All the Dirt on Gardening

By CATHY SPAULDING/Phoenix Staff Writer Go beyond their “candlestick telephone” shape, and you might see that not all daffodils look alike.  “Some are four inches tall with tiny blooms. Some are 20 inches tall,” said Martha Stoodley of the Muskogee Garden Club. “The blooms come in white, yellow, orange, even pink.” Visitors can see such variety when at the annual Daffodil Day and Tea, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Thomas-Foreman Historic Home, 1419 W. Okmulgee Ave. More than 3,000 daffodils surround the home, built in 1898 for Indian Territory judge John R. Thomas.  “We have at least 15 varieties,” Stoodley said. “Two thousand bulbs were planted by the Garden Club three years ago. Last year, we added another 1,000, and in the winter we planted 600.” Daffodil Day began several years ago, when the Garden Club discovered Oklahoma was the only state in the region without a daffodil festival, Stoodley said. For $5, visitors to Saturday’s celebration can ...

Northeast OK area residents who want to find out how to sow seeds, grow plants and treat garden problems can turn to Muskogee Garden Club and the Oklahoma State University Master Gardening classes for help. Members of the 2013 Muskogee County Master Gardener program spoke at the October Garden Club meeting about their classes, projects and plans. Community gardens are at the top of their list for helping neighborhood families have access to healthy food as well as engaging the next generation of gardeners. Cindi Baker said she shares a community garden plot with her father whose family raised vegetables on land near the fairgrounds. Gardening is good therapy   “Community gardens are a way to have a shared activity with multiple generations in every age range,” Baker said. “Muskogee is a state-leader in promoting community gardens.” Cedric Johnson grew up helping his family grow cotton on their Creek Nation allotments and now grows vegetables at his property near Ru...