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Two beautiful flower beds
-- the red cross on a white field planted in the
design of the English flag of 1607, the Cross of
St. George and the white cross on a blue field
planted in the design of the Scottish national
flag, the Cross of St. Andrew. |
The Virginia Federation
of Garden Clubs and Virginia Cooperative Extension invited
and encouraged gardeners everywhere in Virginia to plant
beds and borders and containers in any combination of the
National colors (red, white and blue). Despite the April
freeze and the extended dry weather, the commemorative
plantings at MEOC were remarkably successful.
For several years the
perennial beds and shrub borders at MEOC have been a
designated Southwest Virginia Master Gardener site,
maintained by volunteer SWVA Master Gardeners. The year
2006-2007 was especially labor intensive in creating new
beds in red, white and blue.
Foremost were two large
beds, six feet by nine feet each and fifteen inches deep,
visible from the road.
· One was planted in the design
of the English flag of 1607, the Cross of St. George, a red
cross on a white field. The flowers were Darwin and Triumph
tulips, planted late in 2006 and blooming perfectly in April
2007.
· The second large bed appearance
anticipated the somewhat later Scots-Irish settlement of
western Virginia. It was planted in the design of the
Scottish national flag, the Cross of St. Andrew, a white
cross on a blue field. Its white and blue grape hyacinths
bloomed splendidly and for a long time this spring.
When the tulips and
grape hyacinths withered, the two flag designs were
continued over the long summer by over-planting the two beds
with red, white and blue salvia, lasting until well into
October, Here’s hoping the tulips and grape hyacinths will
come back nicely next spring.
The late, Gary Tucker,
friend of Dennis Horton and a generous friend of MEOC, dug
the beds with his backhoe and hauled truckloads of
much-needed composted horse manure from Vanhook Stables in
Big Stone Gap.
Much thanks for
composted soil for beds also goes to Jim and Bea Cox and
Jim’s sister, Faith Cox, from their dairy farm at Fort
Blackmore. Also Tammy and Winston Ely have recently provided
more of that precious commodity, composted horse manure,
from their farm at Cracker’s Neck.
Other” America’s
Anniversary Garden” beds created were:
· A large raised bed rondel of
brillant red, white and blue strips of verbena variations
circling a young dogwood tree. It bloomed all summer.
·
A new raised bed at the
entrance of MEOC’s front parking lot, planted with red
“Knockout” roses, blue mist shrub, blue cranesbill geraniums
and white candytuft.
· Berms of fertile soil around
the dripline of three redbud trees, planted in different
patterns of red, white and lavender impatiens.
· A short border of “Big Red’ and
white zinnias, with blue “Victoria” salvia. This bed is for
late summer.
· A large patio container planted
with red and white impatiens and blue salvia.
Besides the Jamestown
commemorative beds, there were other flowering successes
this year, which promises to be even more impressive next
year.
· The long border of hybrid tea
roses planted by MEOC staffers over a decade ago were nearly
pronounced dead but brought back to vigorous life and
florescence after Master Gardener Bill Maxwell attended a
Jackson & Perkins seminar at the Abingdon Garden Faire in
May. Here he learned finally how to grow perfect
disease-free roses.
· The Betty Fleenor English rose
garden grew and bloomed well this year and promises to
flourish next year. English roses were a gift from Master
Gardener Betty Fleenor.
· The row of dwarf pink “Hopi”
crape myrtle was covered with long-lasting blooms with only
a little watering in dry weeks.
Mountain Empire Older Citizens is thankful
for all Master Gardener volunteers and all the good friends
who provided the soil, the labor, the plants, the fertilizer
and the knowledge to make its grounds attractive. There is
still much work to be done. Visitors are welcome to see the
planted beds and borders. Nice thing to see—good “eye candy”
as the artists say—are the redbud and forsythia blooming in
early spring, the Virginia fringe trees in May, the roses in
June, the dwarf crape myrtle border and the blue border of
chaste tree, beautyberry and blue mist shrub, both borders
blooming in late summer.
