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Now we know the purple weed is Lamium amplexicaule!

^[2]Can’t wait to get your spring garden going? Carolina Cones on Main Street in Cornelius starts its spring plant sale today (Thursday). Lots of early flowers like pansies and begonias are already available at the large home improvement stores. What else do we see sprouting near our garden plots? Fences! Seems like the critters are enjoying our produce before we do. Ideas on how to combat them? Do let us know.

Around Davidson today tells of savvy gardeners, Elaine McArn and Ann Melton, who knew what the purple weed was. We also celebrate spring in our town’s ETJ with new livestock at the Tevepaughs and Armstrongs.

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Henbit tries to overtake Elaine's peony garden

IT’S HENBIT

The purple palette described two days ago in Around Davidson now has a name. It is Henbit. Time to run to the computer and Google this prolific weed known in horticultural circles as lamium amplexicaule, a member of the mint family. The first “savvy gardener” to tell us about Henbit was Elaine McArn, who was talking on the phone to a master gardener from South Carolina who knew the answer. This master gardener traveled to Davidson this month for the Horticultural Symposium held March 1 on the Davidson College campus. She skipped one session to explore The Needlecraft Center owned by Elaine McArn and discover Elaine’s beautiful selection of yarns. When this lady called this past Tuesday afternoon to check on an order, Elaine asked her about the purple plant and, voila! The mystery was solved. (Kudos as well to Ann Melton of The Pines who also knew the answer but was second in line with her correct response.)

Elaine McArn and her husband, Jerry, live on East Rocky River Road in the ETJ (that’s our town’s extra territorial jurisdiction). They are avid gardeners with a tall fence surrounding their plot. They also have a marvelous supply of Henbit which has invaded Elaine’s peony patch. (Around Davidson caught her just in time before she pulled it all up today.)

Nice to catch up with Elaine and Jerry. This couple grew up in Davidson and were childhood sweethearts, so to speak, from the second grade. After high school, Jerry joined the Air Force and Elaine spent one year at Women’s College (now UNC-Greensboro) before marrying Jerry. The following four years were spent in Dover, Delaware, before they returned to Davidson in 1965 to live in Jerry’s granddad’s home place which they still call home today. They have two children, Kris who lives in Huntersville and Mark, who lives in Franklinton, N.C., and six grandchildren.

Elaine has owned The Needlecraft Center on Main Street for 40 years. Jerry, whose first job was with Withers Electric, moved on to General Time/Liburdi Dimetrics and retired some six years ago. They love their acreage with gardens and well kept sheds and barns – a treat for their grandchildren when they are visiting.

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Steps 1 & 2 to rid your garden of moles and voles.

Got Mole Holes?

Visiting Elaine to see her Henbit also resulted in a novel recipe for catching moles and voles. Bait an everyday mouse trap with peanut butter, place it right next to the mole hole, cover with a clay pot weighed down with a brick and wait. It is a proven way to eliminate at least a few of these pesky varmints who make your lawn into a patchwork of raised, spongy tunnels.

LIVESTOCK REPORT

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A frisky lamb stays close to Mama in an Armstrong pasture

Michael Armstrong and his Sheep

Spring is here and that means new livestock in the pastures east of town. Beef and dairy calves usually arrive one at a time but goats and sheep more often than not have multiple births.

Michael Armstrong has raised beef cattle for decades but started keeping sheep when his daughters, Lauren and Stephanie, were in 4-H as youngsters. When his daughters went off to college and married, Michael continued to keep a few sheep on his land along East Rocky River Road. Now he has 10 ewes and currently has seven lambs on the ground. The three-week-old lamb pictured here with its mother will remain black. Despite all efforts to catch a lamb and have a photo-op with Michael or his wife, Willa, the little ones were too fleet of foot so a distance shot had to suffice.

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Jan holds a very frisky month-old "Bobbi"

Jan Tevepaugh and her Goats

Traveling down Grey Road, one cannot help but notice the riding ring on the right side of the road with adjacent house and barn. Jan and Mark Tevepaugh live here with three horses, two dogs, one cat, eight chickens and 3 nanny goats.

One old nanny goat is a pet having given up motherhood some years ago. The other two young nanny goats each produced twins this year – three does and one buck. The first twins were born on Valentine’s Day and the other set just three days later. These month old “babies” are also very fleet of foot and can only be caught when lured with feed into a stall. Our thanks to Jan for catching a sweet doe named “Bobbi” for the photo shoot.

More news from the Tevepaugh household concerns their children, Tom and Beth. Tom continues his lawn and landscape service in our area. Beth will graduate from UNC’s School of Public Health in May with a major in nutrition and a minor in chemistry. Beth recently learned that she has been accepted to UNC’s Pharmacy School and is thrilled to be continuing her education in Chapel Hill.

A note about Mom and Dad Tevepaugh: Dad Mark retired last September from Duke Energy after 38 years. Now he has time to tend to his farming full time. Mom Jan continues to contribute to the lives of children through her teaching in the Davidson College Presbyterian Church’s Weekday School.

Send us your news

Have news for Around Davidson? Write to Brenda Barger at hbarger@bellsouth.net ^[7].