in this issue........

Bob Polomski program

Design a Carolina Yard program

Arboretum News

Book Review - Second Nature by Michael Pollan

Seed Starting Basics

Treasured Trees of North Carolina

Come Join Us!
“Month-by-Month Gardening in the Carolinas”

Bob Polomski, author of “Month by Month Gardening in the Carolinas” will be our guest speaker. As a former native of New Jersey (the "Garden State"), Bob Polomski has gardened in the south for more than two decades where he is widely known and respected for both his down-to-earth gardening expertise and knowledge of the latest technical information.  As a Clemson Extension Horticulturist at Clemson University he shares his gardening know-how with residents through numerous print and electronic articles, radio broadcasts, and television appearances.

The program will be Saturday, March 1st  from 10:00am until Noon in auditorium C of the agriculture center on Fairchild Drive. We will have a book signing and refreshments.  A MG gardening clinic booth will be open from 11:00am- 1:00pm. This is open to the public. There will be a $5 fee. Please contact Dorothy Stobbs to register. (703-2850)

Please visit our website www.tanglewoodgardens.org for more information

-Connie Little

"Design a Carolina Yard"

This is a great time to get a head start planning your yard for spring.  Wendi Hartup and Stephen Greer, Extension Agents with the Forsyth County Extension Service, will present the program "Design a Carolina Yard".  There is a $10.00 charge for this two evening program. Register now to reserve your space for February 12th & 19th.  Send a check for $10.00, made payable to the "Extension Program Fund", and mail to the NC Cooperative Extension Service, 1450 Fairchild Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27105.  For more information call Dorothy Stobbs at 336-703-2850.

Arboretum at Tanglewood
News for February 2008

We had our first monthly Arboretum volunteer meeting and it was very well attended! Our chairpersons introduced themselves to the new MGV’s and described what their committees are working on.

Carol Wiggins—Adult education
Gay Nell Hutchens—Friends Program
Al Birch/ Mary Caponera—Spring Plant sale
Connie Little—Greenhouse/youth education
Bob Hooks—PR Dept.
Tom Tisdale (in the absence of Mary Conroy)-Arboretum website/time sheets

Tom talked about the time sheets and the importance of filling them out correctly. When you volunteer at the arboretum or in any other program write Arboretum work etc. and record the time. You can use a separate line if you volunteer more that once on the same day to make the recording easier and more accurate. All time sheets are sent to Linda Dunn monthly. Tom also encouraged volunteers to bookmark the web sites and check them frequently for the latest information. Anne Hester’s plant of the month page on the website was shown as an example of how we can learn more about what kind of plants are growing in the arboretum.

A wonderful group of volunteers pitched in to make an overwhelming task easier. Jane Sandridge, Jane Wooden, Judy Owen, Sara Ferner, Vicki Davis, Kathie Burton, Frances Vazquez, and Liza McKenzie attacked a pile of mini blinds and began cutting them into plant labels. Jane Wooden bought them from Habitat Restore. We will have labels for all the plants ready. Yippee!!

Don Speranza (our mastermind) with the help of Bob Wilson, Michael Rahman,

Tom Tisdale and Al Birch have completed the greenhouse irrigation!!

We have 3 school groups visiting in March to participate in the Youth Education program (March 18, 19 and 25th from 9am- 11:30)!

The greenhouse will also need lots of helping hands. Come on out and join us in growing plants, learning and having fun!

-Connie Little

Book Review – "Second Nature" by Michael Pollan

One reviewer describes Second Nature as being a manifesto for re-thinking our relationship with nature. Mr. Pollan describes his book as being about two gardens, one being an imaginary outdoor utopia and the other being an uncomfortably real patch of rocky land in Connecticut. The book follows the gardening cycle from spring to winter as Mr. Pollan chronicles not only his garden’s growth (or lack of) but his own personal growth as both a gardener and a human. In the process he is challenged by a vegetable devouring woodchuck and the ethics of how to deal with the varmint. He naively approaches his garden as a child of Thoreau only to find his belly empty and the woodchuck in need of Jenny Craig. I found this book to be engaging, entertaining and thought provoking; a very tall order that was well filled. His humor is refreshing and the descriptions of his experiences are thought provoking. I can’t say I agreed with him on every ethical point but I can say the $13 I paid for the book was well spent. I highly recommend Second Nature as very good read to both gardener and non-gardener alike.
-Pamela Stewart

Seed Starting Basics

Most seeds need only moisture and warmth to make them spout. But some seeds need stratification (cold moisture) or scarification (break or soften hard seed coats) before they will sprout. For seeds that need stratification place in moist soil mix in a plastic container or zip lock bag and refrigerate. To break through tough seed coats simply rub with a bit of sandpaper or nick them with a pair of nail clippers.
-Pamela Stewart

Treasured Trees of North Carolina

North Carolina is home to some very impressive trees. Thanks to groups like our own “Treasured Trees Committee” many of these trees have been measured and recorded.  NC State has a website that lists the largest trees each species. The search engine allows you to search by county and common name.

Forsyth county is home of eight listed trees: Black Walnut, Common Hackberry, Ginkgo, Kentucky Coffee tree, Northern Catalpa, Shagbark Hickory, Sycamore Maple, and White Ash. To learn more about other exceptionally large trees in North Carolina visit the website.
- Pamela Stewart

Sycamore Maple at WFU