Upcoming Classes and Events

Pollinators

Thursday, January 7, 11:00 a.m. – noon. Master Gardener and Cobb Extension staff member Amy Whitney will present the who, what, when, where, and why of supporting local pollinators, at the Senior Wellness Center, 1150 Powder Springs St SW, Marietta, GA 30064.

Thyme to Read Book Club

Friday, January 8, 10:15 – 11:30 a.m. This month’s book is 1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus by Charles C. Mann.  At the Training Room of the Cobb County Water Lab, 662 South Cobb Drive (at the intersection with Atlanta Rd.).

Create a Rain Garden!

Friday, January 8, noon – 1:00 p.m. Mike Kahle, Master Gardener and member of the Cobb Watershed Stewardship Program staff, will present information about how a rain garden helps clean and control run-off, along with how to design and construct a rain garden of your own. Part of the Lunch & Learn series of Cobb Master Gardeners.  At the Training Room of the Cobb County Water Lab, 662 South Cobb Drive (at the intersection with Atlanta Rd.).

Landscape Changes and Homeowner Associations

Tuesday, January 12, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. Master Gardener Pam Bohlander offers alternatives to standard landscaping plants that will keep homeowners and HOAs happy. Part of the Gardeners Night Out series of Cobb Master Gardeners.  At East Cobb Regional Library, 4880 Lower Roswell Road, Marietta, 30068.

Cobb Community Gardens

Wednesday, January 27, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. Quarterly meeting of Cobb community garden managers,  members, and supporters, at the Training Room of the Cobb County Water Lab, 662 South Cobb Drive (at the intersection with Atlanta Rd.).

Suburban Home Vegetable Garden

Tuesday, February 9, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. Master Gardener Vickie Baroni will tell how to grow your own vegetables and herbs. Part of the Gardeners Night Out series of Cobb Master Gardeners.   At West Cobb Regional Library, 1750 Dennis Kemp Lane NW, Kennesaw, 30152.

Thyme to Read Book Club

Friday, February 12, 10:15 – 11:30 a.m. This month’s book is The Scent of Scandal: Greed, Betrayal, and the World’s Most Beautiful Orchid, by Craig Pittman. At the Training Room of the Cobb County Water Lab, 662 South Cobb Drive (at the intersection with Atlanta Rd.).

Compost and Soil Amendments

Friday, February 12, noon – 1:00 p.m. Master Gardener Eddie Rhoades will explain how to turn poor soil into soil that is plant-friendly. Part of the Lunch & Learn series of Cobb Master Gardeners.  At the Training Room of the Cobb County Water Lab, 662 South Cobb Drive (at the intersection with Atlanta Rd.).

Seed Starting Workshop

Tuesday, February 23, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. Master Gardener and Cobb Extension staff member Amy Whitney will provide the information you need and hands-on practice for starting seeds of some vegetables and annual flowers indoors. In the second floor classroom at UGA Extension/Cobb County, 678 South Cobb Drive, Marietta, GA, 30060.

North Georgia Gardening Symposium

Thursday, February 25, 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. For homeowners, Master Gardeners, and landscape professionals. Re-certification credits available: 3 hours for category 24, 1 hour for Private pesticide applicators, 5 CEUs for ISA Arborist (A) and Municipal (M). Chattahoochee Technical College, North Metro Campus, Building D, Room 400, 5198 Ross Rd., Acworth, GA, 30102. Program cost of $35 includes lunch and breaks. Register at 770-528-4550, or online through Chatt Tech.

For additional information about any of the above programs, call our office at 770-528-4070.

Pollinator Spaces Across Georgia

Flowers for pollinators at a small community garden.

UGA Extension is encouraging the planting of pollinator spaces in community and school gardens through a new Pollinator Spaces Project.

The project gathers up on the Pollinator Spaces webpages  links to information about pollinators and gardens and information about upcoming classes and events  about pollinators.

Photos of pollinator spaces either newly created or already in existence can be posted on the UGA Community and School Gardens Facebook page or emailed to beckygri@uga.edu for posting on the website. Participating gardens will receive a certificate and be added to a map to show that support for pollinators in Georgia extends from border to border. At the end of the year, the map will be amazing to see!

For gardeners hoping to learn more about pollinators and the kinds of help we can offer these beleaguered garden helpers, check out publications at the link provided on UGA's "Building your pollinator garden" page.

For gardeners who would rather take a shortcut to learning which plants are pollinator-friendly, UGA offers this list on its "Plants for Pollinators" promotion card for the Spaces project:

Anise Hyssop
Aster
Button Bush
Catmint
Celosia spicata
Coneflower
Cosmos
Dill
Goldenrod
Mexican sunflower
Milkweed
Salvia - Hot Lips
Sunflower
Thyme
Verbena
Zinnia

Upcoming Events and Classes

Layered, Indoor, Holiday Container Planting

Thursday, November 5, 1:00-2:00 p.m. Cobb Extension’s Renae Lemon will demonstrate how to fill a holiday planter that will bloom throughout the holiday season, at Kemp Memorial Library, 4029 Due West Rd, Kennesaw, 30152.

Bluebird Trail Walk

Saturday, November 7, 10:00 a.m. to noon. Free and open to the public. Cobb Master Gardener and Bluebird expert Jim Bearden will conduct a guided walk of the 2.3-mile Bluebird Trail at Green Meadow Preserve Park, at 3780 Dallas Hwy., Powder Springs, GA, 30127. Follow the Bluebird Trail blog at bluebirdtrail.blogspot.com.

Holiday Inspirations

Saturday, November 7, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Cobb Extension staff members, led by Leah Wilson, will demonstrate simple and easy holiday crafts for decorating and gifts, in the second floor classroom at UGA Extension/Cobb County, 678 South Cobb Drive, Marietta, GA, 30060. For information, call 770-528-4070.

Pollinators: Unsung Garden Heroes

Tuesday, November 10, 7:00-8:00 p.m. Learn about the important role pollinating insects play in providing beauty in the garden and food for our table, with Master Gardener Marge Igyarto. Part of the ongoing Gardeners Night Out presentation series of the Master Gardener Volunteers of Cobb County, at South Cobb Regional Library, 805 Clay Road, Mableton, 30126.

Thyme to Read Book Club

Friday, November 13, 10:15 – 11:30 a.m. Meeting of the book club sponsored by the Master Gardener Volunteers of Cobb County is free and open to the public. This month’s book is Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, by Richard Louv.  At the Training Room of the Cobb County Water lab, 662 South Cobb Drive (at the intersection with Atlanta Rd.). Free and open to the public.

Beekeeping with Metro Atlanta Beekeepers

Friday, November 13, noon - 1:00 p.m. Discover the difference that honeybee pollination can make to your formal garden, wildflowers, vegetables, and fruits. Part of the ongoing Lunch & Learn series of the Master Gardener Volunteers of Cobb County, at the Training Room of the Cobb County Water lab, 662 South Cobb Drive (at the intersection with Atlanta Rd.). Free and open to the public.

Trim-a-Tree

November 18, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Cobb Extension staff member Emily Harper will demonstrate how professionals use decorative mesh, ribbons, and unique items to create one-of-a-kind presentations. Other holiday ideas will also be on display. Class will be held in the second floor classroom at UGA Extension/Cobb County, 678 South Cobb Drive, Marietta, GA, 30060. Free, but preregistration is requested. Call 770-528-4070 to register.

Orange Caterpillar with Black Spikes

Most gardeners are happy to see butterflies in the garden; the winged insects are often cheerfully colorful, and they may serve as pollinators that help the flowers produce seeds and fruit. Many gardeners, though, are less happy to see the larvae of these butterflies, because they can be such voracious eaters of our beautiful plants. Also, some caterpillars may seem to be less attractive than the adults they will eventually become.

The larval/caterpillar stage of the Gulf fritillary butterfly is one such example. A gardener's first reaction on seeing such a spiky creature might be to wonder, "Does it sting?" The good news is that it doesn't.

Gulf fritillary caterpillar on passionflower vine.  PHOTO/courtesy Amy W.

The University of Florida has described the Gulf fritillary on its Featured Creatures pages, and its description includes the information that the caterpillars are found primarily on passionflower vines. The page adds, "Larvae may feed on all parts of the plant and can rapidly defoliate host vines." 

For fuller information about the butterfly and its other stages, including its migration and overwintering habits, visit the above linked page.

Upcoming: Pollinator Week!

PHOTO/courtesy Amy W. at  Grow Your Own (food)

National (and Georgia!) Pollinator Week is the third week in June; this year that is the week of June 16-22. UGA Extension in Cobb County will be celebrating pollinators in conjunction with Cobb Water and Cobb Parks with a "Monarchs and More" educators workshop and a "Pollinator Day" for the public at the Wildlife and Rain Garden.

The "Pollinator Day" event on Thursday, June 19, will include a bug hunt, butterfly craft, and information about protecting pollinators, planting a pollinator garden, and getting a garden certified as a Pollinator Habitat. This will be held at the Wildlife and Rain Garden, on the grounds of the Cobb County Water Quality Lab, 662 South Cobb Drive, in Marietta,, from 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. Everyone is welcome to this free event! For additional information, contact kaye.wilson@cobbcounty.org or call 770-528-2284.

The "Monarchs and More" educator workshop will take place Tuesday, June 17. This hands-on workshop -- focusing on butterfly life-cycles, systematics, ecology, conservation, and monarch migration -- for both formal and informal educators will be conducted at the Cobb County Water Quality Lab, 662 South Cobb Drive, in Marietta, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Preregistration is required (kaye.wilson@cobbcounty.org or 770-528-2284), as is a $10 fee. Participants will receive the Monarchs and More curriculum guide and other resources. Registration deadline is June 6, and space is limited.

In addition, Cobb County's cable channel, TV 23, will be running a special butterfly program intermittently through the month of June, and, during Pollinator Week, free publications related to pollination and pollinators will be available on the wall-rack inside the lobby of the Cobb Extension office, at 678 South Cobb Drive in Marietta. Anyone who is unable to attend the events or stop by the office for pollinator information is welcome to call the Cobb Extension office (770-528-4070) to request information to be sent in the mail.

Marigolds for Earth Day

We've had a tray of Marigolds growing in the office for several weeks now, and some of the young plants are beginning to form little flower buds at the top. Even when these plants are full grown, they are going to be small. The catalog from which the seeds were ordered said this about them: "Abundant color on neat, compact 10" plants. Ruffled double flowers in rust, yellow, orange, red and bicolors."

 Marigold seedlings, "Brocade Mix," a French Dwarf variety, Tagetes patula               PHOTO/Amy Whitney

In general, marigolds are attractive to butterflies (which are beautiful, though somewhat patchy in their effectiveness as pollinators), and they can attract some other beneficial insects to your garden. Anyone who stops by the office today, and until the 30 plants are gone, will be offered one of these to take home. Happy Earth Day!

Pollinator Week: Carpenter Bees

Pollinators - Carpenter and honey bees - on Anise Hyssop.

reprinted with permission from I've Got Company!

Here in Cobb County, any home with wood parts exposed to the outside world will at some point have those wood parts riddled with holes by carpenter bees. It's part of what carpenter bees do, and, as a result, it can be hard to think of those big, shiny, native bees as anything but pests.

They do, though, have some redeeming qualities. One of those is that they are pollinators of some flowers.

The U.S. Forest Service article Carpenter Bees, by Steve Buchman,  notes that some of our garden vegetable crops are effectively pollinated by carpenter bees:

"In our vegetable and flower gardens, carpenter bees are generalists and may be found foraging on a number of different species. They, like bumblebees are early morning foragers. Carpenter bees land on flower blossoms they become living tuning forks. Using their powerful thoracic muscles carpenter bees sonicate the dry pollen grains out of the flower’s anthers. This type of pollen gathering is called “buzz pollination.” Carpenter bees are excellent pollinators of eggplant, tomato and other vegetables and flowers."

Cornell University notes in its publication Wild Pollinators of Eastern Apple Orchards that carpenter bees also are effective pollinators for apples.

According to UGA's publication "Pollination: Other Pollinating Bees,"

"[Carpenter bees] are effective pollinators of passionfruit. In Georgia, they visit blackberry, canola, corn, pepper, and pole bean, but their value on these crops is uncertain. Carpenter bees are notorious for "robbing" flowers by cutting slits in the side of the flower to reach nectar without even touching the pollinating parts."

Even though they might not be primary pollinators for many plants, carpenter bees' role in pollination of passion flower, which is a host plant to several beautiful butterflies, might be enough to bring them a little sympathy from homeowners. However, the damage caused by carpenter bees in making their nesting holes can be extensive.

In order to have our pollinators and undamaged homes, too, it can be helpful to follow prevention guidelines such as those in Alabama Cooperative Extension's publication "Carpenter Bees, Biology and Management," and consider setting out wood nesting blocks for use by the bees.

Celebrating all Next Week: National (and Georgia!) Pollinator Week

Bumble bee, a native pollinator, heading for home. 

                               PHOTO/Amy W.

reprinted with permission from Squatters!

Next week, June 17-23, is National Pollinator Week, and it has also been declared by Governor Nathan Deal as Pollinator Week in the state of Georgia. In celebration, the publications rack in the lobby of Cobb County Cooperative Extension's office(678 South Cobb Drive, Marietta, 30060) will be packed with information about pollinators.

The publications, which will include printed activities for children, will be free to anyone who stops by. Please feel welcome to come over and learn about our native pollinators and honeybees!