The Southside Master Gardener Association will offer two gardening programs at the South Boston Halifax County Museum in October. These programs are free and open to the public. Registration is requested by calling the Halifax Extension Office at 434-476-2147, option 0 or emailing ask@ssmga.org.
On Saturday, October 19 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Randee Brown will discuss The Beauty of Ornamental Grasses. Randee is a Danville Master Gardener and works with the Danville Parks and Recreation. When she needs a tough plant that can take some traffic and little maintenance, she often goes to ornamental grasses. Unfortunately the overused Pampas Grass and invasive Maiden Grass give ornamental grasses a bad rap. But there are hundreds of grass options that work for different conditions. Some are short and make great groundcovers, others are tall and can hide an ugly view. Either way, ornamental grasses are low maintenance, high value plants. Randee will show us the ins and outs of these beautiful but useful grasses.
Friday, October 25 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Kathy Conner Cornell, Southside Master Gardener, will talk about Companion Planting with Herbs. Companion plants are ones that repel, attract or otherwise provide assistance to plants, either ornamental or fruits and veggies or just work for you. We need to use companion planting as part of a sustainable landscape – one that works with the earth and avoids the use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. We must limit our use of pesticides – not good for the soil, not good for beneficial insects, not good for birds, not good for the environment and not good for us. Herbs are great companions because they provide other benefits also. Besides the obvious flavoring for food, herbs generally have small flowers which make them very attractive to pollinators. Herbs grow well in Southside and yes even in our clay. Learn how to pair herbs with ornaments, fruits and vegetables.
The South Boston Halifax County Museum is located at 1540 Wilborn Avenue in South Boston. Light refreshments will be served. Call 434-476-2147, option 0 or email ask@ssmga.com to make your reservations. Hope to see you there!
The Southside Master Gardener Association (SSMGA) supports the Virginia Cooperative Extension and its mission to “enable people to improve their lives through an educational process that uses scientific knowledge focused on issues and needs”.
