2019 BVGC TV Programs

The January 2019 Program guest is Corrin Troutman, Horticulturalist specializing in Native Plants and member of the Bentonville Garden Club.  The topic of the program is White and Night Bloomers and photos of many native white blooming trees and plants are described and shown.  A white garden at the edge of your property pulls your eye out to that area as the sun goes down and dusk sets in.  Also shown are night blooming plants that can be enjoyed at the end of the day and early evening.  These additions to your garden can add special interest.

The February 2019 Program guest is Tony LaCausi, a member of the Bella Vista Garden Club and a Benton County Master Gardener.  The topic of the program is Summer and Fall Blooming Bulbs and photos of many of these later bloomers are shown.  When we think of bulbs, we think of those we plant in fall that bloom in spring but there are a large variety of bulbs and tubers that will give your garden later summer and fall color.  Many are topical plants that need to be moved into your garage or kept from freezing but some will survive in the ground in the NWA region. 

The March 2019 Program guest is Ann Iwen, a member of the Bella Vista Garden Club.  The topic of the program is Orchids from Around the World and photos are shown of many orchids used as houseplants.  These tropical plants are native to every continent except Antarctica and thrive in warm and humid conditions.  Several examples of blooming Phalaenopsis are shown which were supplied by Lou Jasper, fellow member of the Bella Vista Garden Club.  Planting medium, fertilizing and watering instructions and hints are given.  

The April 2019 Program guest is Barb Templin, a member of the Bella Vista Garden Club.  The topic of the program is Spring Planting for Fall Color and photos are shown of many plants other than the usual mums and pansies that give us wonderful fall color.   A variety of shrubs, grasses and perennials give us fall color as a bonus.  There are even some hostas that turn yellow before they lose their leaves in the late fall.  A plant that gives fall color next to an evergreen will give your garden good color variety.  

The May 2019 Program guest is Fran Zimmermann a former member of the Bella Vista Garden Club.  The topic of the program is Rhododendrons and Azaleas and planting information along with the preferred growing conditions were discussed regarding light, soil, water, mulch, fertilizing and pruning.  A new variety of Azalea on the market called RebloomTM  was exhibited  that is similar to the Encore series.  Photos of Rhododendrons and Azaleas were shown together with layering options using a variety of these plants.  

The June 2019 Program host is JB Portillo, a member of the Bella Vista Garden Club and current President of the Benton County Master Gardeners.  The guests are Mary Burks, Don Casteel and Andrea Klokow, all Benton County Master Gardeners.  The topic of the program is Celebrating 25 Years of Benton County Master Gardeners and the history of the organization is discussed.  Also what they do and some of the projects:  Helping Hands Pantry Garden that has contributed over 1 ton of fresh produce to the Helping Hands Pantry in 2018, beautification at the County Courthouse, the County Fair information booth and training events for entries, Growing Up Green children's project, Farmers Market booths, the annual Expo where plants are sold and educational booths and the 25th Anniversary Celebration to be held in the Peel Garden.

The July 2019 Program guest is Lou Jasper, a member of the Bella Vista Garden Club and Benton County Master Gardeners.  The topic of the program is Deadheading & Summer Trimming and a list of annual plants that are considered self-cleaning which do not require the spent flowers to be removed was given.   A demonstration was shown of how to properly deadhead petunias so that seeds to not develop, taking energy away from the plant to produce more flowers.  There are annuals and perennials that will reward you with second blooms after deadheading were mentioned.  Also those plants that have blooms on stems can be removed by cutting the stem on an angle so water does not collect in the cut stem.  Summer trimming should be kept at a minimum just to removed dead limbs or branches, lightly reshaping or removing a few shoots that are sticking up. 

The August 2019 Program guest is Tony LiCausi, a member of the Bella Vista Garden Club and Benton County Master Gardeners.  The topic of the program is Heat Tolerant Gardens and photos of some annuals, perennials and bushes or shrubs are shown that can be added to your garden that can take the heat of Arkansas summers.  Other options were also discussed that will handle the heat but may need more attention to water needs.  Water is important in August as drought conditions increase and efficient watering is important. Tropicals, succulents and cactus will all perform well in the heat.  

The September 2019 Program guest is Linda Neymeyer, a member of the Bella Vista Garden Club, President of the Floralia Arranger's Guild Garden Club and Benton County Master Gardener.  The topic of the program is Come to Our Flower Show presented by the Bella Vista Garden Club titled "Ozark Autumn Memories" which will be open to the public at no charge on October 1st at the NWACC Shewmaker Center for Workforce Technologies from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.  Photos of horticulture, designs and educational exhibits from prior flower shows are shown.  Horticulture entries can be made by anyone from their garden, designs and photography can be entered by any member of an Arkansas Federation of Garden Clubs member.  Also the Bella Vista/Bentonville Photography Club members are invited to enter photos in photography.  The Schedule of the Flower Show which contains all rules and details for entries is available on the BellaVistaGardenClub.com website or the NWDistrictAFGC.com website.   The last 5 flower shows presented by the BVGC have won state, regional and national awards. 

The October 2019 Program guests are JB Portillo, a member of the Bella Vista Garden Club and President of the Benton County Master Gardeners, and Mechel Wall, also a member of the Benton County Master Gardeners.  The topic of the program is WallFlower Farm in Pea Ridge and Mechel is the owner of the business that grows beautiful flowers and plants which she incorporates into wonderful floral arrangements.  Her farm hosts events and she shares her tips about growing dahlias and pussy willow walls.  She also supplies restaurants with herbs and living walls.  Repurposing and recycling is very important to her so she is involved with Food Loops and uses their compost to grow her plants.  Also the winner of the Garden Consultation by Brent Heath from Brent and Becky's Bulbs was drawn.  The winner was Corrin Troutman, President of the Bentonville Garden Club.  (Follow up - Corrin donated the garden consultation to a non-profit, Terra Studios, to help with the gardens at their location just outside of Fayetteville, AR.)

The November 2019 Program guest is Terry Weiderhaft, a Benton County Master Gardener.  The topic is Update on Helping Hands Pantry Garden and Terry is the Leader of that project.  The garden is adjacent to the Helping Hands Store and there are about 7 acres available for use for a garden.  At the present time the garden covers less than one acre with 50 raised beds and some fruit trees.  A Blue Barn was added to store equipment and is a great addition to the garden. Also a drip water irrigation system has dramatically improved the production of produce.  All produce harvested is taken to the Helping Hands Pantry and instructions for cleaning, storing and refrigerating the produce is given to the recipient.  Some easy recipes are handed out also.  The garden is also used for education and some home schooled children have cleared out beds, planted vegetables and harvested the crops for the pantry.  Last year a little over 2,000 pounds of produce was harvested and this year the garden has produced over 1,800 pounds, a little less due to all the rain we had this spring and summer.  Volunteers are always welcome to help and beds can be adopted by groups that can add to the bounty for the Helping Hands Pantry.   Also a short video of the Yard of the Month recipient is shown with a brief description of the Bella Vista Garden Club project.

The December 2019 Program host is JB Portillo, a member of the Bella Vista Garden Club and President of the Benton County Master Gardeners.  The guests are Ray Matkowski, member of the Bella Vista Garden Club and Tony LiCausi also a member of the Bella Vista Garden Club and a Benton County Master Gardener.  The topic of the program is Preview - Garden Extravaganza to be held on Saturday, June 6th by the Bella Vista Garden Club with the support of the City of Bella Vista, the POA, the Benton County Master Gardeners and the Northwest Arkansas Master Naturalists.  Many gardens will be open for touring, demonstrations of all kinds will be at various locations, food will be available, plants growing in the gardens will be available to purchase and gardening experts will be on hand to answer any questions.  Tony's garden will be on the tour and will show how to garden on a steep terrain. The Petal It Forward bicycle refurbishers where Ray volunteers will have bicycles decorated in the garden's theme will greet you.  It will be a fun event to see how beautiful Bella Vista is and provide many ideas for gardening and landscaping.  Save the date of June 6th and more information will follow in future programs.