Magnolia Garden Club studies garden preparations

Paula Landreneau and Beth Fontenot were co-hostesses for the Magnolia Garden Club meeting held Monday, February 9, at Landreneau’s home. President Mable Foreman called the meeting to order, and Hazel Fontenot read the Gardener’s Prayer.
Plans were made for planting a tree at the new ball park on March 26. The selection of the Garden of the Month/Civic Pride Award will resume in March. A committee will make the selections around March 15.
Foreman appointed a nominating committee for the nomination of a slate of officers for the coming year.
A club workshop will be held April 8, to complete the club’s scrapbooks. The workshop will be held at the home of Hazel Fontenot.
The club was invited by the Food for Thought Book Club to attend a program at the Evangeline Parish Library on Tuesday, March 10, The program will be on the book “The Most Dangerous Animal of All.” The book is about the life of Gary L. Stewart and was written by Susan Mustafa. The program is at 2 p.m., and those who attend must call the library to put their names on the list because the room can only hold 50 people.
Landreneau gave a program on the preparations for planting this year’s vegetables and flowers. Decide what items to be planted, draw simple sketches of flower beds and decide on a color scheme. February can have extremely cold weather and some plants will need protection. Granular and soluble fertilizers can be used at this time. Weeds still grow in winter: oxtails, henbit, chickweed and annual bluegrass are found in beds. Oxtails must be lifted with roots and bulbs attached. Herbicides may be used, but are to be applied only to foliage and weeds.
Summer bulbs may be divided in March. Gladiolus and caladiums may be planted in February. Vegetables to plant in February are beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, collards, corn, Swiss chard, eggplant, Irish potatoes, kholrabi, lettuce, mustard, peppers, radish, rutabagas, snap peas, shallots, tomatoes and turnips.