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THURSDAY. APRIL 21.2022 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 9A
Wildflower medley marks Easter weekend in N. Georgia
On Easter weekend, the
rain really brought out wild-
flowers around north Geor
gia. In one small patch in
Marble Hill, all three of
these were out in such close
proximity it seemed a land
scaper had planned a small
garden in the woods.
Left to right, butterweed;
foam flower; two different
trilliums (upright is Bashful
Wakerobin) on ground was
a “toad trillium” that had
been bent over.
photos/ Dan Pool
Master Gardener asks:
What’s your favorite plant?
By Dee Boggus
Pickens County Master
Gardener
One question I am often
asked at the Master Gardener
help table is “What is your
favorite plant?”
That might also be the
trickiest question as I love
just about all plants (even a
few weedy individuals).
After some reflection, I
did realize there are plants
that I recommend more than
others.
These plants tend to be the
well behaved (staying within
assigned spaces in my gar
den), healthy and beautiful
(with showy, bright blooms),
and easy to care for (includ
ing disease and pest resist
ant). Really, what more could
a gardener ask for?
The plant that came to
mind as one of my favorites
is Baptisia australis or false
indigo. False indigo is a na
tive in southern North Amer
ica and was frequently used
by early settlers as a poor
substitute for blue dye before
true indigo was readily avail
able.
This spectacular plant is a
member of the pea family
(the pea-like blooms that ap
pear in racemes or spikes in
spring or early summer give
this away) and its leaves are
trifoliate with tree leaflets.
Baptisia also comes in a
white blooming version (B.
alba), a yellow flowering ver
sion (B. tinctoria), and nu
merous hybrid cultivars with
varying bloom colors. Bap-
tisia’s growth habits at matu
rity give the plant a
shrub-like appearance.
Cultivating Baptisia is not
difficult, as it thrives in any
well-drained soil (and toler
ates our clay soils) in full sun
to part shade environments.
The plant is quite drought tol
erant when established and
will survive for decades
under favorable conditions.
False indigo is bothered by
few pests and is disease re
sistant, however, the plant
does not like to be trans
planted due to a deep taproot
system. Mature specimens
often reach three to four feet
in height and Baptisia is an
important host for several
species of butterflies.
This plant (like many of
my favorites) is hard to
Free Oil
Change for
Ladies
Living Word Church is
providing free automotive oil
changes for ladies in the
Pickens area.
Please register no later
than Wednesday, May 4th by
calling the church or register
on our website, www.living-
wordjasper.org
We must have your name,
phone, and vehicle informa
tion no later than May 4th.
Oil changes will be per
formed by appointment on
the morning of May 7th.
For any questions, please
call the church or check our
website or social media
pages.
Living Word Church is lo
cated at 215 Pioneer Indus
trial Blvd. Jasper, Ga. 30143
Phone: 706-253-5965
www. li vingwordj asp er.org
The author’s possible very favorite — False indigo is a
native in southern North America and was frequently used
by early settlers as a poor substitute for blue dye before true
indigo was readily available.
source but if you can find a
gardener who grows it, it is
easily grown from fresh seed.
It may take a few years to
bloom if propagated this way.
You can also grow false in
digo from cuttings. Cut a
non-blooming stalk about six
inches long and strip the fo
liage from the bottom two-
thirds of the stem.
Dibble a hole into a pot
filled with bagged garden soil
mix, dip the cutting into root
ing compound, insert the cut
ting, water, place in a
sheltered area with indirect
light, and keep moist. You
can tell the cutting is rooted
when new growth appears.
If you would like to learn
more about heirloom and na
tive plants that grow aplenty
in our area, reserve a spot in
the Master Gardener’s up
coming Garden Embellish
ment Art class on April
30th from 1 to 3 p.m. (We
will be hosting a “make and
take” original garden art class
that day and paint will be in
play so wear appropriate
clothing.) Cost is free, ques
tions are welcome, all sup
plies provided, but seating is
limited. Call 706-253-5540
or email ugel227@uga.edu
today to reserve your seat.
You can purchase some of
my favorite plants at our up
coming Master Gardener/4-H
Native and Heirloom Plant
Sale on Saturday, May 14.
The sale with be held in the
Veterans Memorial parking
lot in Jasper, GA from 8am to
noon. Quantities of some
plants are limited, and cash
and checks will be accepted
(but no credit cards, please).
HIGHLAND RIVERS
FOUNDATION
The Highland Rivers Foundation would like to
extend our sincere thanks and gratitude to iThink
Financial of Jasper for their ongoing support of
Highland Rivers Behavioral Health’s Highland
Recovery Center
men’s residential
treatment program
in Pickens County.
^ITHINK
FINANCIAL
The Foundation would also like to thank iThink
Financial for facilitating donations to the program
from other community partners, including:
Home Depot of Jasper for a new charcoal grill
Staff from the Jasper
Home Depot are joined
by Tami Carspersen,
community events
manager for iThink Fi
nancial (from left);
Michelle Tidwell,
Jasper branch man
ager iThink Financial;
Millie Evans, adminis
trative assistant, High
land Recovery Center,
for their generous do
nation of a new grill for
the Highland Recovery
Center
Woodstock Church Jasper for its donations of
20 new Bibles, a new guitar and a $500 gift card
to purchase new bedding sets
iThink Financial staff
Tami Caspersen (left)
and Michelle Tidwell
(far right), helped facil
itate the donation of a
new guitar, Bibles and
a gift card to purchase
new bedding sets from
Woodstock Church
Jasper for the Highland
Recovery Center in
Jasper. Joining iThink
staff are (from left)
Jacob Spencer, stu
dent pastor at Wood-
stock Church Jasper;
Randall Wilson, residential manager at Highland Recovery Center; Mike Mul
let, community relations director, Highland Rivers Behavioral Health; and Tay
lor Rhodes, worship leader at Woodstock Church Jasper.
PrestigeMedicalGroup.org
Child Development Assessments
Vaccinations
Mental Health
ADD & ADHD Treatment
Well Child visits
Newborn Assessments
Acute Care
Prestige
Pediatrics
Board Certified
Pediatrician
49 Gordon Road,
Suite 103, Jasper