-790-0103 for more information.

Announcement    Coastal Oaks Garden is now open to the public Wednesday and Thursday mornings, from 8:00 am to 10:00 am.  

Come and see the new gardens and talk to the dedicated Master Gardeners who have single handedly transformed a sandy oil field into a pleasant colorful oasis.  See what plants are thriving and blooming, and gather ideas for your home garden.

MAY NEWS ARTICLES

New Articles for May

May 2013, May Garden Checklist, by Kitty Angell

May 2013, What to Take Along to a Desert Island, by ASP Master Gardeners and Top Ten Plants for a Desert Island

May Articles From Our Archives

May 2009, Gophers and Moles – Garden Foes, by Todd Cutting

May 2011, Summer Vegetable Gardening, by Jennifer Thomas

May 2012, Mulch to Hold In Soil Moisture and Help Plants Get Through Drought, by Virgenia Easton Smith

MAY EVENTS

Tuesday, May 21, Brown Bag, noon-1:00 p.m., “Create a Wildlife Habitat in Your Own Backyard”, presented by Jane Tillman, MS, RD, Capital Area Master Naturalist & Natural Wildlife Federation Habitat Steward Host.

Ms. Tillman has been awarded a Best of Texas Backyard Wildlife Habitat.  Ms. Tillman was recognized in 2012 as the National Volunteer for the Year for the National Wildlife Federation for her work creating wildlife habitat in Austin.

Learn how to transform your own backyard into a wonderful wildlife habitat.

To be held at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension-Aransas County office, 892 Airport Road, Rockport, 78382, 361-790-0103. Overflow parking next door at the Transfer Station.

Monday, May 27, MEMORIAL DAY, the AgriLife Extension Office will be closed.

Wednesday, May 29, “BUMFUZZLED ABOUT WATER?

“Bumfuzzled About Water?” is a three class Earth-Kind series designed to help you grow a beautiful garden while using less water. Classes are three consecutive Wednesdays, beginning May 29, 10:00 am–12:30 pm at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension-Aransas County office in Rockport.

Participants will take home a rain barrel from the first class, “How to Deal With Water Restrictions-Build a Rain Barrel”.  Learn how to collect rainwater, about our water supply and when Stage 3 restrictions will go into effect.  The $40 registration fee includes the rain barrel.   Enrollment is limited to 19 persons, and must be paid in advance.

“Survive and Thrive During Drought” is the topic of the June 5class. Learn about different types of turf and turf alternatives, and drought tolerant plants, as well as cultural practices to reduce water use. A short tour of drought tolerant plants in the demonstration garden is included.  Registration fee is $10 per person.

On June 12, learn to “Grow More, Water Less-Low Volume Irrigation” Learn how to save both water and money by installing your own drip irrigation system, and how to determine how much water is being applied.  Take the 40 gallon challenge. Registration fee is $10 per person.

You may take all three classes for just $50 or pick and choose which ones to attend.  Class size is limited, register now by sending a check to “Leadership Advisory Board”, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, 892 Airport Road, Rockport, TX 78382.  Please call Ginger Easton Smith at 790-0103 for more information, or go to www.aransas.agrilife.org and click on “Bumfuzzled About Water?” for the registration form.  The class series is presented by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension-Aransas County and the Aransas/San Patricio Master Gardeners.

COMING IN JUNE

Tuesday, June 18, Brown Bag, noon-1:00 p.m., “Pest Management”, presented by Virginia Easton Smith, Aransas County Extension Agent, at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension-Aransas County office, 892 Airport Road, Rockport, 78382, 361-790-0103. Overflow parking next door at the Transfer Station.

 May Gardening Topic – Cutflower Gardening

By Dr. William C. Welch, Landscape Horticulturist
Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas

Garden flowers are more popular than ever for decorating homes. They are particularly fitting in restored homes where the correct flowers for the period of the home can be provided. Garden flowers are not likely to look out of place as sometimes do exotic blossoms from afar. Not to be overlooked is the economy of having one’s own source for cutflowers. Some gardeners are even creating a business of growing and marketing cutflowers.

There are several advantages to creating a cutting garden. Where flowers are enjoyed and used in large volume in the home, their removal from borders and other landscaped areas may detract from the intended effect. By providing a special cutflower garden, the gardener can anticipate and plan for these needs without disturbing or diminishing landscape plantings. The well-planned cutting garden also offers another very practical advantage: annuals and perennials may be conveniently and efficiently grown in rows where they are easily gathered and maintained.

Cutting gardens need not be unattractive, but it is a sensible to plan to locate them in an area where they are not a focal point when not at their peak. Old-time gardeners often included cutflowers in the vegetable garden where they could tend and harvest them easily. Finer estates would sometimes have a separate area devoted to producing the favorite cutflowers of the family, but annuals such as marigolds, zinnias, poppies, sweet peas, bells of Ireland, celosia, nasturtium, globe amaranth, and larkspur were frequently found in vegetable and cutting gardens of our ancestors. Shasta daisies, phlox, and chrysanthemums were especially popular perennials.

Also popular for cutting are certain shrubs such as forsythia, flowering quince, weigela, and mock orange. Foliage from trees, shrubs, and vines such as magnolia, aspidistra, elaeagnus, English ivy, and ferns is useful in floral designs, and is often found in home landscapes.

Attached is a list of some annuals and perennials that are useful as cutflowers and can be grown in our area. Also attached is information on the care and handling of cut plant materials, floral preservatives, and special treatments.

This article is excerpted and can be found in its entirety at http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/southerngarden/cutflower.html along with an article on care and preservation of cutflowers.

Aransas/San Patricio Master Gardeners are volunteers who work with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service to improve gardening skills throughout the community. We share our gardening knowledge through community service and outreach, gardener training and educational programs.

Our Mission: Improving the lives of people, businesses, and communities across Texas and beyond through high-quality, relevant education.