I am sure there has been lots of garden and yard work going on this year already with all the nice mild weather we have had.
May is finally arriving and now is the time to really get your “Green Thumb” on and get lots of gardening done. We may have a few chilly nights, but I think all risk of a late killing frost is past us this year so we can plant just about anything now for the upcoming growing season.
May is also the time of year for the Clinton County Master Gardeners to host their annual horticulture workshops and plant sale on Saturday, May 13 from 9: a.m.-2 p.m. here at the Extension Office Community Room at 111 S. Nelson Ave. in Wilmington.
This year’s workshop classes will include:
Workshops:
10 a.m. — 20 Questions for Diagnostics. This workshop will discuss some basic diagnostics processes to come you come up with the best possible explanation of why a good plant has gone wrong.
11 a.m. — Plant a Mother’s Day Pot. This is a great hands-on project for anyone to participate in but especially for the young gardener. What better way to say Happy Mother’s Day to mom. P.S. dad, this would make a great gift idea.
Noon — Cooking with Herbs. Back by popular demand, this workshop will take a look at the many herbs we can utilize in our meals and demonstrate how to cook and utilize in meal preparations. The best part of this workshop is not only the great ideas but the taste testing of samples.
1 p.m. — Medicinal Herbs. Herbs have so many uses. Learn how we might use them for the health of our daily lives.
Registration is needed for the workshops so that our Master Gardeners have ample supplies for each session. You can reserve your spot by calling the Clinton County Extension Office at 937-382-0901.
The highlight of the day is of course the plant sale itself.
The plant sale will include all the vegetable plants you can imagine. This plant sale always has a great selection of many annual and perennial plants and flowers for all your flower and landscape needs. The many plants are locally grown by one of our very own Master Gardener family.
This sale is open to the public so I hope to see you there.
As a gardener you can do your part to help pollinators. Important pollinators such as honey bees, bumble bees and monarch butterflies have gained attention in recent years due to concerns about declining populations.
Pollinators are vital to the production of many food crops and provide a service essential to the survival of many native plants.
Fortunately, gardeners can take steps to support these and other pollinators through plant selection and simple gardening practices.
You can do your part by growing more flowers, trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants that can provide food and nesting habitat for pollinators. An abundance of different flower shapes, sizes, and colors will appeal to a variety of pollinators.
Grouping plants together in sunny locations helps pollinators find and feed on desirable flowers while expending less energy in the search for plants.
Different flower shapes and colors attract different pollinators. For example, red tubular flowers with a nectar reward tend to attract hummingbirds. Daisy-like flowers that provide nectar and pollen in shallow flowers are often visited by bees and flies with shorter mouthparts.
You want your plants to bloom through the season because many different species of bees, butterflies and other pollinators are active in Ohio at different times of the year. Queen bumble bees, mourning cloak butterflies and blue orchard bees are active in early spring. Monarch butterflies, worker bumble bees and worker honey bees forage from spring into the cooler days of autumn.
Gardeners can help pollinators by planting flowers with a sequence of bloom throughout the growing season, from early spring through late fall. Early-blooming trees such as maples, willows and redbuds, and late-season perennials like asters and goldenrod provide important food at especially critical times.
While literally hundreds of garden plants provide important sources of nectar and pollen for pollinators, try these garden-worthy additions:
• Trees — maple, crabapple, linden, serviceberry
• Shrubs — ninebark, pussy willow, sumac, viburnum
• Perennials — aster, hyssop, milkweed, purple coneflower
• Annuals — cosmos, marigold, sunflower, zinnia
• Herbs — basil, borage, catmint, lavender, oregano.
There is so much more you can do to attract pollinators. Do some research and find out what else you can do.
Also, don’t forget to celebrate the National Pollinator week this coming June 19-25.
Tony Nye is the state coordinator for the Ohio State University Extension Small Farm Program and has been an OSU Extension Educator for agriculture and natural resources for 29 years, currently serving Clinton County and the Miami Valley EERA.
