Gardening enthusiasts from across Taney, Stone, and several neighboring counties packed the fellowship hall at Branson’s Faith Lutheran Church for “Swing into Spring,” the 2024 Spring Workshop of Master Gardeners of the Ozarks.
Ozarks gardeners know March can be a crazy month weather-wise, summed up nicely in this tongue-in-cheek statement from the event flyer: “For 31 days you can’t count on anything. It will be too cold, too wet, too blustery or too stormy to do much except turn the compost, cut a few daffodils, and buy annuals that an unexpected frost will kill the next day.” Workshop attendees learned ways to cope with several of the challenges of gardening in the beautiful but rocky hills, as well as how to encourage native plants and pollinators.
Workshops included topics like these:
· Adapting Gardens to Rock, Hill, and Shade
· Missouri Natives
· Viburnums
· 13-Year Periodical Cicadas in SW Missouri
· Navigating Plant-Based Eating
· Invasive Plants and What to Do About Them
Several vendors were on hand with plants and garden-themed crafts, and as always, there were many wonderful raffle items ranging from gift baskets to handmade décor to gift certificates and more. This writer had been wanting a new bat house (bats eat LOTS of mosquitoes!), and, guess what!
The day also included a delicious breakfast, plus a barbecue lunch catered by Big D’s.
Mark your calendar now for the Fall Workshop, planned for Saturday, September 14, 2024, at New Testament Christian Church in Reeds Spring. And in the meantime, check out the FREE classes offered monthly from spring through fall: Classes are held at Library Center of the Ozarks the first Wednesday of the month; Taney County Extension Office in Forsyth on the third Tuesday of the month (classes are at the Presbyterian Church); and Kimberling Area Library on the third Wednesday of the month with Ozarks-timely topics like “Perennials,” “Things that Bite & Sting in the Garden,” “Herbal Medicinals,” “Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle,” and many more!
Visit www.mgozarks.org for class details and to learn more about the Missouri Master Gardener program, a project of the University of Missouri Extension, and about Master Gardeners of the Ozarks, a project of the Extension and the Stone and Taney County Commissions.
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