THURSDAY. MARCH 24. 2005 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 9B
Pickens County awarded Federal funds
for emergency food and shelter programs
Pickens has been chosen to
receive $5,740 to supplement emer
gency food and shelter programs in
the county.
Based on the recommendation of
the State Set-Aside Committee, the
selection was made by a national
board that is chaired by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) and consists of representa
tives from The Salvation Army,
American Red Cross, Council of
Jewish Federations, Catholic Chari
ties, USA, National Council of
Churches of Christ in the USA and
United Way of America which will
provide the administrative staff and
functions as fiscal agent. The local
board was charged to distribute
funds appropriated by Congress to
help expand the capacity of food
and shelter programs in high-need
areas around the country.
A local board made up of repre
sentatives from appropriate public
and private organizations will deter
mine how the funds awarded to
Pickens County are to be distributed
among the emergency food and
shelter programs run by local serv
ice agencies to receive these funds
and any additional funds available
under this phase of the program.
Under the terms of the grant
from the national board, local gov
ernment or private voluntary organi
zations chosen to receive funds
must: 1) be non-profit, 2) have an
acceptable accounting system and
conduct an annual audit, 3) practice
non-discrimination, 4) have demon
strated the capability to deliver
Gold Medal Picks
Top plants selected for Georgia landscapes
By Dan Rahn
University of Georgia
Anyone looking for new land
scape plants should definitely check
out the Georgia Gold Medal win
ners.
For a dozen years now, the Geor
gia Plant Selections Committee,
Inc., has been recommending each
year a new, short list of beautiful,
proven landscape plants.
The committee is made up of
nurserymen, flower growers, land
scapers, landscape designers, gar
den center managers and University
of Georgia horticulturists.
It was organized in 1994 to
break up a vicious cycle in which
deserving plants remained relatively
unknown because no nurseries
propagated them, because no cus
tomers asked for them, because they
were relatively unknown.
Each year the committee selects
an annual, perennial, shrub and tree
and sometimes a flowering vine
from a long list of nominees and
awards them Georgia Gold Medals.
They announce the winners first to
growers, so growers can have plants
available when public promotions
begin.
The committee decides the win
ners based on seasonal interest, out
standing or unusual qualities, ease
of propagation, hardiness, adapt
ability, durability, pest tolerance and
lack of invasiveness.
The 2005 Georgia Gold Medal
Winners are:
Dragon Wing - It isn't a typical
begonia when it comes to heat tol
erance. It's more like a begonia on
Georgia Plant Selections
Committee/Photo
For a dozen years now, the
Georgia Plant Selections Com
mittee, Inc., has been recom
mending each year a new, short
list of beautiful, proven land
scape plants. Anyone looking
for new landscape plants
should check out the Georgia
Gold Medal Winners.
steroids. This sensational summer
annual produces nonstop red or
pink flowers from spring until fall
frost. It adapts well to hanging bas
kets, large containers and landscape
beds.
Georgia Blue veronica - This is
an herbaceous perennial that grows
like a ground cover, 4 to 6 inches
and 2 feet wide. It's not native but
hails from the Republic of Georgia
(formerly part of the Soviet Union).
It is hardy in zones 5 to 8 and bears
beautiful, sky-blue flowers from
February to April.
Rose Creek and Canyon Creek
abelias - These are seedling selec
tions of Chinese abelia. The former
was selected for its low, mounding
form (2 to 3 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet
wide), crimson stems, fragrant
white flowers and May-to-frost
blooming. Canyon Creek is bigger
(4 to 6 feet tall and wide), a terrific
hedging plant. Its leaves emerge
coppery pink and mellow to soft
yellow, then green and finally rosy
bronze in winter.
Glowing Embers - Not your
daddy’s Japanese maple, it is a stun
ning tree with a vigorous growth
rate and brilliant fall color. It adapts
to a range of landscape conditions,
thriving in full sun and tolerating
drought better than most trees in its
class. It is named for the kaleido
scope of color its fall leaves provide
as they fade from green to purple,
fluorescent orange or yellow.
Creeping raspberry - This is a
hardy, extraordinary ground cover.
It thrives in difficult sites like hot,
dry, erodible slopes or ditches
where soil moisture goes from
soggy to arid. A fast-growing ever
green from Taiwan, it grows 3 to 6
inches high and spreads 3 to 6 feet
in all directions.
To learn more about the Georgia
Gold Medal Winners program, visit
the Web at www.geor-
giagoldmedal.com. The site shows
plants the GPSC has chosen since
1994.
Dan Rahn is a news editor with
the University of Georgia College
of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences.
emergency food and/or shelter pro
grams and 5) if they are a private
organization, they must have a vol
untary board. Qualifying organiza
tions are urged to apply.
Pickens County has distributed
emergency and shelter funds previ
ously, with North Georgia Commu
nity Action, Inc. participating. In
the last phase, this agency was
responsible for providing 753 meals
(by purchasing groceries) and 12
nights of lodging (by assisting with
rent) as well as assisting with 29
utility/fuel bills. Altogether, NGCA,
Inc. served 120 low-income people
from throughout Pickens County
using emergency food and shelter
funds in the last phase.
Public or private organizations
interested in applying for Emer
gency Food and Shelter program
funds must contact Ed Stephens at
692-2386 for an application. The
deadline for application is March
30 at 5 p.m.
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One of this year’s Gold Medal selections
Blue Veronica hails from other Georgia
By Gary Wade
University of Georgia
Given Georgia's unpredictable
climate, most gardeners are looking
for tough, drought-tolerant, heat-
tolerant, low-maintenance plants
with outstanding seasonal qualities.
Georgia Blue veronica (Veronica
peduncularis 'Georgia Blue') has all
these qualities and more. It's an
easy choice for a prestigious Geor
gia Gold Medal in 2005.
Georgia Blue veronica isn't a
University of Georgia introduction.
It doesn't hail from the state of
Georgia at all. It was found in the
Republic of Georgia (formerly part
of the Soviet Union) by English
plantsman Roy Lancaster, who intro
duced and named it after the country
of origin.
Georgia Blue veronica is a herba
ceous perennial that grows like a
ground cover and has beautiful, sky-
blue flowers in early spring.
Planted over bulbs such as daf
fodils, it provides a dramatic color
contrast and spectacular floral dis
play as it blooms in concert with the
bulbs. Yellow, white and cream-col
ored daffodils look particularly nice
when blanketed by the carpet of
blue.
It's an excellent choice for con
tainer plantings and rock gardens,
too. It provides the visual appeal of a
woodland stream spilling over the
sides of containers or cascading over
rocks.
Growing just 4 to 6 inches tall
and 2 feet wide, Georgia Blue veron
ica tends to hug the ground and
remain compact. The evergreen
leaves are only about 1 inch long,
elliptical-shaped and finely toothed.
They're dark green in summer and
turn a burgundy-bronze in winter.
Gardeners who like plants that
bloom a long time will love Georgia
Blue veronica. From February to
April, it bears an abundance of tiny,
true-blue flowers with white centers.
At times during the bloom cycle, the
foliage is masked by all the flowers.
The flowers are highly attractive to
bees and butterflies.
Georgia Blue veronica is hardy in
zones 5 to 8 and thrives in full sun
and partial shade. Although it grows
vigorously and spreads by creeping
rootstocks, it's not aggressive or
invasive. When it reaches the limits
of its growing area, it can be sheared
back and easily maintained within a
bed.
Well-drained soils and good
nutrition are essential for success
with Georgia Blue veronica. A light
application of 10-10-10 fertilizer
every two months and watered in
during the first season will get it off
to a good start.
Once it's established, a light
application of a complete fertilizer
such as 16-4-8 in early spring and
late summer will it keep it looking
its best. New plants can be grown
from seed or propagated by dividing
established plants in spring or fall.
Gary Wade is an Extension Ser
vice horticulturist with the Universi
ty of Georgia College of Agricultur
al and Environmental Sciences.
www.georgiagoldmedal.com/Photo
Georgia Blue Veronica
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