Dear Pulaski County Master Gardeners:

As we move into the vibrant months of May and June, I want to take a moment to thank each of you for your continued dedication and enthusiasm. This is one of the busiest—and most rewarding—times of the year for our organization. Gardens are flourishing, projects are in full swing, and our impact across the Pulaski County community is clearly visible.

May brings opportunities to plant, teach, and connect. Planting is balm to a Master Gardener’s soul; enjoy this special time at your project and in your personal spaces. As you are outdoors, share your knowledge with your new project members and your neighbors. This creates bonds that will last years and lead to new friendships. When you find methods that work to grow healthier plants or that certain plant diseases are prevalent this year, please share with your fellow projects. We are fellow gardeners, not competitors. Always remember, you are the reason our program continues to thrive and we can learn from each other.

As we transition into June, we not only continue our important work but also look ahead to the State Convention. This is a wonderful time to celebrate accomplishments, learn new techniques, and connect with fellow Master Gardeners from across Arkansas. I encourage those who are able to attend to take full advantage of the experience. There will be some great speakers and breakout sessions. Please share your new knowledge with your projects and our entire organization. Learning is our passion and collaboration should be our game!

As we approach the summer months, we will begin preparing for a slower pace in July and August. While many of our regular meetings and activities will pause for a well-deserved summer break, our gardens and community presence will continue to benefit from your care and attention. This is also a perfect time to reflect on the season, tend to personal gardens, and recharge for the busy fall ahead.

 Please remember to stay mindful of the warmer temperatures as summer approaches. Take care of yourselves while you care for your gardens and community. Your health and well-being are just as important as the service you provide.

 Thank you again for your commitment, your passion for gardening, and your service to Pulaski County and our organization. I am continually inspired by all that you do.  Wishing you a productive May, a fulfilling June, and a restful summer season ahead.

Warm regards,
Michele Wasson

Don’t forget – Master Gardeners have access to an online calendar containing interesting/important events. You can find this calendar using the link below:

Pulaski County Master Gardener Event Calendar

If you would like to submit photos for the 2027 MG Calendar – the deadline is June 18, 2026.  Submit entries to Mike Wilbanks at 870-530-0669.  [email protected]. 

Check Your Constant Contact Email for More Details!!

By Jeffrey McKinley, Scholar’s Garden

“I’m not saying my golf game went bad, but if I grew tomatoes, they’d come up sliced.“

Lee Trevino

Unpredictable and unexpected … that’s the word for my spring greenhouse.

Using my small heaters, the temperature remained in the growing range. Unexpected was what
the grocery store orchids have become. Misting every other day with the warm, humid air has
unexpectedly produced an abundance of blooms.

Seeding projects have been unpredictable. The cowpea seeds I received at last year’s Advanced
Master Garden Seminar by Arkansas County germinated and are in the ground. Having never
grown peas, this is a total experiment! My basil plants are overwhelming; chives, not so
happy!!

And, remember, the $5,000 Plant?

Variegated Monstera was featured in Southern Living. The variety Monstera deliciosa “Albo
Borsogiana is a rare specimen. The attraction to these Monstera is the variegation appearing as
white patches on the split leaves due to lack of chlorophyll. Growing must generally occur from
a cutting. The variegation can be promoted but not created.

On-line I found a cutting with one leaf of $135 and an eight-leaf “rooted” cutting for $787.50. I
ordered a similar variety in a 4-inch pot (undisclosed price). My tiny cuttings arrived with three leaves and have grown. Who knows….

So, being happy on the golf course, I wonder what my Cherokee Purple tomato will produce!!!

So, is this drought hurting my gardens and lawn? What can we learn from farmers, ranchers and landscape experts?

By Sally Wyatt, Jess Odom Community Center

It certainly has been a dry and mild spring, and local meteorologists warn that -– as of
late April — we’re experiencing a rain deficit of anywhere between 20 to 25 inches or
more, when comparing average rainfall numbers. Now, all that can be erased if we have
a very wet May, June and July, but late rain can’t erase one truth: Average temperatures
in Arkansas have risen about 0.5 degrees over the past two decades, according the
North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies, in a March 2023 press release issued by
the UA Cooperative Extension office.

An increase of 0.5 degrees may not seem like much, but it’s creating a difference in interesting ways, according to Dirk Philipp, associate professor of forage agronomy for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Higher temperatures create more extreme patterns of rainfall and drought, as well as:

• Increased rainfall intensity when it does rain
• Higher impact on soil, which leads to higher erosion potential and higher potential for runoff and soil loss
• Extended periods of higher and lower rain frequency lead to a cycle of flooding and drought
• Decreased “rainwater infiltration rates” means that soil retains less moisture and aquifers are slower to recharge
• Drought periods tend to be more severe in the southeastern United States because evaporation rates are higher here.

“Changing rainfall patterns also have biological effects,” Philipp said. “Planting times are
affected, because fields may be wetter or drier than in the past during the usual planting
times.”

While Phillip focused on advising farmers on ways to preserve soil on grazing pastures
and to reduce erosion risk during times of changing rainfall amounts, his expertise can
apply to our yards and gardens, too.

If you’ve noticed that heavy downpours in recent years have changed water run-off
patterns in your landscape, this may be a reason.

And, if you’re used to planting your flower and vegetable beds in mid- to late April, you’ve probably noticed a change in how things are growing from years past. Flowers and fruit trees bloomed earlier, the lawn stayed dormant longer, and now we wonder: If the rain stays away, how can we tell if our lawns or established plants are suffering?

“We won’t need the normal 25 inches of rain to be okay,” according to Phillip Davenport
of Davenport Lawn Management of Little Rock. “That number comes from historical data. Figuring out how much water a lawn really needs is tricky. You need to evaluate the soil condition and type. Is it compacted or arable? Is the yard sloped or level? Are there low-lying parts or trees on the property? Do you want to irrigate to meet the lawn’s complete needs, or do you want to conserve?”

It can all seem a bit like Goldilocks’ search for “just right,” he added. “The goal is to not under- or over water.”

It also helps that we haven’t had high temperatures yet (as of early May). “But let’s hope
we get some good rain before that.”

He recommends that homeowners experiment a bit with their watering schedules, try to
limit weeds, mow responsibly and know that their lawns (even if a bit drought-stressed)
are still contributing to the environment, by pulling carbon dioxide out of the air. “Plus,
they’re a great place for the kids to play.”

Davenport said that when you water lawns and gardens is almost as important as how
much you water. He recommends watering early in the morning rather than at night,
especially as humidity sets in. When humidity is high, the air is also heavy with
moisture. It prolongs the time plants remain wet, creating just the right environment for
fungal diseases to take root.

Davenport also recommended that gardeners turn to the UAEX website for advice, not
only on how to identify drought stress, but for all kinds of garden advice. Here’s a
particularly good article, especially as we head into the summer months:

Arkansas summer gardening tips | How to water, fertilize, and care for your garden

By Danella Snider, Pinnacle Mountain

This winter, during a long dreary day in January, I decided to schedule a trip to the Arizona desert. The desert is a wonderful break from winter weather and Tucson has a dozen places to visit. Too many to see in a two-day time span, but I am very happy I decided to visit
Biosphere 2.

Exterior of The Biosphere 2

Situated roughly in the middle of nowhere, you do start to wonder if there really is a site called Biosphere 2 while driving down a long stretch of road in the Arizona desert. Development is starting to make its way out to the 40-acre campus where Biosphere 2 resides, but there is still enough desert out there to enjoy the drive.

This site has a long history, reaching far before settlement of Arizona but the most memorable in recent time is when Space Biosphere Ventures purchased the property to design an enclosed facility with an eye to determining if the environment could sustain human life.

Two experiments were conducted with varying levels of success and failure. Try sustainability was not met but much was learned along the way to advance future studies (who knows, humans may end up on Mars or somewhere else someday). Biosphere 2 is now run by the University of Arizona and functions as a tool support research in a very controlled environment. The site contains a Landscape Evolution Observatory and “biomes under glass,” including an Orchard, a Coastal Fog Desert, a Thronscrub, Mangroves, a Lower Savanna section, a small Ocean Environment, a Savanna and a Rain Forest – all in a 3.14 acre facility.

And it is something to see. Biosphere 2 offers private tours, as well as a self-guided tour using an app. You are able to see where the inhabitants lived during the studies on sustainability as well as the current climates where UA conducts specialized studies. Everything can be controlled in the Biosphere, allowing scientists the ability to study effects of different atmospheric conditions and manipulate those factors at will – allowing researchers to accelerate studies in a very controlled environment.

Interior Shots of the Biosphere

It is well worth the drive and walk to visit. On a side note, BIOSPHERE 2 is not the second iteration of a man-made biosphere. Rather is named as such because earth is the original Biosphere – Biosphere 1.  I left the center feeling slightly amazed at the scale and number of environments in such a small space. I also walked away with hope the studies currently underway will help us all in the future.

By Jeffrey McKinley and Lisa LaGrone, Scholar’s Garden

We learned from our mother, who is a resident at Parkway, how activities maintain a quality of living and an active community. The goal of Executive Director Ben Childers was to incorporate gardening into the community.  In 2025, he launched the Village Garden.  This spring finds the garden is not only thriving but expanding.

In 2025, the garden began with a rock- and clay-filled grassy area and a vision. The maintenance staff built a fence for the site.  This was the groundwork for six raised beds where the residents could grow their own produce and a garden for Ben and his crew to use in the kitchen. To get the common garden planting started, Ben enlisted the help of his wife.  After two days of using a bulb drill to plant many seedlings in the harsh soil, Ben laughingly shares that the work cost him two new pair of shoes for her.  Lucky for Ben, maintenance chief Ricky trailered his tractor so he could till the soil with a rock rake for this year’s garden.

To the excitement of staff and residents, the first garden produced watermelons, cabbage, herbs, tomatoes, eggplant, 30 pounds of squash and many homegrown goodies. The bounty from the residents’ beds was shared with neighbors.  The produce raised in the general garden area, with the input of the kitchen staff, was the genesis for “garden to table” menus. The dining tables are adorned with marigolds and sunflowers inspired by Ed and Frances. To the chef’s delight raised beds on the outdoor dining patio hold additional herbs for the kitchen.

Babylon Micro Farms partnered with Parkway, which led to the installation of an onsite hydroponic farming unit in the dining room. It not only gives additional herbs and flowers for the chef to use but gives residents the experience of watching a plant go from seedling to a product without digging in the dirt.

The success of the Village Garden led to expansion this spring (2026). Five more raised beds for resident growing were added and quickly adopted.  Super soil was tilled into the ground and containers for above ground planting were added.  And Sandy has a “test” bet with varieties of asparagus. The garden has become a place not only for residents to dig in the dirt but to relax with each other. It is not uncommon to drive by and see gardeners at work, sitting at the yellow table, getting gardening advice from resident Jim (a former County Extension Agent), chatting or checking to see if the baby bluebirds have left their new boxes added to the garden by Robert. Ben’s brainchild has bloomed and shows it truly “Takes a Village.”

By Danella Snider, Pinnacle Mountain

I had the opportunity to meet with Ann Bortz, the Project Chair, to talk about War Memorial Garden and learn more about its story.

Originally a Little Rock Neighborhood Garden, in 2022 War Memorial was slated to drop off the Pulaski County Master Gardener project list and instead be maintained by the city of Little Rock. However, Nancy Archer petitioned the board to keep War Memorial and her perseverance resulted in continuing the garden as a PCMG project. 

Fond Memory
One day, the second year of the garden, three of us showed up to find bags of mulch placed by the beds. We had no idea if this was the city’s mulch, if they were going to come back to spread it or if they expected us to. No one at the city would answer our calls so the three of us used the few tools we had and our bare hands to get the mulch spread.
Turns out – the city workers were going to come back and do it.

Ann Bortz

The garden, located on the same site as War Memorial stadium, is a labor of love for the Master Gardeners who work there and a bright spot for anyone visiting the area. However, maintaining the garden is not always easy. Sponsored by Little Rocks Parks and Recreation, War Memorial Garden was not high on the priority list of known contacts within Parks and Rec, and that created a challenge between the team and sponsor to get plants, water, and communication.

Ann recalls teasing Nancy when the going got tough, by occasionally saying “You know, this is all your fault.” And Ann would respond with a shrug and  “Yah, I know.” – But they loved it anyway.

Fond Memory
At the last PEST Inspection the team threw a tailgate party to celebrate the War Memorial way!!

Ann Bortz

This year, great headway was made in locating the right contact at the city and reviewing project needs on a year-by-year basis. Ann was able to coordinate a face-to-face meeting on-site and point out challenges with the garden as well as ideas for improvements. The new contact acknowledged the problems, shared some of his ideas and as a team the Master Gardeners and Little Rock Parks and Rec better defined a path to move forward.

Needless to say, the team is excited about this improved partnership, and the garden will benefit greatly.

Changes will take some time, but the end results include (hopefully) improved access to plants, water for all beds, and clearing away unwanted or problematic plants and shrubs, allowing Master Gardeners to plant better specimens.

Spring planting is running a bit behind, as weather delays have pushed everything back a bit. The team plans on moving away from so many annuals and to add more perennials to the beds.

“We are looking forward to the potential to rebuild some beds and get good plants in there.”

Ann Bortz

Workdays are the second and fourth Fridays of the month. If you plan to visit the garden, bring a friend and plenty of water. You will find daffodils in early spring and spring/early summer blooms in late May. Despite the season, there is something to see any time you want to visit.

By Jeffrey McKinley, Scholar’s Garden

When teased by the hint of spring, a road trip to a “warmer zone” helps us to resist the urge to
plant too early and to escape the last vestige of winter. A great place for this is The Grand in
Point Clear, Alabama.

The first Grand Hotel was constructed in the 1830s. The rebuilt structure was opened in the
1940s and used in 1944 as a training base for the Army Air Corps. Reopened in 1947, The
Grand Hotel has survived hurricanes, ownership changes and renovations to meet market
tastes. Yet when you drive on the grounds of the “Queen of Southern Resorts,” time stops. The
main structure is the old hotel. Staff includes those who have worked there for 40 years and
maybe one of several generations in a family to work at the Grand. Guests include family
groups from 4 to 94 years old.

For the gardener, the grounds are a botanical garden. Landscaped around the lagoon one finds
live oaks cared for by tree preservation arborists. The balance of the lagoon water is maintained by koi and carp. In the morning, the very healthy ducks are fed by a duck master – and you can get a bag of food to feed them a snack. The Grand is now a Certified Wildlife Habitat. Also nestled in this landscape are beautiful pots of seasonal color.

And, just a short drive away is Fairhope – a charming town with flower-lined streets. Every third weekend in March is the Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival, now in its 74th year, and highlights include amazing work from artists around the country. I mean where else could you find a hand-carved spoon for capers? The diversity and variety of food, art and entertainment is wereamazing. Fairhope takes pride as “it remains a familiar family tradition…”

One happy travel moment was a stop at American Legion Post 199 in Fairhope. Rebuilding after a hurricane, this group of Veterans has created a very friendly local eatery with great food. They treated us like family.

So, next spring, set your GPS or get out that map and head to Point Clear and Fairhope.

By Lisa LaGrone, Scholar’s Garden

Having just read A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, it inspired me to give a quick shout out to one of our Arkansas trails.  My husband, Andy, and I recently hiked the Seven Hollows Trail at Petit Jean State Park.  I highly suggest one take the time to experience this wonderful spot in our state.  The trail is a four-and-a-half-mile loop trail that passes through a series of small canyons with a natural arch, rock shelters, beautiful rock formations, a box canyon and grotto waterfall.

Sometimes rock climbers can be seen scaling the bluffs. On this March morning the creeks were flowing, the waterfall was in full glory, Dogwoods were showing off their blossoms, a few wildflowers were starting to bloom and the forest was green in color. This is a moderate hike with a few areas of light rock stepping but worth every step. So put on those light hikers or tennis shoes, grab a water bottle and a friend and enjoy Arkansas. After your hike stop at The Outpost for ice cream or homemade fudge.

Happy Hiking,

Lisa LaGrone

Submitted by Melissa Anthony, Mount Holly Cemetery, (from Brown’s Country Store and Restaurant)

Even though I never worked there, my family says every year I resurrect Brown’s. I normally use my Beauregard sweet potatoes but in the event we have a bad crop … you can go to Walmart or Kroger and get a large can of the candied yams.

Melissa Anthony

The Best Butter Recipe – Submitted by Melissa Anthony

32 ounces heavy whipping cream

3 Tbsp plain Greek yogurt or cultured Buttermilk

Pour whipping cream into a sealable container, like a Greek yogurt container. Add yogurt or buttermilk. Seal the container and let it sit at room temperature for about 24 hrs. Chill 2 hours or overnight. Pour the mixture into a mixing bowl. I recommend a stand mixer with a scraper. I slowly bring mine up to a speed of about 7 or 8 (medium). If you would like to add salt, honey, or herbs, this is the time to add them. It’s ready when the fat separates from the liquid. Use a large sieve or strainer and place it over the yogurt container. Slowly pour the mixture onto the strainer a little bit at a time. Take the fat and squeeze it…keep it over the strainer. Once you can no longer squeeze any liquid out, take the fat and press it into a mold or a butter crock. Repeat the last two steps until you have no more fat to mold. The liquid in the container is cultured buttermilk. It usually keeps for about a week, refrigerated. You can drink it, bake with it, even save some for your next batch of butter! But I usually just use the yogurt because we drink the buttermilk. I recommend refrigerating the butter, but if you choose to use a butter crock, if you follow the directions on the crock, it will stay soft and spreadable at room temperature for two to three weeks.

By Jeffrey McKinley, Scholar’s Garden

The Big Rock Chapter of Quail Forever will host the Pollinator Palooza at 9:00 a.m. on
Saturday, June 13 at the Lake Conway WMA – Multipurpose Building
(formerly Camp Robinson SUA). Quail Forever presents programs that conserve and
educate on establishment of habitats for quail, pheasants and other wildlife. At the
Palooza, various organizations bring educational materials. At the 2025 event, the
faculty from UCA brought hundreds of insect and butterfly specimens. A ranger from
Pinnacle State Park shared their resources. Three native nurseries had a wonderful
plant selection for sale. This is a fun, family-friendly event.

This year Habitat After Hours will offer a way to discover nocturnal wildlife. The program is scheduled for Friday, June 12. Details for both programs are on the Rock City Chapter of Quail Forever facebook page.

After my experience last year, the Pollinator Palooza in on my calendar!!

Alcohol in the Garden? For Sanitation’s Sake!

PCMG President Michele Wasson (below) was ready to hand out spray bottles of Isopropyl Alcohol to Master Gardeners at the April meeting, along with a handy list of ways to use the spray in the garden. The gifts were courtesy of the PCMG Board of Directors and Derek Reed, Pulaski County extension agent.

                                             

Want to join the Magnolia Chronicle team? Have a story idea or photo to share? Contact Sally Wyatt at [email protected].

Did you know you can log education hours by simply reading the Magnolia Chronicle? You can add this time to the following project: Edu-Research, Newsletter/Program Lecture.