Recent Posts
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Beautiful poinsettias have a long history as a traditional Christmas plant. Unfortunately, as soon as I bring a poinsettia home, it starts dropping leaves. I was, therefore, very excited when I came across an item in a horticulture trade journal about using caladiums along with – or instead of – traditional poinsettias. Colorful foliage is…
Posted in: ANR -
Every year hundreds of 4th-12th graders in Georgia participate in 4-H Project Achievement. This public speaking contest allows youth to develop a project about a topic that they find interesting and highlight their accomplishments that relate to that topic. There are over fifty project areas in which youth can compete including: sports, history, environmental science, general recreation, health, outdoor…
Posted in: 4-H -
It’s that time of year, where shopping is in the air and overspending can be a huge problem. Avoiding overspending can make holidays easier and allow you to enjoy the season and the months after.
Posted in: FACS -
Looking out my kitchen window, I noticed that I can see my neighbors’ houses through the trees. The leaves that hid them throughout the summer have now dropped from the maples, poplars, and sweetgums in my backyard. But there are a few trees still holding their leaves. While most deciduous trees drop their leaves in…
Posted in: ANR -
By Heather N. Kolich, County Extension Coordinator, UGA Extension Forsyth County, October 2022 I had a blow-out on GA-20. Traffic was heavy, and the right shoulder was demolished for road widening. I limped along until I found a mostly level gravel lot on the opposite side of the road and pulled in to change the…
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Bats occupy an important niche in ecosystems around the world, providing mosquito control, eating crop-damaging moths and beetles, pollinating important agricultural crops, and dispersing seeds to aid in reforestation. Unfortunately, this unique flying mammal faces survival challenges from habitat loss, disease, and negative perceptions. Three of the four mammals identified as threatened or endangered in…
Posted in: ANR -
Plants are amazingly versatile and useful. Of course, plants give us food, or, as some people quip, plants provide food for our food. Plants also provide shade over our heads, a soft surface under our feet, and with a little ingenuity, they give so much more.
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Fall has arrived signaling the end flowering for southern landscape staples like roses, gardenias, and azaleas. But fall doesn’t have to mean an end of flowering shrubs altogether. Cold-hardy camellias offer fragrant blooms from September to March in USDA hardiness zones 7 and 6b.
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Working with the Parks and Recreation Department, Master Naturalists built and installed 14 bluebird nesting boxes at Fowler Park. The following spring, all 14 boxes hosted nesting bluebird pairs and successful fledges from each box. Nesting pairs returned each year, and the success at Fowler Park has been replicated with a second Bluebird Trail at…
Posted in: ANR
