Rolling Fork Garden Club

06/06/2026

Take this as your sign to thank your local tree today. Or better yet — plant a new one!

06/06/2026

🪴GARDENING TIP - TERRACOTTA POTS

Terracotta pots are beloved for their warm, natural look, but they’re also hardworking garden tools. Their porous clay lets air and moisture pass through the pot walls, helping roots breathe and reducing excess moisture around plants.
Over time, terracotta develops character — and it also accumulates mineral deposits, salts, and residue from prior plantings. Planting starts with clean containers.
Before replanting:
🪴Remove old soil and debris
🪴Clean away mineral deposits and salt buildup
🪴Allow pots to dry completely before reuse

Terracotta pots also benefit from a good soak before planting. Because clay is porous, dry pots can draw moisture from newly potted plants.

With proper care, these garden staples can last for years — supporting healthy plants and reducing waste. 🌿
SAVE this post for your next container refresh.

Photographer - Cookie Brown, The Garden Club of the Halifax Country, Ormond Beach, FL

06/04/2026

Most gardeners see a soggy corner and reach for drainage solutions. Wet ground is actually rare habitat — the kind that supports frogs, dragonflies, and songbirds that dry borders cannot. Plant into it instead of fighting it. 🌿

Eleven native plants that thrive where the ground stays wet:

Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) — zones 3–9 — scarlet spikes that draw hummingbirds from midsummer through early fall. One of the few truly red native wildflowers, and hummingbirds locate it faster than almost anything else you can plant.

Blue flag iris (Iris versicolor) — zones 3–9 — native iris with violet-blue blooms that naturalizes in wet clay and even shallow standing water. Spreads slowly into a colony that stabilizes muddy edges.

Joe Pye w**d (Eutrochium purpureum) — zones 4–8 — towering mauve-pink domes attracting late-season butterflies when most other nectar has dried. Height gives songbirds structural cover they cannot find in low borders.

Marsh marigold (Caltha palustris) — zones 3–7 — bright golden blooms in early spring when the ground is coldest and wettest. One of the first native nectar sources for early bees.

Swamp milkw**d (Asclepias incarnata) — zones 3–9 — monarch host plant that thrives in soggy soil where common milkw**d would rot. Pink flower clusters feed adult butterflies; foliage supports larvae.

Turtlehead (Chelone glabra) — zones 3–8 — the only host plant for the Baltimore checkerspot butterfly, which cannot complete its life cycle without it. Late summer white or pink blooms.

Sweet flag (Acorus calamus) — zones 4–11 — low iris-like foliage that spreads to stabilize wet edges and shelters small amphibians in its dense mat.

Fox sedge (Carex vulpinoidea) — zones 3–8 — native clumping sedge that tolerates seasonal flooding and provides dense ground cover for frogs and ground-nesting insects.

Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) — zones 3–9 — fast-growing native shrub with white flower clusters and dark berries that feed a remarkable number of songbird species. The berries are also edible — if you reach them before the birds do.

Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) — zones 4–9 — spherical white blooms on a multi-stemmed shrub that grows in standing water where almost nothing else survives. A magnet for bees, butterflies, and waterfowl.

Royal fern (Osmunda regalis) — zones 3–9 — tall arching fronds in perpetually damp shade, sheltering amphibians and maintaining a cool moist microclimate between rains. 🌱

Establishing tip: plant in spring when the soil is saturated — roots establish into wet ground faster. Work from the edges in. Do not amend the soil with compost or drainage material — these plants evolved in heavy wet clay.

A wet corner does not need fixing. It needs the right plants.

06/04/2026

06/03/2026

Here's your veggie planting guide for June! Some of the vegetables you can plant in your garden this month include...

Muskmelons
Watermelons
Snap Beans (pole)
Lima Beans (bush & pole)
Corn
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Okra
Southern Peas
Peppers
Sweet Potatoes
Winter Squash (pumpkins)
Summer Squash

Planting times will vary by area.

Read our Mississippi Vegetable Gardener's Guide for TONS of great info: https://extension.msstate.edu/publications/mississippi-vegetable-gardeners-guide

Contact your county's Extension agent for localized guidance! Find yours here: https://extension.msstate.edu/county-offices

06/03/2026

Great opportunity to visit an established Butterfly/Pollinator garden and one of our South Delta National Wildlife Refuges. Join us Saturday at the Garden!

06/02/2026

The Rolling Fork Garden Club held its final meeting of the 25/26 year on Tuesday May 12 at Anguilla Methodist Church. Hostesses were Lottie Durst, Mechelle Boykin, Debra Norris, and Laurie Patterson. A Garden Party was the meeting's theme and members were greeted by a magnificent table arrangement and delicious luncheon table filled with picnic favorites ham sliders, crunchy ramen salad, potato chips, strawberry pretzel salad, lace cookies, and mini lemon tarts. President Meg Cooper presided over the business meeting. Announcements were made including the numerous awards and grants the club received at the Garden Clubs of Mississippi State Convention held April 29 in Natchez. 10 new members were also welcomed into the club. The speaker Natalie Hardesty of The Hardesty Homestead cut flower farm in Cleveland gave an emotionally heartfelt talk on her family's 3-year adventure with their farm. All the table arrangements were made with flowers from her farm and members were available to purchase. Our club has had a productive year, and we will reconvene after a summer break in September. We encourage everyone to spend a little time outside and make our communities bloom.

06/02/2026

06/02/2026

Garden Club Officers,

Will you serve from Darlene Underwood?
Garden Clubs of Mississippi have so much to offer this state. Members beautify our towns, remove litter from the public square, save pollinators, and encourage citizens to be involved in their communities. As I’ve traveled over the state, meeting so many wonderful garden club members, it reminds me of the huge impact each of you have on your families, communities, and local organizations.
It’s been a pleasure meeting each of you and I hope I, too, you have enjoyed getting to know me!
As President-elect, it is my responsibility to form a Board of Directors for 2027-2029, Garden Clubs of Mississippi, Inc. Many of you are leaders in your club and maybe have thought of sharing your leadership with a wider audience.
Please consider filling out a Personnel Form and turning it in. It can be found on the GCM Website, www.gardenclubsofmississippi.com/forms, or one is attached for your convenience. The Nominations Committee is meeting on July 30th, so reach out to me soon.
I look forward to working with you as we meet in towns, communities, and events along the roads of Mississippi. Contact me at [email protected] for additional information.

Important Dates- check the GCM Calendar on www.gardenclubsofmississippi.com for more details.

GCM Dues Deadline
June 1

President’s Report Deadline
June 1

Southern Pine District Spring Workshop
June 2
Forest MS
Spanish Trail District Spring Workshop
June 3
Columbia MS
Natchez Trace District Spring Workshop
June 4
Jackson MS
Hills & Delta District Spring Workshop
June 9
Hernando MS
Tombigbee Valley District Spring Workshop
June 10
Columbus MS
River Road District Spring Workshop
June 11
Belzoni MS

Hope to see you at an upcoming GCM Spring District Meeting!

"Garden Clubs Make Mississippi MAHVALOUS... Sow, Grow, EDUCATE, Show"

Best regards,

Sassy Mauldin
GCM State President

Sent by Angelia Wade
GCM Executive Secretary