This week is National Garden Club Week and the Milton Garden Club celebrated with speakers on mulches, butterfly gardening, and invasive plants, culminating in a plant and garage sale Saturday. Wednesday, Milton Mayor Guy Thompson read a proclamation at the MGC. "When you volunteer time for the club, you volunteer time to make the community what it should be," he said. "We have a natural beauty and we have to show that," Thompson said. "In high school, I was close to the garden club," he said. Thompson said beautification efforts in the city strengthen the economic base. Sonya Robinson, president of the MGC, said, "It keeps young people here." Thompson spoke of future plans to continue beautification efforts along Dogwood Drive and expanding the boardwalk to Carpenter's Park. Lee Willingham, the landscaper hired by the city to oversee the project, said a concept important to him was the blending of landscaping throughout the city.
"To me, that says we've got a plan. The city has come up with a master plan." Willingham went on to detail the flora used along the Highway 90 medians and roadside, and the other places downtown spruced up with natural decor. Willingham said he went with a hybrid grass called "celebration," a mix of common Bermuda and 419 Bermuda, the latter used in sports fields. He said the combination means a fast recovery rate and few fertilization requirements. He did say, "It will go dormant in winter." Willingham cautioned against over watering grass. "You need to stress grass a bit to encourage deep root growth." Willingham said the perennials he added have an alternate blooming cycle, so they may all bloom this year or only half. The purple flowering flax lily, purple pixie, a pink drift rose, and Indian Hawthorne were his choices for foliage. As far as trees, Willingham said he went with Bosque elms, tree-form camellia, Eagleston hollies, maraschino cherry trees, and crepe myrtles. Willingham said he needs trees prone to growing upwards, not outwards to stay off the road. He also said the ones he used shed small leaves so the waste would be minimal. Willingham also went over the irrigation system installed, which will cut down on water waste. "I chose a smart system," he said, the kind used in golf courses. With it, Willingham said, he can monitor and adjust water flow with his smart-phone. He said if some kind of accident breaks a spout, the system will diagnose the problem through comparing standard pressure and voltage, shut off the flow to the spout, and email him the situation. Willingham said, "The system will also wirelessly communicate with any weather station to shut off if it's raining or windy." He said he can also manually do so from his phone. According to Willingham, the grass and plant beds are zoned separately since they have different water requirements. "You won't drive in the rain and see irrigation," Willingham said.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Milton beautification discussed during National Garden Club week