All the Dirt on Gardening

Horticulturist and garden writer Russell Studebaker wrote some tips for success with Clematis and with is permission, I'm passing along his expert tips. Russell attended a talk by a Clematis nurseryman and fell in love ... hard. Most of us get excited about a certain plant and go crazy for it.  Studebaker said in his email, "This is going to be my Clematis year.  I was so inspired by Dan Long's program to the club in Springdale I ordered more from him, too.  I have planted several and already have a late winter planted one in flower.  It's C. texensis 'Graveyete Beauty'." Here are a few cultural suggestions:  Plant the plants 1 to 1 & 1/2 times deeper than they were growing in the original pot . This ensures that some of the stem's latent buds will be able to grow  should some disaster happens to the top stems.  Plant in an organic,rich, well-drained soil, with compost or peat moss in a well drained  . Dig your holes 1 foot deep a...

Muskogee Garden Club meets from September through May each year with speakers coming to share their wisdom, experience and ideas on a wide range of topics. Each meeting that has a speaker begins with coffee and snacks. The January meeting is a round-table discussion during which members and guests talk about plants, soil, houseplants and any other topic that arises. Two meetings are purely social: The December meeting is a holiday brunch, and the May meeting is an evening picnic at Honor Heights Park. Everyone is invited to attend the meetings and social events. Membership in Muskogee Garden Club costs $20 per year. Its Facebook page is found at this link http://hort.li/1xz0 Members bring plants they have divided or are ready to pass along, plus seeds, containers, books and other plant- and flower-related items to share. There is also a raffle at each meeting, with prizes provided by the club president. Everyone signs in to enter the raffle; there is no cost. • • • Here...

There are about 50 birds that nest in cavities and will use a birdhouse. Almost any size birdhouse will attract starlings and sparrows but if you want bluebirds, wrens and chickadees, you have to provide a birdhouse that they can utilize. Muskogee artist Joshua Blundell designed an Oklahoma-Indian Territory bird house For example, a chickadee house has a 4-by-4-inch floor, is 8-to-10-inches high, and, has an entrance hole one and one-eighth inch wide. The entrance hole should be 6-to-8-inches above the floor. Hang a chickadee house 4-to-15-feet above the ground. For bluebirds, the house floor is 5-by-5-inches, the height is 8-to-12-inches, and the entrance hole is one and one-half inches. Bluebird houses are hung 4-to-6-feet above the ground. See www.wild-bird-watching.com for more birdhouse size tips. Russell Studebaker, former Tulsa Audubon Society president and long time bird feeder, said, “Bluebirds nest in open field areas, near pastures or large patches of grass.” “Th...

Next Thursday, November 20, Russell Studebaker will be the speaker at Muskogee Garden Club’s monthly meeting. The public is invited to attend. Studebaker retired as senior horticulturist from Tulsa Parks and Recreation Department several years ago. A well-known garden writer and speaker, In Our Gardens is the Tulsa World garden column Studebaker has written for 28-years. (Bluebell seeds and plants are available from Prairiemoon Nursery online and 866-417-8156. Photo used with their permission.) The topic of his slide presentation and talk for the garden club will be, Beyond Hostas: Other Socially Acceptable Perennials for Shade Gardens. I have a small garden at home with more shade than sun, Studebaker said. I grow lots of native perennials. Spring flowers in my garden begin with ephemerals such as, Blood Root, Trilliums, Virginia Bluebells and Gold Heart Bleeding Heart. Studebaker knows plants. During his tenure at Tulsa Parks and Recreation, over 75,000 bedding plants were grown a...

Muskogee Garden Club 2008-09 Year started today. The purpose of the club is to provide an opportunity to meet new friends who are interested in plants and gardening. Speakers come to each meeting to teach, inspire and inform us about some aspect of making our natural environment more beautiful. This year’s topics include America In Bloom, public horticulture at the Tulsa Zoo, shade gardening, seed starting, new trends in landscapes, curing plant diseases and Muskogee beautification projects. The schedule of meetings below is an invitation for anyone interested in coming. Most of the meetings are held at the Kiwanis Senior Center at 119 Spaulding Blvd. in Muskogee. Members serve as hostesses for each meeting so coffee and cake can be served at 9:30 a.m. This year, the business meeting will begin at 9:45 a.m. in order to give speakers time for their presentations. Meetings end by 11. Muskogee Garden Club uses money wisely. All the money earned through annual membership dues, garden tour...

OKLAHOMA HORTICULTURE SOCIETY SPRING LECTURE 2008 Russell Studebaker introduced Cole Burrell at the Tulsa Garden Center on Saturday. Studebaker is program chair for OK Horticulture Society. His nickname is World Famous Horticulturist and he applies his extensive experience and knowledge to garden writing for the Tulsa World and other publications as well as speaking in several states at conferences. Cole Burrell made a dozen suggestions to perk up winter landscapes. Burrell lives in zone 7 Virginia so many of his ideas would work here as well. Photo: Burrell at the book signing Deciduous Shrub possibilities included: Callicarpa americana Ilex verticillata Cornus sericea Flaviramea Cornus Miscanthus Viburnum x bodnantense Cornus sanguinea 'Midwinter Fire' Daphne bholua Hamamelis , Galanthus , Eranthis and Helleborus Corylus and Leucojum vernum Lagerstroemia Juglans regia Helleborus If you ever have an opportunity to hear Burrell speak, try to go. His presentatio...