I haven’t been using this space to share my truly absurd fascination with roadside attractions and all things ridiculous. Fortunately for me, this husband understands how much of a weirdo he married. The first 2 tried to think I was not entranced by the ridiculous and ignored my need for the absurd.
There have been others. Not necessarily with this man. But…. I have a history. My friend, Patti, had me checking that app as we roadtripped to Nashville, IN and it was glorious.
So. I’m adding a new Category to this collection of random thoughts. Partly inspired by my friend, Sarah‘s, realizing that I have a RoadsideAmerica facination. Partly because why not?
Our herbs are out of hand this year. Usually, the parsley and oregano die back in the Fall and come back in the Spring. Chuck has been replanting cilantro in a pot every Fall (because it’s a cold weather plant) and basil every spring (because it absolutely cannot take any cold.)
So.
We have a feral cilantro growing next to the kale bed. I’m not showing you a picture because it’s looking pretty punk this morning. It likes cooler weather and comes back after a freeze. But, it doesn’t actually like it to get beloew about 35º.
The parsley and oregano haven’t even paused for breath.
I thought I was going to be a little short on oregano by Spring because I didn’t get started drying before it’s first bolt this year. I pinched it back and got on it when the second flush got healthy and I did get a couple of batches done. But, we use a lot of oregano. So, I was a little concerned.
I did not need to be. When I went out to look at it, there was tons and it wasn’t even slightly frost nipped.
You may notice the onion leaf in between them. I’ve quit storing green onions in the fridge. I put them in the ground and they just get bigger while they wait to be used.
Anyway. This is what I did last night.
I hope I didn’t hurt this guy who accidentally came in the house for a while. I didn’t see it when I was clipping.
Bald cypresswith Spanish mossWeeping Japanese maplewith suisekiChinese quince with full sized fruit
I believe this Japanese zelkova was 70 years old when it was first shown in 1954. We met its exhibitor and he said that was the year he was born. It was wild to see the trunk growth in the various magazine articles that included photos of it that he had collected.
This was the first year I ever saw tiny carnivores as shitakusa.
Ginkgo bilboaGinkgo bilboa fossil suisekiHinoki cypressJapanese beautyberryEastern white cedarChinese juniperJapanese white pineKorean hornbeamSiberian elmChinese juniperChinese juniperjuniper (I blurred the notation photo)American hornbeamChinese juniperI neglected to get a reference photo.Casearea guianensis / Little coffee I am so bad.Japanese white pineDwarf ivy!!!!Japanese deciduous holly2 forms of Princess persimmon
It is 54ºF/12ºC today and I have been playing in water. (Among other things.)
The pot I had my Japanese maple twins in started falling apart last Spring and it got gradually worse over the summer. Last week, I picked it up and the bottom fell out.
Literally
So, Spawn and I shopped for a new pot while we were at the Winter Expo in Kannapolis and picked out one that we both thought was attractive and not the most expensive thing in the vendors’ room.
This was originally a forest. But, one of the trio died and it became a twin. The guy that sold me the pot had some small plants available, too. So, I got another small Japanese maple that I think will have different colored leaves if it makes it to Fall.
And it’s significantly smaller than the other 2.
It’s been too cold for me to do anything with it until today. And today was pushing it. But, I didn’t want it to just sit there with its rootlets hanging out indefinitely. So, I bundled up and sacrificed my manicure.
I actually have them on the marble table by the fence. But, that’s a crap location for taking a picture.
The left is the Japanese quince in a pot made by my friend, Patti. The pot on the right is my little shitakusa of moss. We got the little Buddha at the Art in the Garden event ages ago. It used to be gold. But, he has lived outside and weather caused change. I have couple of chunks of rock that I tend to keep nearby. They are my discount suiseki.
North Carolina State University is the largest agricultural college in the state and they run the State Extension Service. Each county has an office that does all sorts of useful things for their communities. They operate using public funds supervising 4H clubs and helping anyone involved with plants, from farmers and public gardens to someone trying to keep a houseplant alive.
Each county has trained volunteers to help shoulder the load. I start training in Guilford County in January. I actually live in Orange County, but the Orange training class is already full, Greensboro isn’t far and I have a friend who was signing up there.
Orientation is January 14 and we will have class nearly every Wednesday until the beginning of May.
Here’s my schedule
The star on 2/25 is because that’s not a day to miss. That’s the day we meet our mentors. We can miss a day and make it up. But, that one really needed to be on everyone’s calendar.
Application days are test days. Those aren’t days to miss either.
On the Virtual Wednesdays we have all day to watch the video on the MG intranet and there’s a little quiz afterward to prove we actually did watch all of it.
The intranet is how we log our hours, too. You don’t get to just sign up and say “I paid my $120 and I’m a Master Gardener.” You are expected to seriously put in some time.
MG Interns are expected to volunteer a lot as we continue working with our mentors. Once we are actual Master Gardeners, we are expected to serve a minimum of 10 hours per year. (There’s a party in November when we have completed our training. Friends and family are invited to celebrate.)
In our first year, we are expected to put in 40 hours after we finish the class:
16 in demo gardens (There’s a bog in one of them.)
8 at the plant sale or other events.
12 on the Infoline. (4 times for 3 hours. A MG will be with us.)
4 extra hours. If I recall correctly, this is helping to man the information table at farmers’ markets.
Continuing education is expected, too. Notice there are some optional days for that included in the training schedule.
We have a book and we’ll be expected to read before coming to class. We can buy a hardback copy if we really want to have one in our hands for $50 or $60. Or we can download it from that website for free. You can get the HB from other online stores than the NC Extension service and they can be a little less costly. But, not by much.
We’re using the second edition, originally published in 2022. They’re working on a 3rd edition. But, it is such a great book that other services want to use it and #3 is going to be for the entire Southeast, not just NC. So, they’re putting extra effort into that one and it’s not coming out soon. Taylor said that the only differences between #1 and #2 are organizational and if we find an inexpensive copy of the first edition, it will have the same info in a different arrangement.
You can know I’ll be going with free on my tablet.
I have used the Infoline a few times and I’m looking forward to doing that, kind of giving back. That training is learning where to look for answers. Complicated stuff gets passed along to the Extension Agent.
I’m really looking forward to the Raleigh field trip on 2/2. We get to see how soil is tested and see what we need to know to tell people how to collect their samples.
I am the Audience 