May - UT Gardens - The University of Tennessee

Viola Alpine Summer2007 Winter annual trialsThe research aspect of the Gardens continuesto run at full speed. We will complete the wintervariety trial evaluations this month, which includeda variety of pansies, violas, snapdragons, cabbagesand kales. Our annual variety trial program is infull swing this month, with everything transitioningfrom the greenhouses to the Gardens. We continueto work with leading plant breeding companies toidentify the best plants for commercial greenhouseand nursery producers, commercial landscapers,and home gardeners to use.Although many people are involved in makingour trial program a success—from sowing seedsto transplanting to planting in the Gardens tolabeling—one person is critical in getting all of thedata recorded and compiled into a final report.Betty Tipton continues her work with our staff andme on evaluating plant performance, taking photographsand launching all of this information intoa final report. Betty, a recent Plant Sciences graduatewho contributes to the UT Gardens by volunteeringher evaluation services, will again create theWeb information and photos of our winning plantson the UT Gardens website. Betty evaluates thehundreds of plants in our Gardens three differenttimes over the course of the summer, which lets usdetermine the best plants for use. Jason Reeves,curator of the West Tennessee UT Gardens, collectsthe data from our Jackson UT Gardens, but Betty isthe one who creates the wonderful finished productthat is useful to so many people. If you see Betty inthe Gardens, thank her for her wonderful efforts inmaking our trial program a success.Pansy Panola Rose PicotteePanola Yellow BlotchThe staff was busy during April talking about theUT Gardens and the wonderful plants we identifyas being ideal for growing in our region. Among themany places where we either had an educationalbooth about the Gardens or we spoke and taughtothers about the Gardens:• The Great Smoky Mountains National ParkWildflower Pilgrimage• Sevier County Flower & Garden Show• East Tennessee Earth Fest• Knox County Public Library Garden HeritageFestival• Blount Mansion “Victorian Revival Garden”Also, Curator James Newburn and graduatestudent Beth Willis have made a wonderful andinformative poster about the UT Gardens for displayat events.Don’t forget that there are many ways you can volunteerin the Gardens. From watering and labelingplants in the gardens to mulching, weeding, andplanting, we can use your help. If you’d like to volunteer,contact Andy Pulte, our volunteer coordinator,at 865-974-8820 or email at pulte@hotmail.com.