Guests at Russel Allen Garden Day broaden knowledge and skills
Part one: Enjoying breakout sessions

 

[March 11, 2019] 

LINCOLN 

In spite of heavy rain on Saturday morning, a good crowd turned out for the annual Logan County Master Gardener’s, Russel Allen Garden Day.

The morning at Lincoln College began with the traditional registration hour and a time to visit with vendors representing a variety of gardening clubs and organizations along with those offering up information about honeybees and selling their honey products, and a table set up to promote the upcoming Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital Market that will being on Saturday, May 11th.

Guests enjoyed sweets and coffee while visiting with the vendors and waiting the first sessions at 9 a.m.

Succulents

The first discussion presented by Ellen Culver on succulents was by far the most popular. With standing room only, Culver discussed growing and caring for a wide variety of succulents including those that are winter hardy for outdoor growing and those that are good for indoor use.

In the second hour, Culver would lead a make-and-take project that guests were permitted to plant their own trio of succulents in a decorative pot to take home and grow indoors or outside this summer. That planting was so desirable that some guests had to be turned away because the room was completely booked.

Culver in her first session offered a slide show presentation of the many varieties of succulents and spoke about her favorites. She has an extensive succulent collection in her home and also utilizes a few succulents in her work at the Sarah’s Garden on the grounds of the David Davis Mansion in Bloomington.
 

Some of the best take away advise Culver offered in the first session was on the care of the plants, which are lovers of dry warm conditions.

In the home, succulents love warm rooms with low humidity and direct sunlight. They like dry feet. Culver talked about the drench, drain, dry method of caring for the plants. She said the best practice is to fully drench the plant container with water. Make sure the container has good drainage. When the container drains, dump all the excess water, then let the plant alone until the soils are once again dry. She said watering succulents should not be done daily or even weekly. Culver said watering every two to three weeks is best, and even then, check the soil for dryness before proceeding. Succulents also require very little if any fertilizer.

For outdoor growing in planters, Culver said again drainage is important and it is good to have the planters set on ‘feet.’ This can be something purchased such as a plant stand, put it can also be done in a more affordable manner by just placing the pot on a raised surface, so it is not directly on the ground and especially not on brick or concrete that absorbs heat.

Outdoors, direct sunlight can make some varieties more colorful, but Culver also cautioned not to allow the plants to be exposed to very hot sun.

She also offered a few troubleshooting tips. If the leaves are shriveling – increase water. If roots are rotting – decrease water. If the plant stems get leggy or are bending toward a light source, then relocate them to increase direct sunlight.

Backyard beekeeping

In the first hour Steve Petrilli offered up information on backyard beekeeping as the second of three sessions during that hour. Petrilli talked about the history of the honey bee and shared interesting facts such as the honey bee is the only insect that is able to produce food for humans. Also, honey is the only food that contains all the substances necessary to sustain life.

Steve Petrilli talked about keeping hives in the garden, how to care for the bees, and what is needed in order for the bees to produce honey. Another interesting fact, to make one pound of honey the worker bees in the colony must collect nectar from two million flowers and will fly over 55,000 miles (accumulated over time).

Bee keeping in Illinois is growing in popularity. In 2013 there were 2,519 registered bee keepers in the state. In 2018 that number rose to 4,308. The majority of these are small owners, with 89 percent of the registered keepers having ten colonies or less. In Illinois there are only 29 beekeepers with 100 or more colonies.

Floral Designs for the home
Bow making

The third discussion/workshop in the first hour of the day featured Debbie Theobald of Debbie’s Downtown Floral in Lincoln. Theobald spoke about floral arrangement and demonstrated how she puts together the lovely arrangements that she sells in at her shop in Lincoln. For those who may not be aware, Theobald took over the space formerly known as Three Roses Floral in Lincoln after the retirement longtime businessman Bill Bree.

Theobald maintains the same beautiful, classy store that Bree started, and has a wide selection of items on hand for shoppers every day of the week.

In addition to sharing some of her trade secrets with guests, Theobald also taught a lesson on making bows for floral arrangements and wreaths. The bow making activity was a very fun event that also drove home to guests that what Theobald does on a daily basis takes a lot of practice and patience.

At the end of the session each guest had made at least one to two bows to take home with them, and one lucky participant won the beautiful arrangement Theobald had made during the session.

In the second hour of the program there were again three breakout sessions. Culver continued her presentation with succulents.

Gardening with culinary herbs

University of Illinois Extension educator Jennifer Fishburn spoke about growing culinary herbs in the home garden. The herbs can be used for cooking but she also highlighted herbs beneficial as pollinators for local bees and other insects.

[Nila Smith]