Speaking of bulbs, driving down I saw quite a few daffodils in bloom.  Around the church where the event was held, their tea olive (Osmanthus) was in bloom as were their sasanqua camellias.  My sasanqua continues to bloom as well–in fact there are more flowers on it now than there have been all season.  I am starting on month 3 of blooms!  I got home and decided I needed to take inventory of my own garden.  My daffodils are beginning to come up, but nowhere close to blooming, but my neighbor has some that are open.  My crocus are up, but I don’t see any blooms yet.  My Camellia japonica has four buds getting bigger, and the loropetalums in front and back are still blooming.  If you look at the close up picture of the bloom, you can see where they get the common name Chinese witchhazel, as the pink bloom does look  like a witchhazel bloom.  My hellebores continue to shine in the winter landscape.  The Josef Lemper flowers have all turned bright green now, but the Cinnamon Snow and Pink Frost are doing fantastic, with loads of buds.  With just these three plants I have had tons of blooms.  The mahonias are beginning to flower and they are so fragrant and attractive to bees and the rosemary is blooming too.  My nemesis the Vinca major actually had a big showy flower already. I cut it and brought it indoors to enjoy.  They do have pretty flowers, if they just didn’t spread so aggressively! 

It was cool today, but the sunshine is wonderful.  Get outside and enjoy this weather. There is plenty to do in the garden, from clean up to fertilizing to planting. 

It was a gloomy day all day.  I thought the weather was supposed to break by mid day, but it is still misty and cool.  I have had 1 1/2 inches of rain, but would like to see the sun.  My first bloom opened this morning on my forced paper white narcissus. The timing was only a few days over the third week of planting, and I should have more blooms tomorrow.  The plants are easily 18 inches tall, and the amaryllis bulb has kicked into growth too. 

In addition to planning all these County 76, I have been hard at work trying to finalize the 2012 state MG conference so we can go live with registration next Wednesday.  I think we are almost ready. 

The weather is so gloomy, that I don’t mind being in the office so much.  Tomorrow I will head to Hot Springs to do MG training there, and then Saturday I will be in Magnolia at their annual Garden Thyme event.  It will be at Immanuel Baptist Church, 1823 East North Street  from  9 a.m. to noon. Besides me, speakers include Chris Olson and John Richardson. The cost is $10 which can be paid at the door.  The weekend gardening events have started.  There is one every weekend from now through June, so make plans to attend some of them.

Yesterday I met with MG Bob Santos in Rogers to discuss a new online record keeping program for MG’s.  I am really excited about getting this going, and with Bob’s expertise, it shouldn’t take too long to get up and running.  Keep your fingers crossed!  Then it was on to Benton County’s MG training. A great, enthusiastic group of 30 new trainees.  There were so many questions, and we got so engrossed, that we went a little long!  Then it was on to a meeting with the leadership team for the MG 2013 Convention in Rogers.  They are already making plans and getting organized, so expect great things.  I finally got to my room last night and tweaked some of my powerpoints for today’s talks in Fayetteville.  Another wonderful new group of 30 trainees, and loads of questions.  Afterwards I walked to their demonstration vegetable, herb, butterfly, compost garden. They still have some vegetables growing, the compost is hard at work breaking down, and the garden is taking a winter break.  If the weather continues to stay so mild, it won’t be long before more plants are beginning to break dormancy.

Speaking of composting, the Washington County MG’s are hosting an in-depth Master Gardener class for any Master Gardener in the state or school teacher at the Washington County office.  The class will be taught by Master Composters and will include classroom time as well as hands on work at the Compost Demonstration Site.   Topics include: The Science in Composting, Composting Techniques, Worm Composting, Compost Teas, and Use of Compost  When: February 4, 8:00am – 5:00pm and February 18, 8:00am – 12: noon.  The cost is $25.  Pre-registration is duby February 1.  Mail check to the Washington County Extension office, 2536 N. McConnell Avenue, Fayetteville, AR 72704. Provide email address to confirm receipt of registration fee.   For more Information: Contact Berni Kurz bkurz@uaex.edu  479-444-1755 or George Loucks  gloucks1942 @yahoo.com  479-879-3099

Remember that advanced training for MG’s is being offered Feb. 21 on Rain Gardens at the state extension office in Little Rock.  Registration opened Friday of last week, and we already have 46 folks registered.  Space is limited, and you must be a three year active MG to attend. 

Edible gardening or edible landscaping continues to be a popular new trend.  Urban apples are being sold which have a tight columnar growth habit and bear loads of fruit right on the main stem.  Great for a small yard or container planting, you must have two different varieites to bear fruit.  There are currently four varieties available.  They are not disease free, so if you want blemish free fruit, you will have to follow a spray program, but apples tend to be more forgiving than peaches and plums. 

Two great speakers talked about the benefits and the many forms of social media.   This blog is a great example of how we can connect to a lot of people at one time, along with facebook, twitter, google groups, constant contact, e-newsletters and more.  There are so many new ways to communicate, it can become a bit mind boggling.  I think we are just scratching the surface of what is available.  I need someone more savvy than me to tie it all together, but that will be a new goal for 2012!  We can’t overlook the traditional face-to-face meeting, printed words, and phones, but today we can be linked together in so many different ways, we just need to understand how to do it, and have the time to do it!

Master Gardener trainings are going on in earnest statewide.  Tomorrow I head to Benton County (Rogers) for MG training, then on to Washington County (Fayetteville) for MG training Friday morning.   Don’t forget, the garden show radio call in program I do on Saturday’s is now on KAAY – a.m. 1090 in Little Rock, not KARN.  Statewide the channels have remained the same.  Tune in from 10-11 a.m. this Saturday.  January 28 I will do the show and a garden program in Magnolia, for the annual Garden Thyme event

 sponsored by the Columbia County Master Gardeners.  Register for that if you would like to attend.  Chris Olsen will also be there with his book.

The paper white narcissus I planted last week are growing strong.  I turn the pot several times a week to keep the stems growing straight.  I added some decorative red beads on the top to add some weight to the pot and it should be an added touch of color for the white paper whites, once they start flowering.  The amaryllis has greened up but is not growing as fast as the narcissus.  They have their own schedule, but I am turning it also. 

Friday night was the second Friday night art walk in downtown Little Rock.  Probably due to the colder weather, there wasn’t a huge crowd.  The beds around the Old State House were the first MG project in Arkansas and they continue to be a MG project.  The pansies were blooming, and the daffodils were up and some even had buds showing.  They have some great exhibits at the museums in downtown Little Rock, plus some great art.  It is free to attend, and a great opportunity to see what downtown has to offer. 

Saturday night we made sushi from my new sushi kit. Kyle and his room mate Toast came over to lead the demonstration–and to do most of the cooking!  They are both chefs, so it was fun to watch and learn.  I had fish flown in from California and we had all the sauces and rice and vinegar and mango and on and on.   I think every pot, pan, dish and utensil I owned were dirty by the end of the evening, but we ate some great sushi.  Sushi rice is a little harder to make than just regular rice.  You have to steam it and it needs to be moist and sticky.  You mix it with some sushi vinegar and then spred it on the Nori (seaweed sheets) then put whatever vegetables, fish and sauces  you want.   It is best to use a sushi mat to get a firm roll.   The first one was a bit large and a bit heavy on the sirichi sauce–so spicy too.  The soft shell crab was amazing, as was the Hawaiin shrimp and the spicy tuna and surprisingly the barbequed eel was fabulous.  There wasn’t a bad roll in the bunch and the fish eggs on top were a huge hit.  I made the last roll of the night and it turned out excellently!  Probably not something we will do weekly, because it does take time and lots of knife skills and ingredients, but it was fun and tasty. 

This has been a week full of meetings.  From planning for the upcoming state MG conference in Monticello (registration will go live February 1), to planning for IMGC in 2013, to Arkansas Flower & Garden Show Feb 24-26, 2012, and more on the Peoples Garden Grant, I feel like I have met myself coming and going.  Monticello was cooler and gloomier than Little Rock on Wednesday, but now we are cold statewide. I actually saw a few snow flurries yesterday morning on the way into the office.  The mild weather we have had up until yesterday, has many plants thinking spring is around the corner.  I saw winter jasmine in almost full bloom on Wednesday, and all three varieties of my hellebores are either blooming or about to burst.  Statewide people keep asking about their hydrangeas and what to do to protect them.  With as much winter as we have left, I am not sure it is feasable.  It has been a great season for pansies so far and the flowering kale and cabbage are spectacular.

I also got some calls this week concerning eleagnus and winter honeysuckle dying.  This is the first I have heard of it.  Have any of you had any problems, or seen any damage. I have asked for samples/ and pictures, so we can see what is going on.  Next Tuesday and Wednesday is the Arkansas Green Industry Association meeting in Hot Springs.  There are seminars both days and a trade show. If you know folks who might be interested in the nursery or greenhouse business, this is the meeting for them.

Afterwards, the executive team met over a wonderful lunch at Elaine’s to discuss plans for the future.  Elaine’s house is filled with art that is amazing and would fit perfectly in my house. Abundant bright colors and a lot of whimsy.  Once I got past the oohing and aahing, we got down to discussions.  Jefferson County is one of our original 4 pilot counties, so they have had a MG program for 23 years. They are always striving to improve and sustain what they have.  There was quite a bit of discussion of the upcoming Lawn & Garden Show at the convention center on Feb. 11 and possible recruitment for new members, as well as how best to work with county staff.  As always the Lawn & Garden Show is free to attendees, and they have great exhibits and seminars planned. If you know of potential exhibitors, contact the Jefferson county extension office.

As I was driving home I saw my first winter jasmine in full bloom. 

I brought them home and immediately set them up for planting.  Inside each box is a plastic container, a cocopeat disk (100% coir fiber- material harvested from the husk of a coconut) which will become the potting media, and the bulb or bulbs.  First you soak the cocopeat disk in 3 cups of warm water. Within minutes, the dried disk begins to absorb the water and within 5 minutes the media was ready to use.  I then filled the container with the soil-less material, placed the bulbs in the soil and added a little extra water.   Both sets of bulbs had started to sprout, but just barely.  The sprouts today are white because of lack of chlorophyll, since they were packaged in a box.  Within a day of getting sunlight, they should start to straighten up and green up.  If you are growing your own, be sure to turn the containers periodically to keep them growing straight.  With both of these bulbs, you want ½- 1/3 of the bulb exposed.  They will grow quickly and I should have blooms within 6 weeks.  I will keep you posted. 

Anything to add color indoors for the winter is great.  Our houses often look bare when we take down all the holiday decorations.  If you have holiday plants, that is one way to keep some color.  My poinsettias all look almost as good as the day I got them, as does my florist azalea I was given as a gift.  If you need some color, go hit the bargain section at the store and see what you can find—make sure you inspect the bulbs before you buy.

After the radio show I went to the Tulas landscape and home show in their downtown convention center.  I was surprised at the lack of signage.  I followed a few folks who weren’t sure where they were going either, but we did make it in. Someone gave me a newspaper coupon, so I got in for $2 instead of the advertised $4.  Their ticket sales were comprised of one 6 foot table and two people.  I was there at noon on Saturday and there wasn’t much of a crowd. It was more home oriented, with only three small gardens.  They were selling a whole line up of beds, furniture, jewelry, boats, cabinets, windows, siding and even art.  There were a few plant related exhibits and some gardening tools, and an interesting booth on solar and wind energy for home usage.  Their seminar area was in the middle of the floor and had only about 15 seats set up.  They did have an inflatable for the kids to jump on and the Euro Body shaper was the big hit.  All in all a much smaller show than the Arkansas Flower & Garden Show. 

Then I headed for Little Rock.  I stopped to get gas as I got off the Muskogee turnpike and there were tons of Razorback fans headed home from the cotton bowl.  Cotton bowl t-shirts, banners and magnets were covering every person and car.  I am now home.