Hunt County Master GardenersTexas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

Garden Tour – Garden #4: Hunt County Heritage Garden

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The Master Gardeners of Hunt County invite you to come to our Garden Tour on Saturday, June 2, 2018. Tickets are $5 and are available at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension office at 2217 Washington Street, Greenville; the Garden Center, 4701 Stonewall Street in Greenville, and Steve’s Nursery, 4386 Hwy. 34, in Cash. The Garden Center and Steve’s will be selling tickets until the day of the Garden Tour. You may also buy tickets electronically through Eventbrite. On the day of the tour, tickets can also be purchased at the entrance to each site.

The Heritage Garden at 2217 Washington Street in Greenville is located next to the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Office. Hunt County Master Gardeners volunteer many hours to maintain the garden and constantly create new designs. It is free and open to the public and can be depended on for being beautiful year-round.

The garden features an herb bed, an animal bed (all plants are named after animals), a butterfly garden, perennial beds, a wildflower bed, and a vegetable garden. Behind the main garden is a rose bed that was created as a test garden. These roses have faithfully survived our Texas heat and droughts. You’ll also appreciate the garden bed that features shade-loving plants. These are helpful to know about for gardeners who simply don’t have the six to eight hours of sunlight to grow most vegetables, herbs, and flowers.  There’s a huge, old tree with a bench around it for those who’d like to sit and enjoy a little shade while relaxing and enjoying the subtle fragrances from nearby flowers.

The Outdoor Learning Center (OLC) was partially constructed with funds raised by the 2014 Greenville Follies. It is available for gatherings to all residents of Hunt County. Master Gardeners enjoy giving horticultural talks in this protected area. Surrounding the OLC are Chinese fringe flower shrubs, Indian Hawthorne shrubs, trees, miniature butterfly bushes, purple trailing lantana, daylilies, and assorted bulbs that bloom from spring until the first frost appears, usually in November.  Behind the Outdoor Learning Center is a rainwater collection system. The gardens are all watered by a drip irrigation system to conserve water.

We hope you’ll stop by to visit this beautiful spot as you enjoy all the lovely venues on this year’s 2018 Hunt County Master Gardeners’ Garden Tour!

Pecan Grafting Seminar

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Pecan Grafting Seminar by Sara Allen

Pecan production is popular in Hunt County in both backyard small orchards, as well as larger orchards. We have had requests recently to host a Pecan Grafting Clinic, and are pleased to be doing so on Thursday, January 15, as part of the Art of Gardening Seminar Series.

This seminar will be the first “Art of Gardening Series” seminar for 2015. The program will begin at 6:00 p.m. at the Fletcher Warren Civic Center, 5501 Business Highway 69 South in Greenville.

The speaker for this free program is Winston Walls, of Walls Family Farm in Terrell, TX. Mr. Walls has a long and successful past with grafting pecans, and estimates he has grafted over 6,000 trees. He learned his skill from his family, and is honored to be sharing it with others. His family’s pecan orchard is well known in our area, as well as the trees they graft and sell. He is excited to be sharing his skills with participants in the seminar.

This seminar will be devoted to teaching the various types of grafts, including the Whip Graft, Clevice or Inlay Graft, and Banana Graft. Mr. Walls will also be giving away a tree to one lucky participant. There will also be time for a question and answer session.

If you are interested in learning how to graft, you will not want to miss this seminar. In addition to the door prize, refreshments will be provided. Make plans to attend each “Art of Gardening Series” event this year as well. Programs are held at 6:00 p.m. the third Thursday of January, April, July and October. Watch for details of upcoming programs here, or you may also find information at http://huntcountymastergardeners.org. The Master Gardeners also have a Facebook page (Hunt County Master Gardeners), which we welcome you to “like”.

We encourage children and youth to attend with families. For questions on this seminar, please contact the library at 903-457-2992. Questions concerning the Hunt County Master Gardener program are welcomed at 903-455-9885.