Tales a Plenty

Throughout our 15 years of growing, learning and teaching at the UK Demonstration & Trial Garden, we’ve had a special focus on children.  At Twilight in the Garden, children will gather under the pergola to hear the Tale of Peter Rabbit – the mischievous bunny who disobeyed his mom and raided Mr. MacGregor’s Garden.  He paid for not listening to his mum with an upset tummy and lost clothes.  After hearing the tale, as told by Retta Folsom, they’ll be invited to explore our own veggie patch and herb bed on a scavenger hunt for the items mentioned in the tale.  They’ll also meet Norman Wallace, who along with a team of dedicated volunteers, oversees the veggie garden.  (Light blue balloons will be scattered about the garden to help children locate the vegetables and herbs mentioned in the tale and learn how they grow).  Children will also enjoy the newly installed fairy garden--its water feature is already attracting butterflies!  Make a date with the Purchase Area Master Gardeners at Twilight in the Garden on Thursday, July 25, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.  UK Demonstration & Trial Garden, 3600 Coleman Road, Paducah, KY.  Follow signs for parking.

Time to Start the Fall Garden

According to the University of Kentucky publication, Home Vegetable Gardening in Kentucky, now is the time to start vegetables for a late fall harvest. Beets, lettuce, green beans, snow peas, cabbage and spinach are a few of the vegetables started in July/ August that will be ready for the table in September/October. You can get a free copy of Home Vegetable Gardening in Kentucky tomorrow at Twilight in the Garden. Master Gardener and chairman of the vegetable garden team, Norman Wallace, will be at the garden to discuss various aspects of fall gardening and address questions.

Master Gardener, George Rob, will discuss ways to extend the growing season.

Master Food Volunteers will prepare and serve a tasty sample menu of

• Chicken Noodle Soup with Swiss Chard and White Beans
• Cabbage Noodle Casserole
• Spinach Slaw
• Green Bean/Potato Casserole
• Lemon, Walnut & Green Bean Casserole
• Cucumber Corn Casserole
• Cucumber Water

The menu is primarily from produce and herbs grown at the Demonstration & Trial Garden by Master Gardeners. The cooks for the sampling are Master Food Volunteers. Recipe cards will be available

Vegetable Garden at the University of Kentucky Demonstration and Trial Garden

 

 

 

 

A Fairyland

Fairy gardens have taken the gardening world by storm. Barb McCoy and her granddaughter Gracie have caught the fever and created their own vision of this ethereal world at the UK Demo & Trial Garden on Coleman Road. They began by measuring the space and creating stepping stones to form a ring. Then they planted annuals on each end for color. Next, they located, painted and embellished the houses. Design to installation took about a month. Now, back to those stepping stones. They include two warnings – one welcoming and one dire. “Always leave room in the garden for the fairies to dance” and “never ever step inside a fairy circle.”

HERE’S THE REST OF THE STORY. Old legends say fairies dance with abandon and perform magic rituals inside the circle. They also warn that those who choose to join the fairy dance may lose all track of time and place, and once under the circle’s spell, may disappear forever! What seems like a few minutes of dancing inside the circle may actually span SEVEN YEARS OR MORE. A human caught up in the wild dancing can only be rescued by someone outside the ring strong enough, quick enough and brave enough to grab his or her coattails and pull the human from the spinning vortex.

Many tales of fairy history and superstition focus on the awful consequences that may befall those who interfere with fairies by revealing their location, stepping inside their ring, or trying to capture them. Who can blame unsuspecting humans for being entranced by this garden in miniature! It’s still a work in progress, but we’ll unveil it at Twilight on July 25. Come visit and put your own spin on the tale! It’s already a hit with youngsters!

 

 

 

In addition to the human-sized version of a fairy garden, Tara Montgomery of Montgomery Gardens will give pointers on creating a tabletop version like the one pictured above in her talk, “Small Spaces Gardening.”

Attracting Butterflies and Hummingbirds

Stop by Master Gardener, Sharon Dershimer's, table at Twilight in the Garden. She will discuss how she attracts hummingbirds and butterflies to her garden.

 

 



           

Outdoor Classroom

Photograph by Mark McCoy

The University of Kentucky Demonstration & Trial Garden was developed by Purchase Area Master Gardeners (PAMGA) in 1999. Leased by PAMGA from McCracken County, the 1.5 acre plot is used as an outdoor classroom. A vegetable garden, small orchard, rain garden, and herb garden are currently featured.

 

Photograph by Mark McCoy

 

 

 

Raised beds, adopted by PAMGA members, demonstrate a variety of plants and designs, including daylilies, iris, daisies, herbs, patriotism and new this year, a fairy garden.

The garden is also used for plant trials, both for the UK Extension Service and PAMGA members. As part of a statewide effort, currently 10 plants of 20 varieties of annual and perennial bedding plants were installed in May and will be evaluated monthly by Master Gardeners until frost. The evaluations will be sent to the UK Extension Service to help determine how the plants will perform in the average home landscape.

 

 

                            

 Photographs by Mark McCoy                                                                                                                                                     

 

 

 

In the vegetable garden, PAMGA Members are trialing the Three Sisters method of growing corn, squash and beans, and experimenting with edible soybeans. Members are encouraged to try new plants and designs in their adopted beds.

At Twilight in the Garden, PAMGA volunteers will guide visitors through the garden and answer questions. Master Gardeners will demonstrate and explain various garden activities such as vermicomposting, propagation, fall gardening and gardening in very small spaces. Activities are also planned for children including the telling of the Tales of Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny, and a garden scavenger hunt based on the stories.

SIX STICKY SITUATIONS

You have a bed of irises that used to be absolutely beautiful, but this year they disappointed you with few blooms. If the bed is a few years old, the irises may need to be divided. How does one divide irises?

Your neighbor has a most unusual color of poppies but she doesn’t know the name or origin. How does she save seed for you and what do you do with it?



Peggy Martin Rose propagated by
Master Gardener, Chris Janne

On a walk you admire a gorgeous pink rose. The homeowner offers you a cutting. How do you transform the cutting into a rose bush?

Your daughter will wed in your backyard. Her colors are burgundy and white. What if you can’t find burgundy pansies next spring?

You have purchased a new home but have no budget for landscaping. Is there a way to get free plants?

Finally, you find the perfect shade of red geraniums. Is there a way to “save” them?

Master Gardeners Claudia Kramer and Audrey Williams will answer these and other questions regarding plant propagation at Twilight in the Garden on July 25 at the Demo Garden. Be sure to stop by their table as they explain how they have successfully increased their plant collections through plant division, seed saving, cuttings and starting plants from seed. (You may have seen Claudia’s design work as she took top honors as the Best of Show in Design award winner for the 2013 McCracken County Fair).

Attracting Bluebirds

Beautiful!

Amazing!

Cute!

Sweet!

You, too, can enjoy the beauty of the bluebirds in your own backyard. Master Gardener, Jim Mullen, will show a bluebird house with baffle and post at Twilight in the Garden. He will discuss the proper location and explain how to set it up. Next year, you could have bluebirds flocking to your little corner of the world!

 

Practically Carefree Garden

Sedum Mix



What plant can: be as short as two inches but as tall as two feet? have foliage that is purple, bright gold, variegated, silvery blue or blue-green? thrive in full sun or partial shade? produce flowers that are pink, white, yellow, ruby purple or pinkish purple? The perennial SEDUM, of course. 

 




Sedum Hypertufa Crop

Sedum is the Humpty Dumpty of the plant world because it is often seen growing on rocks and walls. But don’t underestimate its versatility in the landscape. Sedum’s succulent foliage is topped by starry flowers in late summer and fall.

Sedum Box Crop

Low-growing types are perfect for rock gardens, but taller varieties thrive in perennial borders and add an unexpected touch to floral arrangements. Commonly known as stonecrop, its only demand seems to be well-drained soil.

 

 

 

What are sedum’s virtues? It’s low maintenance; practically carefree; makes a good cut flower; attracts butterflies; sports unusual foliage; and tolerates dry soil. 



 






Learn the different varieties and uses of sedum from Master Gardener Carol Ullerich at Twilight in the Garden on July 25 at the Demo Garden from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.