Flower Fervor
Finally, bright colors are coming back to the Butler County landscape.
And area Master Gardeners couldn't be happier.
Master Gardeners are volunteers trained by the Penn State Cooperative Extension to help the home gardening public in many ways, including answering questions and maintaining demonstration gardens.
Karen Schmidt of Butler is one. “This time of year is like Christmas,” said Schmidt. “It's fun to see what is going on every day. It seems like the daffodils popped overnight.”
“Perennials come up every year, such as daffodils and tulips,” said longtime gardener Faye Hohn of the Oak Hills Garden Club in Butler.
Perennials provide cheerful surprises but often have a short blooming time, Hohn said.
“Annuals will bloom all summer,” Schmidt said.
Annuals include pansies, geraniums, begonias, petunias and cosmos.
“I don't plant my annuals until the first week of June,” Hohn said. “I learned the hard way. It was a beautiful spring, and I couldn't wait and got all my flowers in.
Come end of May there was a frost, and it did all my flowers in!”With or without planting, gardeners are already at work.“General cleanup is what we're doing right now,” Hohn said. “I freshen up and loosen any mulch around the plants and enjoy the flowers that are blooming.”“Right now I'm cutting my grasses back and cleaning dried up stuff from last year,” Schmidt said.
Daffodils will be done by the beginning of May. Even though they are not attractive after blooming, Jan Stirling-Kelly of Butler, another Master Gardener, said not to be too quick about taking away the dead daffodil leaves.“In June or July they die,” said Stirling-Kelly. “They have to be dry to get the full nourishment out of the stems.”She recommends waiting until the leaves are dry enough to pull off easily.When the weather is warm enough to plant annuals, the possibilities can be overwhelming and enticing.“Pick a real good greenhouse. They can really guide you in your area,” said Hohn.Master Gardener Susan Chastney of Seven Fields said, “Ask a lot of questions of people who have experience, people in garden clubs, Master Gardeners and garden centers.”Penn State Cooperative Extension has a long history of helping local gardeners.Hohn has had Extension help with her soil.“If you have problems with anything, have your soil tested,” said Hohn. “They'll tell you what's missing, or if you have too much acid or too much lime or if your soil has too much clay.”Apart from growing flowers directly in garden soil, gardeners also plant in containers, and some are using lightweight fabric grow bags. Chastney said she had success with grow bags last year.“You can move them,” she said. “I put the zinnias last year in the bags and then snugged them around the bushes.”She added that filling containers and bags with garden dirt alone does not work well.“You need to lighten it up with commercial potting soil so there is enough drainage,” she said.Schmidt said seeds for profusion zinnias can go in the ground now.“Growing from seed is the most bang for your buck,” said Schmidt. “You can start the seeds indoors now and can bring them out later or you can plant the seeds mid-May.”When it is time for annuals, local gardeners have their own favorites.Chastney said, “You just cannot beat impatiens. They flower all summer long.”This year, Chastney recommends putting impatiens in a container. Schmidt explained that this year the disease milky mildew is in garden soil and harms impatiens.Hohn loves snapdragons but likes many annuals, too.“Anything that blooms,” said Hohn. “Anything that you don't have to pick at to get the dead blooms. I usually go to the greenhouse and see what I like. I do a lot of geraniums.”Schmidt said, “I love summer snapdragon, or angelonia. It blooms all summer long. It comes in pink, white and purple. It's a little unusual.”Denise Elliott of Sarver, a member of the Herbal Thymes Club and a Master Gardener, said even though day lilies are perennials, they can be planted or transplanted almost anytime.The Herbal Thymes Club maintains several gardens in the county including a Biblical herb garden at St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sarver. Several of the herbs have flowers.“The lavender is my favorite,” said Elliott. “It's useful and it comes back.”Hohn said one of the biggest mistakes people make is planting flowers too close together.“They need to have room to grow,” said Hohn. “Pay close attention to whether they need sun or shade and what they tell you at the greenhouse.”People sometimes forget about wild visitors such as deer.
“The mother deer teach the baby deer to eat what they eat,” said Chastney. “Find out what the deer eat in your area. If you don't work around them, you're often disappointed.“I try not to fight with Mother Nature,” she said. “A few things get nibbled at. It always makes it look much more natural.“One thing I can say about being a gardener for a long time is you do what you can. Some years you are out there fiddling and primping and other years you're just happy to get the plants watered.”Stirling-Kelly said, “My advice for new gardeners is don't give up. If something dies, try something new, try a different spot, try something different. Share your plants with people. You'll get something back.”Elliott agreed, “You get established by sharing. I have plants from my grandmother's garden and my aunt and my mom and other people in herb club.”“Don't get too stressed out about your garden,” Chastney added. “It's there for your pleasure. Enjoy it!”
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