Fall features extension plant programs

By By Steve Strong / area horticulture extension agent
Oct. 9, 2002
Please take note of a change in location for the Oct. 17 annual meeting of the Lauderdale County Forestry Association.
The association still plans to meet that day at 6:30 p.m. in Meridian, but the meeting place has been moved to the upstairs dining room at the new Montana's Restaurant on Front Street. The program is open to the public, so please call the county Extension office at 482-9764 to preregister.
This local organization of forest landowners invites anyone wanting to learn more about vital Mississippi forestry issues and interested in improving their timber management practices to join them for a special program.
Bruce Alt with the nonprofit Mississippi Forestry Association will speak about important topics for private landowners at the Oct. 17 meeting and provide updates from state legislators relating to the status of the state's timber market.
The Fall Garden and Flower Fest is next on the calendar of area events, taking place Oct. 18 – 19 just down the road in Crystal Springs. Think about carpooling a short two-hour drive with your garden club, church group, or family to this entertaining annual event (9 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday and Saturday), a gardening field day featuring all kinds of activities and best of all it's free.
The Mississippi State University-MAFES Truck Crops Experiment Station is hosting its 24th Annual Fall Flower and Garden Fest this year on U.S. 51 (just off Interstate-55 South below Jackson).
Both youth and adults can enjoy a beautiful 2-acre array of colorful flowerbeds and vegetable garden plantings, in addition to special displays of herbs, vines and roses.
Garden experts will lecture throughout the day in three concurrent sessions on a variety of topics ranging from landscaping and lawn care to diabetic cooking and winemaking with muscadines.
Saturday's program (count on me to be there "outstanding in my field as always" in the veggie patch) features a wildflower program by Crosby Arboretum's own Bob Brzuszak, along with MSU horticulturists Norman Winter and Lelia Kelly on new ornamentals and herbs.
Floral design, bulb plants, cut flower gardening, African cooking, bug talk, soil testing and many other topics will also be part each day's program. Visitors have an excellent chance to see more than 40 varieties of garden vegetables, orchards or homegrown fruit, and even greenhouse tomatoes, and talk one-on-one with garden gurus from all over Mississippi.
Hayrides, syrup making and old-timey cornmeal grinding are some of the regular planned activities, and there's plenty of food in the form of grilled corn-on-the-cob, veggie plate lunches, and ribeye sandwiches from the cattlemen's association.
For more information about the Fall Flower and Garden Fest, call us locally at 482-9764, in Crystal Springs at (601) 892-3731, or access the Web site at http://www.msstate.edu/dept/cmrec/fallgardenday.htm.
If the schedule doesn't permit a road trip this fall, consider booking your local club for a gardening program via the county Extension Service. Agents like yours truly are always glad to meet with local organizations whenever the calendar permits, to present special programs and discuss individual homeowner topics.