The cover of the LSU AgCenter’s 2011 Get It Growing Lawn and Garden Calendar features a tropical water lily captured by photographer Catherine Lorio of Oscar, La. These plants bloom all summer in sunny ponds and aquatic gardens and come in a wide array of bright and pastel colors.

A special “how to” section on deadheading roses is among the variety of useful information included in the LSU AgCenter’s 2011 Get It Growing Lawn and Garden Calendar. Other items that accompany the calendar’s beautiful photos are monthly gardening tips and a feature on Louisiana Super Plants.

You can grow several crops of fast-maturing radishes during the cool winter growing season. These were shot by Shaun Blue of Baton Rouge and are featured in January in the LSU AgCenter’s 2011 Get It Growing Lawn and Garden Calendar.

News Release Distributed 09/23/10

Almost any time of year is a good time to “Get it Growing” in Louisiana, and the LSU AgCenter’s latest edition of its lawn and garden calendar can help you do just that.

The recently published 2011 Get It Growing Lawn and Garden Calendar is designed to help gardeners and others learn about and enjoy gardening in Louisiana.

The calendar offers monthly gardening tips for the seasoned or novice gardener, as well as beautiful photos of plants, flowers and gardens from photographers across Louisiana.

Monthly gardening tips and a special feature on planting fig trees come from LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dan Gill, who is known across the region for his expertise on Louisiana gardening. The calendar alerts gardeners to save spring-flowering bulbs and prune ornamental vines, as well as provides other helpful information for their gardening projects.

“As the popularity of gardening as a leisure-time activity grows, so does the interest in our Get It Growing calendar,” said Elma Sue McCallum, of LSU AgCenter Communications, who serves as the calendar’s coordinator. “The calendar, published annually since 2005, was developed in response to the demand for and popularity of the LSU AgCenter’s lawn and garden information.

“People are interested in reliable, science-based information, and the Get It Growing calendar provides gardeners with an educational resource – in an attractive package. The calendar continues to be very popular with gardeners and a great gift idea for anyone who enjoys photos of attractive garden scenes.”

Photographs for the calendar are chosen each year through a call for entries and competition that begins in the fall for the edition to be published the following year. The 2011 calendar winners include Glenda Balliviero, Lafayette; Norman Balliviero, Lafayette; Shaun Blue, Baton Rouge; Karen Creel, Jena; Robert Faul, Lafayette; Daniel Hart, Lecompte; Pat Hegwood, Baton Rouge; Bob Hines, Bentley; Wanda Klahorst, Hammond; Ginger Kraemer, Hammond; Kathleen Kramer, Slaughter; Catherine Lorio, Oscar; J.P. Morgan, Baton Rouge; Neil Odenwald, Baton Rouge; Tom Pope, Baton Rouge; Conchita Richey, Gonzales; Rhoda Stevenson, Campti; Charlene Troxler, Ama; Vicki Vance, Baton Rouge; and John Wozniak, Baton Rouge.

The full-color, 32-page, 9-inch-by-13.25-inch calendar features a special section on fig trees, gardening tips for each month of the year and photos of beautiful flowers, vegetables and plants.

In addition to the monthly gardening tips for 2011 and the feature on fig trees, the calendar also includes a special, illustrated how-to section on deadheading roses, a list of LSU AgCenter lawn and garden publications, information on Louisiana Super Plants, the LSU AgCenter’s Master Gardener program, Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic and Soil Testing and Plant Analysis Labs.

The Get It Growing calendar sells for $11.95 and is available for online orders at www.lsuagcenter.com/GetItGrowingCalendar. Phone orders can be placed by calling 225-578-4161. Sample photos and more information are also available through the website.

The calendar, designed as part of the LSU AgCenter’s popular Get It Growing educational campaign on home lawns and gardens, is also expected to be available through a variety of bookstores, garden centers and gift shops across the state this fall.

Proceeds from calendar sales help to support horticultural research and educational efforts of the LSU AgCenter, as well as scholarships for horticulture students.

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Contact: Elma Sue McCallum
Writer: Tom Merrill