February 2006 Unit Reports
AMHERST, CAMPBELL and LYNCHBURG (Hill City MGA)  Al Thompson	The 2006 Master Gardener training for thirty two interns began in February. It was reported in our February HCMGA General Meeting the Master Gardener Volunteers had contributed almost 14,000 hours for calendar year 2005. The second phase of the wetlands project at Perrymont Elementary School, selecting the plants, has been completed. Perrymont Elementary School was one of two Virginia schools included in a NOAA grant for construction of school site wetlands. website  -  www.hcmga.com
BEDFORD Patty Gamache	Seminars arranged by Bedford MG Interns will be on three consecutive  Saturdays, March 18, Water Gardening, speaker Tharpe Landscaping Company; March 25,  Bee Keeping, speaker George Kelly, and April 1, Using Herbs in the Landscape, speaker Lynn Boggess, and Raised Beds/Intensive Gardening with Robert Bull, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Please call the Bedford County Extension office at (540)586-7675 for further information.  Plants will be available for sale at the March 25 and April 1 seminars.  MG volunteers involved in the Interpretative gardens at the Poplar Forest (Monticello, summer home of Thomas Jefferson), are meeting to get ready for spring plantings.  Bedford MG's work closely with Thomas Jefferson Center personnel looking for historic plantings.  In anticipation of the many visitors that will come and go at Poplar Forest from April to November, all plants are labeled and dated to identify the period of time in which the plant was thought to have been grown at Poplar Forest.  With education of the public as our primary goal, questions are welcomed from all visitors as MG volunteers carrying out their gardening chores.  PIP test garden at Clayton Nature Center is going strong as MG's are continuing to record data.
BRUNSWICK, LUNENBURG, MECKLENBURG, and NOTTOWAY Nancy Drewry	During the late November 2005 meeting the Member Emeritus Certificate was presented to Wayne Webb of Brunswick County.  He completed all classes and hours prior to graduation in May 2001. Wayne served his country in Vietnam and is a victim of agent orange.  His declining health made it impossible for him to continue volunteering as a Master Gardener.  He keeps in touch and is interested in our activities. Our Association misses him and wishes him well.
CHESAPEAKE Pinky Derieux	Our Master Gardeners volunteered at the Virginia Flower and Garden Show and served as moderators at the Mid-Atlantic Horticulture Short Course in VaBeach. Ready-Set-Grow program will include kindergartners this year.  web site - cmgv.org
CLARKE, FREDERICK, PAGE, WARREN, and SHENANDOAH (Northern Shenandoah Valley   Fran and Bud Gregory	As a result of a 2003 VCE survey of residential practices affecting water quality in the Northern Shenandoah Valley, our unit began a Water Quality Program in 2004 with a grant from the Shenandoah Basin Project.  The purpose of the program is to educate homeowners on steps they can take to protect water quality. In April we will have an advanced workshop to teach us how to better assist homeowners with questions about lawns and fertilizers emphasizing good management practices.  See article elsewhere in newsletter about our Water Quality Program.   For the first time in our history we are undertaking two MG training classes, running simultaneously: One in the northern region (Warren County) and the other in the southern region (Shenandoah County – Mt. Jackson).  We are a very busy group and, like all other units in the State, are all very much looking forward to spring.
FAIRFAX George Graine	We are giving serious thought to registering with the Points of Light Foundation.  Presidential service awards are given out for the work that we do as volunteers.  An organization must register in order to qualify.  Since we track our service hours anyway, this is a good opportunity to receive national recognition.  The web site is:  www.presidentialserviceawards.gov.  Click on “Honor Your Volunteers Become a Certifying Organization.”  26 FAQ are available on this website.  The award package consists of an official presidential volunteer service award lapel pin (color coded for # of volunteer hours); personalized certificate of achievement; congratulatory letter from POTUS; and a letter from the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation.  An information package is available by e-mail:  Inquiries@PresidentialServiceAwards.gov or call 1-866-545-5307. Improving data base (via computer) for ease in tracking a variety of activities for more than 200 active and intern MGs.  An example of this problem is the sign-up process for more than 300 plant clinics in the field and at the extension office. On March 13 the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will recognize Fairfax  Master Gardeners with a Proclamation recognizing our 30^th anniversary. March 25 has been announced as Master Gardener Day in Fairfax County. website -  www.fairfaxmastergardeners.com
FAUQUIER Jim Scibek	Fauquier County MGA ended the year with a very enjoyable holiday party and annual meeting, and a new board has been elected. The Association will sponsor "Spring Training", a continuing education program, on March 11, 2006 at the Taylor Middle School in Warrenton.  The public is invited, as well as Master Gardeners from the area.  Look for details on the VMGA web site.  Plans are also underway to present a new program this spring, dealing with soils, for grade three school children.  The current class of 24 Master Gardener trainees will graduate on Feb. 28.
FREDERICKSBURG, STAFFORD, SPOTSYLVANIA, KING GEORGE,  and CAROLINE (Central Rappahannock Area) Don Saunders	New officers for Central Rappahannock MGA are President: Linda Dunn, Vice President: Joe Metz, Secretary: Joan Levander, Treasurer: John Davis. We have contributed $100 to the State Master Gardener Coordinator Endowment and Matching Funds will add an additional $100 to the fund. Dave Close will be speaking at our next General Meeting on March 15^th. Our First Saturday in the Garden Series will begin April 1^st at The University of Mary Washington.  The topic will be Specialty Gardens.  Three types of gardens will be discussed--fragrance, wildlife and the patriotic garden. Website  - www.mgacra.org
GOOCHLAND/ POWHATAN  Chuck Miller	We began the year with the installation of 17 new MGs.  We enjoyed having Bill McCaleb as guest speaker at the graduation ceremony.  We continue to grow with twenty-five new trainees starting their classes.  Work continues on the Heritage Garden behind the Powhatan Historical Society.  The garden will showcase native plants typical to the area in the 18th century.  Two of our members will teach a PowerPoint class to about 25 MGs who need the skills to design/produce illustrative posters for the Spring Garden Fest and other activities.              Committees continue to prepare for the 2nd Spring Garden Fest on April 29.  website - www.gpmga.org
HALIFAX - Bill McCaleb	Our calendar of events include:  Pruning Techniques for Southside Landscapes, February 25^th;  The Best of the Best 2006 (Insect/Disease resistant vegetable varieties) March 14^th;   Spring Plant Sale April 29^th;  Hypertufa Workshop, May 20^th;  Gardening Techniques for the Southern Piedmont, May 22^nd.
HANOVER Christy Brennan	The new Master Gardeners classes are in full swing.  Currently there are 18 interns in the afternoon class and 19 interns in the evening class. Hanover Master Gardeners participated in the Regional Public Hearings for the Governor’s proposed 2006-2008 State budget during the General Assembly. The Maymont Flower and Garden Show, VMGA Booth has been fully staffed. web site - www.hanovermastergardeners.org
ISLE OF WIGHT, SOUTHAMPTON, SUSSEX (Western Tidewater) Betty Jo Hendrix	Our new training class of 20 enthusiastic trainees  is well under way. We will host the regional advanced training in Smithfield on April 8th.  The theme will be America's Anniversary Garden. Plans are under way for the Isle of Wight County Fair to be held in September and we expect to have some great exhibits and interactive displays by our Jr. Master Gardeners.
JAMES CITY COUNTY / WILLIAMSBURG Ann DeForest and  Anne Odle	Master Gardeners were proud to be among the groups of people who witnessed Governor Kaine plant the first America's Anniversary Garden on Jamestown Road as part of his official inaugural event.  Our Speakers' Bureau, composed of 21 MG and lead by Greg Allen '97, spoke at 34 different events and reached more than 1350 individuals last year. Annual Plant Sale on April 29th from 9:30 am until 12:00 noon at the WJCC Recreation Center on Longhill Rd.    website -  www.jccwmg.org
MONTGOMERY, FLOYD, GILES, PULASKI (New River Valley)   Paula Van Curen	MG trainee class started in January and each trainee has been assigned a mentor.  A new MG coordinator, Angie Hall, has been hired and she started last December. We are planning plant clinics, fundraisers, and educational meetings for the coming year. website - www.civic.bev.net/nrvmga/
NELSON - Maudie Ratliff	Our new MG training class has begun with 15 people ready to learn more about the many facets of horticulture. The Horticulture Therapy Team has been busy doing monthly projects with the 40 o 50 senior citizens at the Nelson Center. These projects have been enthusiastically received by the seniors. Plants have been ordered and plans are being finalized for our Small Fruit sale which will be held on April 23. Our big money-making project, Pre-Mothers' Day Plant sale {all kinds of plants] will be May 7. Other committees are gearing up for activity as spring is right around the corner.
NORFOLK Don Snipes	NMGV training class is in full swing with a total of 30 trainees. Dave Close will visit with NMGV at the member meeting March 16. On April 8 the NMGV will host the bimonthly meeting of the VMGA at the Norfolk Botanical Garden.  The gardens will be especially beautiful at that time and we have scheduled a free tram ride through the NBG for the VMGA members.  Please plan to stay a while and enjoy the zone 8 section of Virginia website - www.nmgv.org
ROCKBRIDGE AREA Ted Jenks	RAMGA is planning an educational bus trip to the gardens of rhododendron and azalea expert Paul James and the Community Arboretum at VA Western Community College for May 3. We are hosting a Master Gardener Garden Tour of 5 gardens on May 13 we hope will be informative for the public. We had insufficient enrollment for our MG Class and have cancelled it for this year. We are however preparing a short course for the public who do not want to be MG’s to be held on four Saturdays in March.
ROANOKE Kathryn Debnar	The Roanoke chapter of the Master Gardeners will be holding its first evening meeting in March of 2006.  We are trying to reach more of our members, and a wider audience.  We will have a guest speaker from the Department of Conservation, to talk about native plants and landscaping. On February 7th, we shipped out five boxes of resource materials, and hand tools to the Agricultural offices that were devastated by hurricane Katrina.  We also sent a check for $500 each, to Louisiana and Mississippi, so that they can put funds into projects they need now. New president Mildred McDuffie is leading the membership, along with eighteen new Interns, into what we hope will be a glorious new garden season.
VIRGINIA BEACH Liz Maurer	Virginia Beach MGs participated as volunteers January 20-22 at the Virginia Flower and Garden Show which was held for the first time in the new Virginia Beach Convention Center.  VBMGs also served as moderators at the Mid-Atlantic Horticulture Conference first week of February.   Tree Stewards taught their Tree Dormancy program in two schools and the Ready-Set-Grow team has had their training class. website  -  www.vbmg.org
WYTHE, BLAND, and SMYTH (Wythe-Bland Region) - Nancy Hagen	WBRMGA plans are flying along for Garden Fest - a major public education event on March 25 at the Community Center on Fourth Street in Wytheville, VA, which will feature speakers, vendors, children’s projects, a raffle, and door prizes. We are proud to have 10 enthusiastic new interns who are jumping right in and going to work. More information is available on our website, designed and maintained by member Debra Davis. website - http://civic.bev.net/WBRMGA
YORK COUNTY Jackie Lohr	In February we will have pruning clinics for Henrico County Master Gardeners, Norfolk Master Gardeners, and various other groups throughout our area. Our day long Horticultural Extravaganza will be held at Tabb High School on March 11, and the spring session of our Home Gardener program will begin on Saturday, March 18. It will be similar to the Master Gardener Training Program but less in-depth and taught by the York Master Gardeners. In early spring we will partnership with the Junior Master Gardeners and York County Horticulturist Joanne Chapman to plant a red, white and blue garden in large containers that will be placed around the newly developed Riverwalk area of Yorktown and the Courthouse. website -  http://york.extension.psu.edu/Horticulture/masterg.html