Swapping Huckleberries
Himalayan Honeysuckle ( Vaccinium glauco album) Himalayan Honeysuckle ( Vaccinium glauco album) has been an attractive feature along our north-facing foundation since I planted it in 2016. You will have to take my word for it since I cannot locate a photo although I know one exists somewhere in the realm of the Internet or floating on a cloud somewhere. I did locate a photo of how it looked when it was first planted - It took a few years to fill out but it did so nicely to an attractive mound about 2 feet high by 3 feet wide. Last year, it started to look bad. I cut it back but it had not improved and this is how it looked a few weeks ago - I decided to rip it out and plant another huckleberry - this time Vaccinium ovatum , more commonly known as the "Evergreen Huckleberry". This is a plant that I've wanted for ages and kept putting off getting one because I could not find a good place for it. By most accounts, this is an amazing plant, a native one and excellent for
Congratulations on taking that first step toward certification. I took the MG course about 15 years ago and was a bit surprised on how much useful information I learned. I am pretty sure you will enjoy the experience. I liked the question answering part as people were calling in with some tough 'real world' garden problems. If I didn't know the answer I would say "I'll get back to you" and do some research on the problem/question. This enhanced what I gleaned from the course.
ReplyDeleteGood Luck!
You will love it! I don't feel much like a "Master" but I really enjoy the heck out of the MGs. The best part to me was all the people I've met. And judging from the meeting that was up in your area, the people there are very nice too.
ReplyDeleteI work our hotline sometimes and you don't have to know everything... they have every reference book you could imagine.
Another MG here. I love working the helpline because I learn so much looking up the answers to callers' questions. And when the phones aren't ringing, I get to read, either books in the MG library or Fact Sheets as I file them.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the decision to become a Master Gardener. I hope to walk the same path one day. I want to start off by telling you that your garden is absolutely wonderful! I looked at most all the pictures on the ‘A Southern Garden’ site. We are just starting our garden and what you have is what we hope to one day achieve. I read somewhere on your page that your first mistake was trying to do everything at once. I got a chuckle out of that, because I’ve been guilty of the same thing this year. I’m forty so I feel like I’m getting a late start on this whole gardening thing. We have busted our butts to get done what we did this year. I’m going to share your site with my partner and we’ll study your ideas and hopefully they will flip a switch and a couple of lights will go on for us. I look forward to enjoying your blog in the months to come.
ReplyDeleteI would love to take the MG course, but it will have to wait until I retire and have more free time on my hands. Good luck
ReplyDeletePhillip, I too want to take the MG program one of these years. Finding the time for me would be hard. Also don't let you head get too big when you are done. We have a couple of MG in our garden club and they think their stuff don't stink! I can't imagine you getting that way. Good Luck!!! You will go great!!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on doing the MG course. I took the Texas course last year and loved it. For a gardening enthusiast, it's like drinking from a firehose! You come out of the sessions just teeming with thoughts and ideas. And I really enjoy working our phone desk, I learn something new every time. And I definitely don't know the answers right when they call but it's really fun to research, call them back and let them know the solution or more ideas.
ReplyDeleteHave a great time, can't wait to hear your thoughts. I'll keep watching your blog!
When I took the course, I and others in class were a bit concened that we would not be able to help others, because the more we learned, the more we realized we didn't know. The horticulturist leading the discussion told us to remember that although we wouldn't know everything, we would know more than 90 percent of population about garden related issues, and that gave us confidence to work the phones and serve as MG Ambassadors. He was right!
ReplyDeleteGood luck in your MG endeavor.
Aiyana
I've wanted to do this too, so I can't wait to see how it goes for you. Good luck and have fun!
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