Growing something good in our NE Georgia neighborhood

Upcoming Program: Birds of the Southern Appalachians

Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025 11:30 AM-1:30 PM

North Georgia Technical College Dining Hall

1500 Highway 107 North

Clarkesville, GA

Learn about birds native to our mountains and piedmont that we often see in our gardens. Kathy Church, Georgia DNR Interpretive Specialist, will also explain why birds are important for our gardens, agriculture and local ecosystem, and how we can support birds through our gardening practices.

This program is open to the public. There is a $12 fee that includes lunch in the NGTC Cafeteria. Registration and pre-payment is required. 

Sponsored by Headwaters Master Gardener Association. 

NOTE: If you do not want to pay using PayPal or a credit card, a check made out to HMGA may be sent to:

Headwaters Master Gardeners P.O. BOX 661 Lakemont, GA 30552

Register and Pay

Photos by Headwaters MG Nanette O’Hara (Northern Cardinal, White-Breasted Nuthatch, Northern Mockingbird)

MIGRATION MADNESS: Hummingbirds are on the Move

Photo by Headwaters Master Gardener Nanette O’Hara

Hummingbirds that have spent the summer in our gardens are now beginning to head south to Mexico and Central America on their Fall migration, joined by their cousins who ventured as far north as the Canadian Maritimes. Gardeners everywhere love seeing these amazing aerial acrobats flying about their yards!

Hopefully your garden includes nectar plants with tubular flowers such as the scarlet bee balm (Monarda didyma) pictured here. Natural food is always best. But, as the days get shorter and flowers fade and go to seed, you may want to add feeders to provide artificial nectar for hummers passing through.

The best solution consists of 1 part sugar to 4 parts water (this mirrors the sugar concentration of the nectar found in flowers). Boil the water for 2–3 minutes before adding sugar. Cool and store the mixture in a refrigerator until you are ready to use it. There is no need to add red dye and it could in fact be harmful to the birds. Make sure to change the sugar water regularly (every few days in warm weather) and clean the feeder to prevent mold.

Although 11 hummingbird species have been documented in Georgia, the ruby-throated hummingbird is the most commonly seen.

A combination of nectar plants and feeders is a good strategy for maximizing hummer visits to your garden.

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Hummingbird-Friendly Plants:

  • Zinnia

  • Penstemon

  • Salvias

  • Coral Honeysuckle

  • Blazing Star

  • Cleome

  • Cardinal Flower

  • Buckeye

  • Coral Bells

  • Crocosmia

  • Jewelweed

  • Crabapple

  • Tulip Poplar

  • Redbud

…and many more. Click here for list and additional info compiled by Georgia DNR.

Got the sneezy-wheezies?

Don’t blame Goldenrod!

Boo! Halloween is coming and it's a great time for our annual Public Service Announcement about Goldenrod.

Contrary to very widespread belief, goldenrod (Solidago spp) is NOT to blame for the sneezy-wheezies, runny eyes and raspy throats many of us are experiencing right now. The pollen produced by those sunny yellow flowers is too heavy to be carried on the wind (and up your nose). It must be distributed by pollinators like bees and wasps.

What's really to blame for your allergies are ragweed and grasses, plants whose inconspicuous flowers you are not likely to see. They produce lightweight pollen that can be easily wafted your way on a breeze.

Because goldenrod has very showy flowers, and blooms at the same time as ragweed, it is mistakenly blamed for the allergies many people suffer from in late summer and early fall.

Now that you know better, enjoy the beautiful fields and roadsides aglow with goldenrod in our area. It is a very important source of nectar for our pollinators at this time of year, and not scary at all!

Ragweed on left, Goldenrod on right

September Gardening Tips: Changing Seasons, Changing Focus

At long last autumn is on our doorstep. We can feel it in the cooler air and see it in the changing colors of the leaves on our deciduous trees and shrubs. But the change of seasons doesn’t mean that gardening chores stop, just that they change focus:

  • Stop pruning and fertilizing.

  • Start cleanup of flower beds, BUT leave seedheads of coneflowers, sunflowers and black-eyed Susans for goldfinches and other seed-eating birds to enjoy.

  • Divide and move perennials.

  • Take cuttings to overwinter indoors or in greenhouses.

  • Collect seeds for next year’s plantings. Label them and store in a cool, dry place.

  • Pick herbs for drying or freezing.

  • Start planting Spring bulbs; wait until soil temps are 60 degrees or lower.

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