December 2005 Unit Reports

 

AMHERST, CAMPBELL and LYNCHBURG

(Hill City MGA)

 Al Thompson

 

The Hill City Master Gardener Association (HCMGA) Board of Directors passed a motion awarding six Unit scholarships to encourage attendance at the Master Gardener College.  The Master Gardener training for new interns begins in February.

 

Environmental Concerns, Inc. will start construction of a wetlands project at Perrymont Elementary School.  Training will begin in January with the design and construction to follow.  Perrymont Elementary School was one of two Virginia schools included in a NOAA grant for construction of a school site wetlands.

website  -  www.hcmga.com

BEDFORD

Patty Gamache

 

Final winter plantings and fall clean-up has been completed at Wharton Gardens and planning for the 2006 season beings.

 

Newly graduated MG interns are busy working on their Spring 2006 Seminars, March 18, Water Gardening, March 25, Bee Keeping, and April 1, Herbs in the Landscape and Raised Beds/Intensive Gardening. 

 

Test Gardens at Claytor Nature Center have been planted, labeled, mulched, and observations have begun for the different species of trees, shrubs, and perennials, both shade and sun living.  Habitat gardens have also been planted.

CHESAPEAKE

 Pinky Derieux

 

The first Fall Gardening Faire plant sale was held at TCC in October and netted over $1,300.

 

The Heritage Arts Festival took place on November 5 and 6 and we were able to communicate with over 500 citizens at our MG booth.

We are looking forward to our new intern classes starting on January 24.

website - www.cmgv.org

CHESTERFIELD

 Dawn Lerch

 

 

Chesterfield’s new MG students are signed up and ready to start their 8 weeks of training. First on the agenda is a meet and greet where they will meet their mentor, a perennial MG, who will give encouragement and guidance through the new MG’s training.

 

New this fall is the online Chesterfield MG newsletter in color and with photos. It provides office news, upcoming events, recent topics of interest at the ‘Extension

MG Help Desk’ and useful links.

 

November was the first annual Maymont work day helping Peggy Singlemann and her staff.

 

This winter’s public courses offered by Chesterfield will be on Pruning; Basics of Vegetable Gardening; and Rain Gardens – all staffed with MGs.

website - www.chesterfield.gov/extension

FAIRFAX

George Graine


Planning for our 30th anniversary is underway.
A long range planning committee has been established with an eye to seeing where we can better serve the community.

website -  www.fairfaxmastergardeners.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

FAUQUIER

Jim Scibek

 

Our new class of MG trainees is well underway with a full complement of 25 enthusiastic gardeners. 

 

We brought our Fall Lecture Series to a close, finishing with "Edible Backyards" at Warrenton in October and "Putting the Garden to Bed" at Marshall in November. Both were well presented, but attendance has been a problem that we will try to fix..

 

Plans are well underway for a one-day Continuing Education program to be presented on Saturday, March 11, 2006 in Warrenton.  The program will be open to all Virginia Master Gardeners; information on speakers and registration will be available in January.

 

 

 

 

FLUVANNA

 Pat Platt

 

Mark your calendars for April 29th.  The Fluvanna Master Gardeners will again present a continuing education day-long seminar on “Challenges in the Garden”.  It will be held at the same location as in the past few years - the Beaver Dam Baptist Church on Routes 250 and 799 in Troy VA. 

 

Plans are also in full swing for a new Master Gardener training class.   Winter projects are being done with the children at Central Elementary and composting is ongoing at the Heritage Garden site in preparation for our first spring planting there.

website - www.fluvannamg.org

 

 

 

GLOUCESTER

 Bonnie Bernard

 

 

August and September brought participation in the Gloucester, Guinea and VA State Fairs. 

 

Our Plant Extravaganza in October brought in enough money to share our blessings with the Louisiana State University AgCenter Hurricane Relief Fund to assist them with the recovery of losses suffered from Katrina.  

 

It was standing room only at an evening program we sponsored on “Salt Tolerant Vegetation” conducted by Dr. Jim Perry of VIMS in November.  We will welcome our new interns at our December meeting with a luncheon and gift exchange.  And, if all of this isn’t enough, our Master Gardeners continue to provide weekly Horticultural Therapy and Help Lines to the community

 

 

 

GOOCHLAND/

POWHATAN

Chuck Miller

 

The Heritage Garden (that will grow historical plants in an area behind the Powhatan Historical Society building on Courthouse Square) was begun.  We are preparing for graduation of our interns on Jan. 14.  Bill McCaleb will be the honored speaker. 

 

Design and planning for a Butterfly garden at Fighting Creek Park in Powhatan is underway. 

 

A group is investigating the possibility of starting up a Junior MG program, and others are looking into "Ready, Set, Grow." 

 

Committees are hard at work planning the second Spring Garden Fest to be held April 29, 2006 at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College.  We welcomed the VMGA to Goochland for the board meeting on Dec. 10.  Now that you've been here you know how to get to the Fest!  Yawl come!

website - www.gpmga.org 

ISLE OF WIGHT, SOUTHAMPTON, SUSSEX (Western Tidewater)

Betty Jo Hendrix

 

Our last plant clinic for 2005 was held at the Smithfield Curbside Market in November.

 

December was devoted to working with our senior citizens in the Magnolia Manor Assisted Living complex  and at the Nike Park senior citizen where our MG's furnished materials and helped make wreathes and Christmas decorations. 

 

The Jr. Master Gardeners met and worked industriously by making Christmas decoration from natural materials, gathered in our local area.

 

JAMES CITY COUNTY / WILLIAMSBURG

 Ann DeForest

 

Our Junior Master Gardener Program has received $2,280 in book donations
from publishers and the children are now learning all about trees and the
importance of trees in our ecosystem.

 

Eleven of our members just completed the Advanced Training for Water Stewards.

 

The program at our January meeting will be on "How to use Google to Research
Gardening Topics" taught by our own Judy Hansen, '04. January 12th is our
annual Master Gardener Banquet and Graduation Ceremony.

 website -  www.jccwmg.org

LANCASTER,

NORTHUMBERLAND (Northern Neck)

Jinny Estell

 

During the Christmas Bazaar, December 2nd and 3rd, at George Washington’s Birth Place Northern Neck MGs demonstrated how to make Williamsburg style decorations using boxwood and other greens from the garden.  The George Washington Birth Place Association voted to send a contribution to the MG Coordinator Endowment Fund in appreciation for work performed by the NNMGs at the Birth Place garden.

 

Thanks to donations from local business and the work of spouses/relatives along with  MGs , our school garden is now surrounded by a split rail fence.  The official name of our garden will be “The ABC Garden” – a backyard classroom .  The name was suggested by  principal Merle Staples.  Governor elect Tim Kaine visited the garden and left us a complimentary note.

 

One of our winter projects will be creating a brochure to be distributed to the public describing the various shoreline  conservation measures created at the Reedville Fishermen’s Museum demonstration garden

 

MONTGOMERY, FLOYD, GILES, PULASKI

(New River Valley)

  Bill Gottert


 We'll be starting with a new MG Coordinator next week.  Currently interviewing candidates for the  new Training class of 2006, which will start the 10th of Jan. 

Some hard-working MGs (Sarah Liddle, et.al.) revised and unveiled an excellent MG Timesheet.

website - www.civic.bev.net/nrvmga/

NORFOLK  

Don Snipes

 

Our web site, nmgv.org, has been improved.  We are interviewing trainee candidates for the classes which begin Feb. 06.  In Jan. 06 we will participate in the plant doctor and children's hort activities at the Va. Flower and Garden Show in Virginia Beach.

 

Norfolk, along with Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach MGV will again sponsor and conduct the Green Thumb Gardener Series, an eight week lecture program, at Virginia Wesleyan College.  This program, which begins in May, was very popular last year.

website - www.nmgv.org

 

 

PRINCE WILLIAM

 Pat Reilly


Plants from the Plant Introduction Program (PIP) were planted, along with other purchased plants, for the start of an arboretum adjacent to our Teaching Garden. Two training sessions on PIP evaluations were completed by the PIP team of 16 MGs.

 

MGs assisted with Soil & Water Conservation District’s Farm Field Days for almost 1500 4th graders.

website - vmga.net/mgpw/

ROCKBRIDGE AREA

Ted Jenks

 

 

In honor of our Dig and Divide hosts for our 2005 Plant Sale, RAMGA donated 9 books to the Rockbridge Regional Library. 

 

Our first scheduled work day for children and MG volunteers to begin the process of creating our fifth school garden project, this one at Fairfield Elementary School, took place on November 3.  The goal was to create four raised beds that will form the central core of a multi section garden and to build three compost bins.

 

ROANOKE

Kathryn Debnar

 

Although Roanoke does not have any qualifying NEW ag/hort news to share, we do have a general announcement.  State coordinator Dave Close spoke at our recent graduation event in Roanoke.  David spoke on the value of our volunteer efforts, and congratulated everyone on their achievements and dedication.  

VIRGINIA BEACH

Liz Maurer

 

VBMG Tree Stewards have been active in several schools this fall presenting their program on Tree Dormancy and the Changes of the Season to third graders. They will continue these presentations throughout January.

 

Also geared for elementary students, the VBMG Ready, Set, Grow team continues ongoing planning and training. In addition, a committee is being formed for organizing our 25th anniversary celebration which will be celebrated in February 2007.

 

VBMGs will volunteer in January to help with the Virginia Flower and Garden Show, January 20-22nd, in many areas including offering children’s activities, serving as program moderators, and staffing the Horticultural Information table. VBMGs will also help with the Mid-Atlantic Horticulture Short Course to be held at the Oceanfront Ramada on January 31 to February 3rd .

 

Susan French, our agent, reported that our volunteer hours for this year total around 28,000. This translates to $515,000 in monetary terms for the City of Virginia Beach.

website  -  www.vbmg.org

YORK COUNTY

Jackie Lohr

 

This is the time of the year when York County's new graduates begin to work.We welcome them in our pruning clinics at private homes and two local nurseries; in the planning our annual Extravaganza, a spring gardening day for local citizens; and in our learning garden which is sometime cold and wet, but still in need of some work. 

website -  http://york.extension.psu.edu/Horticulture/masterg.html