It's Time To Go

The movers are here and it's time to go to.......

Click the link below and I'll see you at...

http://pineconelane.blogspot.com/

Love ya'll,

Shelli

Goodbye.....The End......

Look who has a new sandbox for her first birthday!!

It is hard to believe that it has been a year since Olive Louise was born. And for a year we have been making the 5 1/2 hour trek to New Orleans to send time with her and her parents. Therein lies the explanation of this post's title......We are moving!!!

It really is goodbye to....

     our sweet Turkey Creek Garden home in Ruston. As happy as I am to be closer to the Jilberts,  it has been SO hard to say goodbye to my fun Master Gardeners, precious Sunday School class, amazing Bible study group, and salt-of-the-earth neighbors and friends.

It really is the end of...

     this blog that I started when I retired from the classroom and knew I couldn't go from talking to a classroom of teenagers every day to staying at home and talking to the walls. Blogging has been lots of fun.


We've bought a 1980s ranch fixer upper on 7 1/2 acres in Summit, Mississippi.

Yes, it does need help- lots of help!! I'm a big Fixer Upper fan and am going to try to pull off a complete Joanna Gaines makeover.

Then there is the property. It has two garden areas and loads of potential, but the home hasn't been lived in for more than a year or two, so the landscaping has run amok! Think leaves and weeds! My goal is to finish the house by the end of the summer so that we can get to the landscaping and gardens in the fall.

But all these projects will take a back seat to enjoying more time with our sweet girls and son-in-law.

To celebrate the new branches we are growing as grandparents in Mississippi, while still staying in touch with family and friends, I am starting a new blog! I will give you the link in a week or two, then let the projects begin!! I hope you'll join us there!

Love ya'll,

Shelli

God gives you a life and says, Okay, what are you going to do with it?

~Alice Cooper

The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family.

~Thomas Jefferson

Every house where love abides
And friendship is a guest,
Is surely home, and home sweet home
For there the heart can rest.
~Henry Van Dyke

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

Psalm 107:1 

Bring Your Best Bud

Do you have a best friend, a best buddy, a best bud? Someone who is loyal and dependable, as well as fun and joyful?  Gardeners often think of the daffodil as our best bud (pun intended). Each year daffodils demonstrate their loyalty and dependability by popping up with little or no effort by the gardener, bringing fun and joy to our post winter surroundings. This year’s North Central Louisiana Master Gardener Spring Seminar will celebrate this special flower in an event entitled Daffodils: Bring Your Best Buds.

The seminar will be held on Saturday, March 4 at Lomax Hall on the Louisiana Tech Campus. Registration is from 8:00-8:30 and  the seminar ends at noon. The entrance fee is $15. The event consists of three components- guest speakers, an informal daffodil show, and a photo contest.

Speakers:

Celia Jones, a tireless promoter of daffodils, carries on the tradition of growing heirloom daffodils on her grandmother Annie Lou Holstun Jones’s farm in Bienville Parish. The farm has been featured on HGTV, in Southern Living, Fine Gardening, and other magazines and newspapers. Celia will share her love of daffodils with us.

Greg Grant is a county agent in Smith County (Tyler), Texas and an award-winning horticulturist, author, and garden speaker. He lives in his grandparent’s dogtrot farmhouse and gardens on his ancestral land in Arcadia, Texas. Greg will teach us about the best daffodils for southern gardens.

Kathie Rowell wrote gardening articles for The Shreveport Times when she was features editor there. Many of the plants in her Shreveport garden come from her grandparents’ garden in Ashland. Every day she writes about gardening on her website, Louisiana Blooms. Kathie will inform us about other bulbs and companion plants to use with our daffodils.

Daffodil Show:

Bring daffodils from your garden for an informal flower show. You don’t have to know the name of your daffodil variety, just bring your beautiful buds. Bring them in a small vase, recycled jar from your kitchen, or just a wet paper towel! The flowers will be arranged into groups that can be enjoyed during the intermission. What a great opportunity to learn more about the wide variety of daffodils from fellow gardeners! Members of the American Daffodil Society will be on hand in case you want to become a member.

Photo Contest:

Bring a picture of your daffodils (or other spring bulbs) and enter them in the photo contest. Photos should be 5x7 or 8x10 in size and matted with a simple white mat. Your name and phone number should be printed on the back of the mat. Prizes will be awarded!

Along with speakers, a flower show, and a photo contest, the morning will also include coffee, refreshments, door prizes, and a raffle! Whew….by noon everyone should be convinced that the daffodil is truly a gardener’s best bud!! But wait! There’s more!! The Master Gardeners planned their seminar to coincide with the Jonquil Jubilee held right next door in Gibsland, Louisiana, so that after a morning of daffodil inspiration, you can drive over and see fields of these beautiful flowers in their natural habitats.

Bring your best bud to the NCLaMG Spring Seminar; your other buds will meet you there!

Sunday Schoolisms Plus #30: With Every Choice

People often think of Christian morality as a kind of bargain in which God says, "If you keep a lot of rules I'll reward you, and if you don't I'll do the other thing."

I do not think that is the best way of looking at it. I would much rather say that every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before.  And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature: either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with it fellow-creatures, and with its self. To be the one kind of creature is heaven: that is, it is joy and peace and knowledge and power. To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness. Each of us at each moment is progressing to the one state or the other.

                                                                                   C. S. Lewis
                                                                                   -from Mere Christianity

New Year Resolutions for the Gardener

Are you a resolution maker?

Are you a resolution keeper?

Oprah Winfrey says the New Year is “another chance for us to get it right.” Here are some gardening resolutions to head you in the right direction for the new year.

1.       Adopt a “Why Not?” attitude.  Daylilies need sun, hostas need shade, and bamboo will take over your yard. There are some fixed rules in gardening, but never let that stop you from experimenting!! Your garden is your garden, and if you always wanted a beautiful patch of daffodils, but assumed you didn’t have enough sun, plant a few and find out! Why not?! There’s not a gardener I know that doesn’t have a story of an improbable success.

2.       Keep a gardening journal. Was Edmund Burke a gardener? He said,” Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.” That is exactly what will happen to you if you don’t write down how that new variety of tomatoes you tried last summer didn’t produce worth a flip, or if you don’t order your favorite daffodil bulbs by a certain date they will sell out, or how beautiful your roses were this November after switching to that new organic granular fertilizer in August! And with your new “why not?” attitude you will definitely have successes and failures to record in your journal!

3.       Add the LSU Ag Center website to your favorites. A wealth of gardening knowledge specific to our location is just a click away! Visit the LSU Ag Center site for information on landscaping, flowers, fruits and nuts, vegetables, equipment, and more. The list of Louisiana Super plants, plants that have been tested at the center and selected for reliability and superior performance under Louisiana growing conditions, is invaluable. But my favorite component of this site is the articles by consumer horticulture specialist Dan Gill; his wit and knowledge are priceless.

4.       Test your soil.  Drive to the new location of the LSU Ag Center here in Ruston at 307 North Homer (aka the old Temple Baptist Church building, aka the Police Jury Complex), and ask for a soil test kit. The directions are easy to follow, the cost is about $15, and the results will tell you exactly what you need to add to your soil. Good soil equals good gardening!!

5.       Grow something edible. There are so many ‘food movements’ taking place in the world today- Urban Gardening, Farm-to-Table, school gardening, Guerrilla Gardening, Grow Your Own, farmer’s markets, and the list goes on. Resolve to become a part of it! You don’t need a vegetable garden to participate- grow your edibles in pots or a couple of hay bales, or let a squash sneak around in your flower bed. Just grow something you can eat!

6.       Plant at least one pollinator friendly plant. Fulfill your responsibility to the environment by planting a plant that supports our local pollinators. You can choose a tree, shrub, vine, or flower, but resolve to plant at least one this year. A list of pollinator friendly plants for our region can be found at www.pollinator.org.  This is important!

7.       Don’t commit crape murder.   Crapemyrtles do not require pruning beyond removing the suckers at the bottom, but if you insist, you can prune your crapemyrtles without murdering them and destroying their natural growth pattern. More importantly, you don’t have to be in a hurry to do anything to them!! If you will just hold your horses, our winter birds, such as the gold finch, will feed off the trees’ seed pods. In February, we will post a video on our Facebook page (North Central Louisiana Master Gardeners) showing the correct way to prune crapemyrtles.

Happy gardening in 2017.

Happy New Year!!!!

Happy New Year!

Then out through the gates of the midnight—
      The door of the past was ajar—
      His robe like a shroud wrapped around him,
      The Old Year vanished afar.
And as morn with her soft rosy fingers
      Flung open the gates of the East,
      The New Year looked out from its chambers
      With a smile and a blessing of peace.
~Eliza A. Wetherby Otis

At This Year's End

There’s a fire burning outside my window

With leaves of red, orange, and gold.

There’s a fire burning outside my window

That tells me the year has grown old.

There is a coldness in the morning air

Bare limbs mark the pale blue sky.

Fruits and flowers of the summer fair,

Have withered brown and finally died.

And I am melancholy, heart and soul

Paralyzed by this year’s regrets, mistakes.

I cannot shake their strong grip and hold

Mired down in doubt, with time too late.

But with Christmas and Christ’s sweet birth

Comes the chance to start all things anew.

With His forgiveness, love, and worth

The old year I can bid adieu.

Lord, do not leave me; hold me tight

And by Thy mercies guide my steps

Into this new year, dark as night

Made crystal clear by Your precepts.

And when the fire outside my window

Burns again at this year’s end

Help me with certainty to know

I was in your path, your purpose, dear Lord, Amen.

Love ya'll,

Shelli

Sweet Christmas Tradition

Everyone has Christmas traditions. My dear friend, Lisa Cheramie, bakes decorative iced cookies with her daughter, and now grandchildren, each year. Many families holiday traditions center around football games and tailgating. And then there are hunting, caroling, church services, and more. One of my favorite Christmas traditions is captured in Truman Capote's fruitcake saga, A Christmas Story.

My dad was recently invited to participate in a tradition held this time each year in his neck of the woods that echoed back to the old days....

Dad was instructed to meet friends at an area outside Florien, Louisiana known as Devil's Branch. Directions led him down to the end of Jungle Club Road to a field of freshly cut, stripped sugar cane.

Next to the field, a Christmas syrup-making tradition was in full swing. Modern technology, a riding lawnmower, had replaced the mules of yesteryear, but the process was still the same.

The cane was  ground down to fill two 55 gallon drums of juice. The juice was then poured into a metal cooking pan.

Wood had to be chopped to keep a steady fire burning. If the fire was too hot, the syrup would scorch; if the fire wasn't hot enough, the juice wouldn't thicken. During the cooking process, wood was constantly being added or removed from the fire to keep the syrup at the optimum temperature.The syrup made that day took about five hours to cook, which was about 1 1/2 hours longer than the day before because the weather was much cooler.

As the sugar cane juice began to boil, a foam formed on the surface and had to be skimmed from the top.

As time passed, the juice began to thicken and its color began to darken. Then it was time to pour the finished product into half-gallon jugs.

When Dad broke open the seal on one of the jugs, I was instantly transported to Grandma Wig's kitchen where butter was melting on a pan of her homemade biscuits that were about to be swimming in delicious pure cane syrup!

The best thing about this sweet Christmas tradition is that on Christmas morning we will all sit down to Oakdale biscuits, Pleasant Hill sausage, and Devil's Branch syrup. It doesn't get any better than that. Thanks, Tom!!

Love ya'll,

Shelli

Christmas....

that magic blanket that wraps itself about us,

that something so intangible that it is like a fragrance.

It may weave a spell of nostalgia.

Christmas may be a day of feasting,

or of prayer,

but always it will be a day of remembrance...

a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved.

-Agusta E. Rundell

Gardener's Night Before Christmas

‘Twas the night before Christmas at the gardener’s house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

Tulips bulbs were placed in the refrigerator with care

 To be planted in January that soon would be there.

The ferns and tropicals had been moved inside

So, that during a freeze they’d not wither and die.

The gardener removed gloves and worn, floppy hat

To settle down for a long winter’s nap.

When out in the flowerbed there arose such a clatter

The gardener sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

She threw on her jacket, torn and grimy from wear

And sturdy rubber boots to see what was going on out there!

When what to her wondering eyes should appear

But a miniature wheelbarrow pulled by eight tiny reindeer

With a little old driver, all dressed in tweed

She knew in a moment it must be St. Seed!

His eyes- how they twinkled! His dimples how merry!

As he unloaded holly bushes loaded with berries.

Daffodils, hyacinths, crocus, and more

He planted the yard with bushes and bulbs galore!

 

He pruned the summer’s muscadine vines

Curving them into festive twig wreaths divine.

Then out to the hothouse he ran in a rush

To clean the garden tools with a stiff wire brush.

From his wheelbarrow, he grabbed a bag of 10-10-10

And fertilized the whole yard with the strength of ten men!

He dug up azaleas that weren’t getting enough light

And moved them to a sunnier spot to bloom big and bright.

Out of his gift sack he pulled the best gift,

Two cold frames so large he could hardly lift!

He placed them on the south side, vegetables to hold

Where tender plants could grow despite the cold.

His work almost done down the chimney he slid

And into the gardener’s stocking he hid

Gardening catalogs filled with varieties of seeds

And everything else a gardener could need.

Then out of a pocket in his green tweed coat

He retrieved for the gardener a very special note.

“With every seed, be reminded of Jesus and His birth

A promise of new life for all who are on Earth.”

“We need earthly gardeners to spread the news far and wide

Gardeners to nurture the grace that God’s covenant provides.

Sow heavenly seeds among people everywhere;

The Savior is born and all sin He will bear!”

Then he sprang up the chimney, to his reindeer gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down on a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, as he drove out of sight,

“Happy Gardening to all, and to all a good-night!”

We Gave Thanks!!

We had a fun Thanksgiving here at Turkey Creek Garden.

The weather was perfect

and

    we... 

Love ya'll,

Shelli

Another Dog Hair and Potato Peelings Project

One fall, many years ago, I was happily decorating my house and set a little pumpkin atop a stack of favorite books on a side table in the den. It added a sweet, casual touch. Several weeks later a noticed  that sweet little pumpkin looked a little smaller than it had originally. Upon closer inspection, it was smaller because it was rotting and its insides were oozing all over the back of my books. Yuck!!

That's about the time Hobby Lobby started selling fake pumpkins and I quit using real ones in certain places. It was a great investment. Today I still use many of those same pumpkins, but a few of them have faded in the sun or gotten nicked and scratched so that their white foam insides are showing. I decided I should just throw them away and buy new ones, but then I went to Mama's.

Out on her front steps sat this beautiful pot of fake pumpkins. I asked where she had bought such pretty ones and she said they were old ones she had painted!!! She used plain craft paints and then sprayed them with a clear coat.

She painted a base coat with one color and sponged another color on top to get a more realistic result.

They are fabulous!!

Another great dog hair and potato peelings project!

And the best thing about the dog hair and potato peelings approach to projects is that you love the results so much more than something you just go out and buy.

Repurpose! Reuse! Recycle!

Love ya'll,

Shelli

Think left and think right and think low and think high.

Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!

~Dr. Seuss

Sunday Schoolisms Plus #29: After the Election

After the election many people have been left awash in emotions accompanied by a desire to "do something". Let's remember that intercessory prayer is a powerful "something" that you can do immediately while you figure out the rest.

"Finally, intercessory prayer allows us to invest ourselves in God's design for his kingdom among people and nations.....praying for others will bring you to love them. Loving them will lead you to serve them. Serving them will be the open door through which God can move in to save, heal, and make whole."

                                               Maxie D. Dunham

                                               Irresistible Invitation

Waxing Camellias

The moon waxes, we wax our cars, and at homecoming you can wax nostalgic, but we are going to talk about waxing camellias! These lovely, cool-weather beauties should begin blooming soon and waxing the flowers will add a new dimension of enjoyment to camellia season.

Waxing camellias is taking the bloom and literally dipping it into paraffin wax to coat and preserve the flower. The flower takes on a porcelain luster and remains fresh looking without water for about a week. Waxing works best on the white, pink, and variegated varieties (red petals seem to look too waxy). Several people have asked me about waxing sasanquas, and I certainly think it’s worth a try, but the sasanqua petal is often thinner than a camellia petal so it might not work as well.

Some of the most beautiful waxed camellias I’ve ever seen were done by the Camellia Club of Mobile, Alabama, so I went straight to their website, www.mobilecamellia.org, for directions. Their site also has great photographs so check it out before you get started. Also, be careful! Paraffin wax is very flammable so do not heat it over an open flame and working with hot wax requires caution.

Materials

• paraffin (Gulf Wax) wax (canning section of the grocery store}
• mineral oil (grocery story or drug store)
• large bowl of ice water (get it cold and take out the ice)
• clock with a second hand
• candy or digital thermometer (accurate temperature is critical)
• fresh, dry camellia blooms

Note- A crock pot and a fry daddy will not work because they get too hot. For best results (if you plan to do this a lot) buy a pot (similar to an electric frying pan but deeper) with a temperature control. Rival makes one.

Process

1.  Heat the wax and mineral oil to 140 degrees. Temperature is CRITICAL.  If any cooler, the wax will become the globby (scientific term) and bead up on the petals. If any hotter, the wax will scorch the bloom and petals will turn brown.   Digital or candy thermometers will work. Don’t even think about using a meat thermometer. It is not accurate enough.

2.  Apply the wax - Holding the stem, with the leaves pulled back, and cupping the base of the petals with your fingertips, gently dip the bloom into the wax Using a side-sweeping motion rather than pushing it straight in. Keep in only a couple seconds - just enough to coat it and then remove it.  Give it a couple gentle shakes to eliminate excess wax.

3.  Set the wax – Immediately dip the bloom into a bowl of ice water (take out the ice cubes).  This sets the wax and cools the bloom. Move the bloom in from the side instead of pushing straight down in the water. If you push straight down, it makes the petals fold back and looks unnatural. It also helps if you hold the outer petals down with your fingers to keep them in place as you put the bloom in the ice water. Leave mine in the ice water for about 20-30 seconds. You can let them float in the ice water until the time is up. Make sure you periodically remove the small glops of wax from the ice water. They will stick to blooms you put in later.

4.  Place the bloom on a newspaper and allow to dry and harden.

Wax and oil - You will to need to mix enough so the wax mixture is deeper than the largest bloom you put into it. Once you do this, you will probably be hooked and want to mix up a lot. It is habit forming! You can keep the pot ready and use it anytime by reheating it. Here is what you will need for specific amounts of wax:

.5 lb. wax .25 c oil	1.0 lb. wax .5 c oil
2.0 lb. wax 1.0 c oil	3.0 lb. wax 1.5 c oil
4.0 lb. wax 2.0 c oil	5.0 lb. wax 2.5 c oil

Narcissus, tulip tree blooms, and roses work well with the waxing. Hang narcissus upside down to harden.