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PRESENTED BY THE JEFFERSON COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS
SATURDAY, APRIL 21st  9 AM—1 PM

Louisville Nature Center - 3745 Illinois Ave

     Master Gardeners will distribute 1000 bare-root trees and will be available to provide information about the trees and help select the right tree for the right location. Varieties of trees available include:
White Dogwood
Redbud
Loblolly Pine
Blue Spruce
Red Maple
Persimmon
Black Gum
Sugar Maple

Limit of 3 trees per family - come early for the best selection! 

Questions? Contact jcmgaevents@gmail.com

SPONSORS: JEFFERSON COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS AND THE LOUISVILLE NATURE CENTER

Tax season is here! Even if you aren’t getting money back this year, tax day can still bring you joy.

This is the time of year that hummingbirds migrate north. Hummingbirds send out “scouts” to look for places where food is readily available and they are usually the first to arrive. If you’re wondering when the best time to put feeders out and attract scouts, let tax day, April 15^th, be your reminder.

If you are interested in bringing hummingbirds to your yard, here are a few other tips, including an easy recipe for hummingbird food:

• Hummingbirds have a great memory and will likely visit the same area from year to year.
• Hummingbirds are territorial. Having multiple feeders in various locations can help to bring more of them to your yard.
• Hummingbirds love red, so consider a red feeder or putting the feeder near some red plants such as cardinal flowers.
• Rather than using the red hummingbird food sold in stores, try making the food yourself. It is simple to make and better for the hummingbirds. (See Recipe Below)
• Consider hanging ant motes along with your feeders so that ants don’t get into the hummingbird food.
• Hummingbird food can last about 2 weeks in the refrigerator. Before adding it to the feeder, it should be closer to room temperature. Thus, if you are taking it directly from the refrigerator, it is advisable to let it warm up before pouring it into the feeders.
• Hummingbird feeders should be changed every 3-5 days. The sunnier it is, the quicker the feeder should be changed so the food doesn’t spoil.

Hummingbird Food Recipe:

• One cup sugar to 4 cups of water.
• Bring the sugar and water to a boil for 2 minutes.
• Let it cool before putting it away or putting it into a feeder.

Submitted by Master Gardener Allison Foster

Interested in becoming a Master Gardener?

Information sessions for the 2017 Master Gardener class will be held on July 11th and July 18th at 6pm at the Louisville Grows Healthy House, 1641 Portland Ave. Louisville, KY 40203. Reserve your spot for the July 11 session at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jefferson-county-ky-master-gardener-class-info-session-tickets-35315661093  Reserve your spot for the July 18 session at:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jefferson-county-ky-master-gardener-class-info-session-tickets-35315919867

You must attend one of these informational sessions to pick-up all paperwork required for your class registration. All questions about classes, including up-to-date information about cost will be covered in these sessions.

Who teaches the Master Gardener program? What are the requirements?

The Master Gardener program is facilitated by the Jefferson County Extension Office and the Jefferson County Master Gardener Association. Most classes are taught by professors from UK and KSU, and by extension agents in surrounding counties. Certification requires participation in classes, passing a final exam, and completion of 30 volunteer hours in your first year as an intern. 15 volunteer hours are required annually after your first year to maintain your certification.

Master Gardeners is a service-focused organization. Participants in the class are required to volunteer for approved projects regularly. If you are not interested in community service then this program is not for you.

All interested participants must complete a background check (processed by UK) and all required paperwork to be considered for participation in the class. 30 seats are available in the Fall 2017 class.

When and where are the classes?

Classes and labs are on Tuesday evenings (6-8pm) and Saturday mornings (10am-12pm) beginning August 15th and ending October 21st. All classes will be held at the Louisville Grows Healthy House, 1641 Portland Ave. Louisville, KY 40203, except for an occasional lab or field trip.

What types of topics do the classes cover?

Classes incorporate a broad range of topics including entomology, beekeeping, aquaculture, tree pruning, composting, propagation, native plants, and many others.

Can children participate in the class?

Classes are for adults only and participants must be 18 years or older.

We have bee action at the Louisville Nature Center Insect Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky!  The queen in the picture is laying eggs in her nest.

Other bees were in various stages of egg laying, depositing pollen and creating mud partitions.  I did not have a chance to see any of them outside of their logs so I was unable to make a positive ID by just peering at them down the dark hole with a flashlight.  With 4000 native bee species in North America, it would be difficult to even venture a guess without getting a good look.  These native bees were here long before settlers brought honey bees from Europe.

The gardens at the Louisville Nature Center provide pollen and nectar and the bees, messy little pollinators that they are, give back by cross-pollinating flower gardens, vegetable gardens, trees and orchards, both at LNC and in the surrounding community.

The hotel was established by a Boy Scout troop a few years ago and has successfully provided homes for insects and native bees.  Weather elements have caused some settling of the materials, so a renovation is in order.  This will occur in the Fall, while the "guests" are asleep.  My goal is to create as much native bee habitat as possible.

Insect Hotel

Queen Bee

Materials I am gathering for the rehab include: bark, pine needles, pine cones, and logs. I am currently cutting logs and drilling the preferred-sized holes for solitary bees to nest in. Add a few canes to the collection and I'll be ready to update the hotel habitat.

Slabs of bark, pine cones & pine needles

Queen Bee nests in logs

Blue Orchard Mason Bees and Alfalfa Leafcutter Bees, among many others, are fascinating to watch and can be easily assisted by providing simple habitat. They are gentle bees and rarely sting (unless squished, of course). Did you know that you can harvest their cocoons, store them over winter, and then hatch them in the Spring? This is definitely on my "To Do" list!

Mason Bees plug their nests with mud

As I explore their world to learn more, I will be writing about the different types of bees, their nesting habits, cocoon harvesting and suggestions for providing homes and other necessary supplies, such as flowers and mud. Keep your eyes peeled for native bees and you will begin to see their diversity.

I welcome you to journey along with me as I gather and share information about these gentle, vital creatures. Happy bee watching!

Submitted by Master Gardener Tina Larimore

The Jefferson County Master Gardener Association shared in a collaborative effort with Urban Forestry and Louisville Grows at the Louisville Home, Garden, and Remodeling Show at the KY Expo Center on March 3 – 5, 2017. Urban Forestry had 4000 red oak and black oak bare root saplings that we wrapped, bagged and gave away during the Home Show. It was a huge success.

There were 502 people who stopped at our booth for information about trees and tree give away events including JCMGA Arbor Day Tree Give Away on Saturday, April 22. Flyers were given out about Gardenaganza on Sunday, April 30. Information was shared about soil testing, vegetable and flower gardening and how to attract pollinators.

The Garden Stage presentations were very well received. A huge thank you to our JCMGs, Julia Wall and June Sandercock, and Whitney Sewell, Director of Urban Agriculture, from Louisville Grows, who presented at the Garden Stage at the Home Show. It was an awesome success in building community awareness of the Jefferson County Master Gardeners, the Jefferson County Extension Service as well as Urban Forestry and Louisville Grows while helping make a difference in the tree canopy in Jefferson County.
#treegiveaway #urbanforestry #urbanforestry #louisvilleGrows