Considering the heat that we have been experiencing this month, it is very impressive that faithful volunteers from the Capital City Master Gardener Association arrived for MBG’s June Volunteer Day. The group, including Karin Carmichael, Linda Graydon, Marie Tomlin, Cheryl McKiearnan, Alice Jackson, Darwin Prewitt, Justin Skipper, Lynne Kuhlman, Ann Hamill, Jane Martin and Cathy Maddox, gethered at 7:30 am on Tuesday, June 21, 2022, to avoid the hotter parts of the day (Volunteer Day is the third Tuesday of each month). Summer heat also produces prolific unwanted weeds and misplaced grasses that require constant removal to prevent their overtaking the planted areas. The group of intrepid gardeners removed eight large black bags of weeds and gathered limbs and debris that created a stack about 5 feet long and 3 feet high for pick up and disposal.
Some of the hydrangeas required additional watering due to the heat, so the volunteers hand watered them to enable them to survive this period of dry heat. This was made possible by the Parks and Recreation staff who recently installed a faucet in the Southern Garden for MBG use. The unsightly hedge of very old shrubs along the entrance drive also got some much-needed attention. Vines, saplings, weeds, dead shrubs and random trash were removed for about twenty feet along the drive. Then a volunteer, Justin Skipper, pruned the Loropetalum shrubs and trimmed the weeds and grass in areas that lawn mowers do not reach. The rest of the hedge along the entrance drive will require continuing attention through the summer to improve the appearance of the hedge and to nurture the health of the desirable plants within them. Our wonderful volunteers make the gardens possible and their faithful and diligent efforts maintain the health and beauty of the gardens. Come and enjoy the fruits of their labor.
