Delores Kelley and Bettye Johnson presented “Hot to Make Your Garden Low Maintenance and Beautiful” at the recent meeting of the Grace Willing Workers Extension Homemakers.
The meeting was held at Centennial Fellowship Church in White Hall.
Kelley opened the program by saying that her belief is that people live longer when they have gardens. Kelley said that before planting a garden you need to analyze what kind of activities will be held in the yard and have the soil analyzed to determine what kind of fertilizer and nutrients are needed.
In order to maintain a low-maintenance garden, Kelley said to use ground cover and mulch to minimize weed problems; minimize flower beds; select plants that require the least amount of pruning, watering, pest control and fertilization; use walls, fences or other physical barriers instead of pruned hedges or screens; use native and introduced plant species together and install an irrigation system.
Johnson said that container gardening and raised flower beds are a good way for people to continue gardening as they age.
A group of Grace Willing Workers that included Bettye Johnson, Kaye Richardson, Nancy Rosen, Delores Kelley, Brenda Robinson, Marjorie Zuber, Liz Crosby, Connie Herring, Debbie James and Carolyn Harness, attended the Arkansas Extension Homemakers Council Extended Education Workshop at the 4-H Center in Ferndale, Arkansas.
The Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to all eligible persons, regardless of race, color, sex, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information or any other legally protected status and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.