December's 25 Days of Superior Trees, Shrubs, and Perennials

People love lists. I love lists. So when December 1st rolled around, I made a decision to put together a list of trees, shrubs, and perennials for each of the days leading up to Christmas.  So here you go:

1.  Weeping Norway spruce – living waterfall, yr-round interest, up to 15' tall 
2.  Miyabe maple – small (up to 40’) tree, dense shade, yellow fall color, fruit produced in fall 
3. Winterberry holly – deciduous holly, needs male pollinator, up to 15’, bees
4.  Arrowwood viburnum – durable, adaptable, blue or black fruit, 6 to 15’ tall
5. Weeping katsura – up to 25’ tall, Asian tree, redbud-like leaves, full sun to part-shade
6.  ‘Rozanne’ Geranium – cranesbill geranium, makes 18” mound, purple-blue blooms June to frost
7. Trident maple -- up to 35’ tall, tolerates everything you can throw at it, red/yellow fall color, exfoliating bark
8. Weeping beech – up to 60’ tall, smooth bark, interesting form, esp winter, 
9. Buttonbush – native, leggy shrub up to 10-15’ tall, bloom is curious, white and round, attracts pollinators & butterflies 
10. ‘Fireworks’ goldenrod – clump-forming, non-invasive goldenrod, 3-4’ tall, attracts pollinators 
11. Persian ironwood – nice, small tree, very attractive bark, yellow/orange/red fall color, red late-winter blooms
12. Fothergilla – magnificent shrub, early white bloom, cultivars give reliable orange/red/yellow fall color, blue-green leaves, ‘Mt Airy’
13. Sweet birch – native, 40-55’ tall, best fall color (yellow) of all birches, attractive, dark, shiny, bark, bruised stems emit wintergreen odor 
14. Blazingstar – there are several and they are native, reliable, summer-blooming perennials that pollinators adore. 
15. Butterflyweed or swamp milkweed – for the monarchs, these 2 are the showiest and least invasive 
16. Green Panda Bamboo – not invasive, 6-8’ tall and equal width, protect from pm sun, used as single plant or hedge. 
17. Kentucky coffeetree – native, KY Heritage Tree, large tree, suckers from root, male selections (no pods), dappled shade. 
18. Blackgum – native, red fall color, 30-50’ tall, blue-black berries, glossy foliage, v.good honey tree  
19. Purple Beautyberry – small shrub up to 5’ tall, most graceful of the beautyberries, metallic purple berries, also a white-berried selection. 
20. Bottlebrush buckeye – part-shade to sun, suckering shrub, excellent foliage and flowers (white spikes), 10’ tall  
21. Paperbark maple – trifoliate-leaved, cinnamon-brown exfoliating bark, orange-red fall color, 20-30’tall  
22. Nordman fir – heat-tolerant, well-drained soils, 40-60’ tall, soft needles, conical evergreen, weeping & prostrate forms  
23. Baptisia – white, purple, and yellow forms, some cultivars, perennial with 4 season appeal, handsome foliage, flowers, seedpods  
24. Burkwood viburnum -- superior selection ‘Mohawk’, ornamental red flower buds precede fragrant white flowers, 7’tall and wide 
25. Fringetree – small, native tree 15-20’ tall, white fragrant blooms, unrivaled when in full bloom, blue berries  

These plants were featured on my Twitter feed @hortagentbeth and facebook page.

Beginning Beekeeping Program

A Beginning Beekeeping school will be held in Pulaski County starting February 14 at 6pm.  Three other sessions will be held:  Feb 21, Feb 28, and March 13.  All begin at 6pm, all at the Pulaski County Extension Service office.  Fee for the program is $20.

Beekeeping in this day and age is not like your father's or your grandfather's beekeeping.  We have many pests and diseases of which some are relatively new.  As much as I used to think that honeybees should be left to do what honeybees do, I am beginning to become a convert.

Now, it is not my style to micro-manage the bees. I tend to let the bees be bees.  However, from the discussions I hear around the table at our beekeeping association meetings, you must be more proactive than reactive.  Dispensing some sort of pesticide for varroa mites is part and parcel of beekeeping in the 21st century.  So is feeding them to get them through the winter.

I'm sure, if I were a good beekeeper, there are many other jobs I should be doing in my hives.  But for now, I'm just a mediocre beekeeper.

Here is the best part about keeping bees!!!  Taking them to classrooms.  Bees make you cool, you feel like a rock star in those elementary schools.

Come to our beginning bee school starting February 14 and you too, can become a bee rock star!

Living on a Few Acres update

Our Living on a Few Acres class has been postponed for 2 weeks.  It seems people keep signing up so we figured we'd do more advertising, try to get several more farms/homesteads to sign up.  The original start date was to be tonight, Oct 11.  However, the first class will now start on Oct 25.

This class is not designed to teach you to be a full-time farmer.  What we want you to get out of it is some helpful, farmer-friendly resources that are available.  We also want to teach you some self-sufficiencies, especially as it pertains to feeding you and your family.  Basics concerning your water resources, fences, paddock sizes, and raising livestock and horticulture crops are just some of the things we'll cover in the six session class.

We are still taking registrations.  The cost is $50 per person or $75 for 2 people from the same farm.  Call the Pulaski County Extension Service office at 606-679-6361 for more information.  We can take credit cards as well.

Living on a Few Acres

I think people in general believe farm life to be a tranquil, solitary existence.  Many people after working for 30 years want to retire on a farm or at least on a few acres out in the country.  Maybe you're not at retirement age yet but want to prepare for a life away from the city after you're done working.

That's why the Ag Agent and I have teamed up on a program called Living on a Few Acres.  We want the training to focus on living sustainably on the farm.  In fact, I wondered if we should call in Living Off a Few Acres.  Self-sustainability is kind of a big thing right now.  This program will help you do that.

A fellow horticulture agent sent me this graphic just yesterday about how much land it would take a family to support themselves.  It gets you to think about your different needs and how you might best obtain those resources.

Our program will begin on October 11 and classes will be every Tuesday until November 22.  We skip November 1, however.  We start with a meal at 5:30 and then begin the program at 6 each night.

Registration will be $50 and that covers your meals, a resource binder, and a jump drive.  We hope this sounds like something you or someone you know might be interested in.

I've Gone And Done It

Well, like I didn't have enough to do -- I went and did it anyway. I am now the proud mama of 2 hives of honeybees.


These are called 'nucs' which are small, ready-made hives sort of. Inside these temporary homes, there are 5 frames with a laying queen, plenty of workers and drones, with comb and brood. They were ready for a permanent home, which are these hive bodies you see below.



I'm one of the 15 or so new beekeepers in Pulaski Co this year. I'm excited/anxious about the whole thing. But we have a strong group of beekeepers in Pulaski Co who are going to help all the new beekeepers out during their first year.

Now, if my bee suit wasn't a size too big....

Beginning Beekeeping Session Cancelled

We've had to cancel the first session of the Beginning Beekeeping Course tonight. The speaker was coming from north of us where they are having much more problems with the weather.

We still plan on holding the entire course -- it will just be off a week. Those that have signed up, be sure to come to the first session next Tuesday from 7pm to 9pm.

Beginning Beekeeping Course

I met with the local beekeepers the other night and between all of us, we put together a course for those interested in becoming beekeepers. The first class will be on Feb 9. We have to limit the number of people to 40, so register sooner rather than later. Here's a link to my webpage where you can get more information.

We've got some very, very experienced speakers who will be leading the sessions.

And I checked with the City of Somerset -- there are no ordinances that address keeping bees within city limits. You just need to be a good neighbor.

Insects are needed to pollinate about 1/3 of the food in humans' diets. Honeybees account for 80% of this. Apples, blueberries, strawberries, cucumber, watermelons, and muskmelon -- just think what it would be like without them. Not good.

Hope many of you get excited about honeybees by attending this short course.