October 2006 Unit Reports
AMHERST, CAMPBELL and LYNCHBURG (Hill City MGA) Al Thompson	The Hill City Master Gardener Association supports the “Lynchburg Grows”, a 501c (3) not-for-profit organization for the establishment of a community food system. Lynchburg Grows will provide an increase in nutritious food for low income people as well as provide a place for individuals with disabilities to learn new occupational skills. Lynchburg Grows plans to operate 6.5 acres of land as an urban farm and education center. For more information on Lynchburg Grows visit The Lynchburg Ledger at www.theledgeronline.com website - www.hcmga.com
ARLINGTON and ALEXANDRIA (MGs of Northern VA) Vivian Ballard	The Extension Office has moved to a new location due to renovation work at the old address. The new address is: Virginia Cooperative Extension, 901 South Highland Street, Arlington, VA 22204. Office phone numbers and Electronic Mail/Internet addresses have not changed. Space at the new office is very limited, making the settling-in process challenging, and necessitating that meetings and other unit events be held in a variety of locations. However, even with these new challenges, the Extension has continued to provide its usual exceptional support to Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia (MGNV). Continuing Education in August addressed mosquito control methods. The October session featured a lecture by Adrian Higgins, Garden Editor of the Washington Post newspaper. The Tree Steward Training began in September and will continue through November 8. In September the unit sponsored a tour of a new local native plants nursery. The Public Education Committee presented autumn lawn care seminars at three locations in September, focusing on methods to promote healthy lawns while still helping to protect the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Approximately 40 participants attended these sessions. In addition two sessions on composting were conducted with approximately 20 attendees.
BEDFORD Patty Gamache	Bedford MG's have been busy all summer with information booths at various fairs, Sunflower Festival, Farm Day, Octoberfest, etc.  reaching over 200+ persons.  Fall plant sale went well in September and we are already planning for our Spring 2007 plant sale and new projects.  We will graduate 10 students from our MG training class in November.
BOTETOURT, CRAIG and city of ROANOKE Kathryn Debnar	The Roanoke Master Gardener Association will hold its final business meeting for the calendar year in October. Our last meeting will feature a guest speaker from the Easter Seal Society, and he will present a program on ergonomically correct garden tools and uses.  In November we will participate with all of the area garden clubs in the annual sale.  In December we will have a dinner-social event to celebrate another great year of gardening.  We look forward to a new year with all Master Gardeners. THINK SPRING....CATALOGS!
CARROLL, GRAYSON and city of GALAX (Blue Ridge) Charles Whittle	The Master Gardeners of the Blue Ridge are busy conducting their first unit training class. Wythe/Bland unit has sent 4 trainees and an additional 19 are from the Carroll/Grayson/Galax area. It is encouraging to see the continued influx of new enthusiastic folks into the program. The unit has performed over 1600 hours of service on efforts from judging at the Carroll County Fair, designing Healing Hearts Memorial Garden at Twin County Hospice, educational efforts at Matthews Historical Farm and numerous other projects. Service awards were presented for 500 hours (1) and 250 hours (2).
CHESAPEAKE Pinky Derieux	Chesapeake has decided to present night classes for our intern training session for 2007, classes running from January 9 through March 29. We have never offered night classes and this will be a trial presentation to see what the response will be, after several requests for same. Community Gardening Festival was held on September 30 at Hampton Roads AREC. Event was sponsored by VBMGs and was a very successful event with approximately 664 attendees. The State Fair MG booth was manned by five CMGVs in October. We held our Fourth Annual Plant Swap at the Major Hillard Library in Deep Creek. This is a very popular event with the citizens of Chesapeake and is eagerly anticipated. CMGVs will assist in the Heritage Arts Festival scheduled for November 3, 4 & 5. web site - www.cmgv.org
DANVILLE - Jeff Beck	Danville Master Gardeners’ September meeting featured a garden tour and a presentation “Air Layering and Grafting”. The October meeting included a presentation “Benefits of Creating an Insect Friendly Garden”. Officers for 2007 are Allison Bellamy, President, Archer McIntire, Vice President, Ann Roberts, Secretary, and Ann Robinson, Treasurer. Eight people enrolled in the 2006 Master Gardener Classes with half of the classes being held in Chatham and half in Danville in order to cover a larger geographical area. Members of the Association visited Montrose Gardens, Hillsboro, NC and Saunders Brothers Nursery & Orchard, Piney River, VA during September and October. At Montrose Gardens members were treated to a tour of the gardens by the owner and a discussion of the history of the gardens as well as an explanation of the various plants contained in the garden. Mr. And Mrs. Paul Saunders escorted the group on a tour of Saunders Nursery & Orchard and presented a program on the various boxwoods and other plants grown at the nursery. The Association continues to hold plant clinics, staff the information booth at the community market and volunteer at the local butterfly station.
FAIRFAX- Green Spring Susan McDonald	Green Spring Master Gardener activities in the last quarter revolved around their demonstration garden….The Wildlife Garden. Since January of 2006, the Master Gardeners have been planting and maintaining the garden under the guidance of the horticulturalist, Susan McDonald, who is also their MG Coordinator. In September, the Wildlife Garden committee developed an interpretive program on Butterfly Gardening that was delivered to the public at the Green Spring Fall Fling fundraiser on September 16^th
FAIRFAX - Merrifield George Graine	Fairfax held its 30^th anniversary gala on October 3. Gold, silver, and bronze U.S. President’s Volunteer Service Awards and other congratulatory documentation were given out to 16 Master Gardeners. The March/April 2006 VMGA Report provided details on how to qualify for this distinguished award. As Master Gardeners we already track our service hours; therefore, this is an excellent opportunity to receive national recognition. Check out www.presidentialserviceawards.gov. All of the information including FAQs is on this web site. Start by clicking on “Honor Your Volunteers.” Additional information can also be obtained by e-mail: inquiries@presidentialserviceawards.gov or call 1-866-545-5307. You may also contact Fairfax Master Gardeners now that we know the way!
FAUQUIER Jim Scibek	Master Gardeners staffed a table at the Fauquier County Fair in July. Our displays on bees, hornets, wasps and related insects drew substantial crowds. Especially appreciated by the children who came by were the nests and hives. We also had an information table at the Extension Office Fair on Aug. 9. The Fair attracted a crowd all afternoon, and many people stopped by the MG table to talk and ask questions. The Farmers Market booth was staffed through Sept., with time out for Ernesto. Our new interns were especially helpful in manning the booth and it was an altogether satisfactory season. In September the MGs put on a series of garden demonstrations at the Annual Fauquier Fall Garden Show and Sale. Despite the dreary weather this was a fun event with active participation by experienced MGs and interns. The Fall/Winter lecture series will again be offered at the Bealton branch library with topics such as lawn care, garden design basics and pruning.
FLUVANNA Pat Platt	Our group had a delightful joint meeting and brown bag lunch with the Fluvanna Garden Club in September. Three of our members gave presentations on plant classification, composting and soil preparation and growing perennials. The garden club gave a very interesting presentation on current trends in flower arranging. Desserts were provided by the Master Gardeners and beverages were provided by the Garden Club. A great time was had by all. Pansies were planted in the Childrens’ Garden at Central Elementary and plans were made for decorating the garden area for Halloween. The garden at the Senior Center continues to be tended and watered every week. A new project has been proposed working in conjunction with the Fluvanna Historical Society and the Director of Elementary Education for Fluvanna. A circa 1865 log homestead will be restored in the county. We have been asked to help school groups plant seeds of heritage, deer-resistant plants around the grounds after they tour the site. website - www.fluvannamg.org
GOOCHLAND, POWHATAN Chuck Miller	We held educational outreach (plant clinics) sessions at Southern States in Goochland and at Dirty Hands Garden Center in Powhatan in September and will conclude the season Oct. 21 at Dirty Hands.  We continue to write monthly Hort Tips articles for the Powhatan Today and Goochland Courier.  In Sept. we provided 7 articles for the Home and Garden Insert for the Powhatan Today.  The Help Line is manned twice a week in Goochland and also in Powhatan, mainly by interns, but assisted by a group of mentors who provide the experience needed to be efficient helpers.  We try to use some of the most interesting Help Line questions to guide our Hort Tips articles.  We had a Hypertufa workshop on July 25 (omitted in last report) for members. During September we; we helped with and participated in the annual Volunteer Recognition Dinner honoring VCE and other volunteers in Powhatan, sponsored a Tree ID Walk in Fighting Creek Park in Powhatan, and held a Seminar in Hidden Rock Park in Goochland on "Setting Up a Flower Bed in Clay Soil."  The plants in the display gardens in Hidden Rock Park have now been labeled and the garden can be used as a resource for learning.  We also volunteered at the VCE/MG booth at the State Fair.  The final Nature Quest Workshop for kids ages 6-9 is scheduled for Oct. 21 in Powhatan. They will learn about drying and pressing flowers and planting trees.  In November our new officers take over and projects for this year are reviewed and next year's are scheduled Last but most welcome is our new Goochland County Environmental Horticulture Educator, Blain Braud, who began work on October 3 to assist MGs in Goochland County to more easily perform their work.  web site: www.gpmga.org
HALIFAX (Southside) Doug Bowman	All during the hot months of August and September, Southside Master Gardeners met to weed, cut, measure and water the “Beautiful Gardens™” Evaluation site. We are very proud of our effort, as the site was once a weedy field that has now been transformed into a beautiful garden. In September a Fall Lawn & Turf Renovation seminar was offered to the public. Although turnout was lower than expected, the enthusiasm was high. MGs put up a display at the Halifax County Fair in October. This year’s theme was “Backyard Habitat”. Master Gardeners, Bill McCaleb, Frances Lloyd and Edna Guthrie will judge adult and youth vegetable entries at the Halifax County Fair, along with other VCE Staff members.
HANOVER Christy Brennan	The VGIC Festival at Lewis Ginter's took place at the Botanical Gardens where Master Gardeners helped customers answer questions, provided fall lawn care handouts and entertained children by making Soy butter and bird seed feeders. Over 150 children and adult contacts visited the booth. Hanover Master Gardeners participated at the State Fair with their insect display and plant clinic. Twelve different Master Gardener groups volunteered at this years' fair. The Bay Scaping Workshop "stream scaping" scheduled Nov. 4^thwill be a workshop focused on what homeowner's can do to help the environment and to protect the streams and waterways. The workshop presented in conjunction with Hanover Caroline Soil and Water Conservation. Hanover MG's continue to prepare for our "Master Gardener Graduate School" a selection of continuing education classes this winter. A Home Gardening Series will also begin this winter, with a series of 8 classes on Saturday mornings taught by Master Gardeners to homeowners is the area. Hanover Extension is beginning a new season with a part time MG Coordinator, Pattie Bland. Our Extension Agent, Colleen Caulderwood has accepted a position with VDACS. Hanover Master Gardeners wish her well and greatly appreciate her expertise and leadership. website - hanovermastergardeners.org
ISLE OF WIGHT, FRANKLIN, SOUTHAMPTON and SURRY (Western Tidewater) Betty Jo Hendrix	T The WTMG’s had a fantastic display, plant clinics, recruiting booth and information booth at the ISLE of Wight County Fair despite the rain, ankle-deep mud and cool weather. The response from the Fair patrons and management was great. We set up over 300 square feet of exhibits showcasing the activities of the WTMG over the last year. That included therapeutic gardening at the nursing home, Junior Master Gardeners, 4-H/Junior Master Gardeners summer day camp, training classes, butterfly gardens, herb gardens and more. We also helped our extension agents and Rural Economic Development as needed by explaining various crops and exhibits for judging. New training classes are being formed now for January with 20 application packages having been mailed to interested prospects
JAMES CITY COUNTY / WILLIAMSBURG Ann DeForest and Anne Odle	JuniorMG class is being taught to 8 first grade classes monthly this school year during school hours in school curriculums and we have been invited to teach third grade about water cycle and resource management. JMG Project Chair will be a presenter at Southeastern Assoc. of Foresters and Wildlife in Nov. and at the Virginia Science Teachers Conference in 2008 highlighting our cooperative effort to educate children. Meet the Gardener tours ending up its April-October session at Colonial Williamsburg's Reid/Shields Learning Garden.  Each Monday as many as 40 visitors are led by MG's on a tour of the 18th Century gardens seeing a combination of an herb, perennial, vegetable garden and an orchard learning how colonist gardened using natural integrated pest mgt. and composting.  Visitors are followed up with by email. The garden of MG Lynne Walker will be featured in Southern Living magazine next year.  The Daily Press will feature Southern Living's photo shoot with Associate garden editor Rebecca Reed with local MG Peggy Krapf prepping the garden last week for the photo shoot. website - www.jccwmg.org
LOUDOUN Dave Hellums	Loudoun County Master Gardeners have been busy in our Demonstration Garden, with harvesting vegetables every Tuesday and Thursday and delivering to the Interfaith Food Bank. By summers end we will have delivered almost 400 pounds of fruit and vegetables to the food bank. Our education team is identifying each plant in the Demo Garden and making attractive, waterproof labels with both the common and Latin name of each plant. A contest was held this spring to redesign what had been our drought garden in order to improve the entry way from the main road into Ida Lee Park. Five people or teams entered their design to order to improve the appearance of the garden. Much of the older plants were transplanted or given away and the new area was tilled, weeded, and leveled. Ida Lee Parks and Recreation Department donated $1000.00 worth of flag stone, pea gravel, and mulch. This summer we started a “Lunch and Learn” education series every Tuesday for the public to bring their lunch and listen to MGs teach gardening subjects while enjoying their lunch and tour the garden afterwards. This education program is so popular that we will continue it in 2007. We held weekly plant clinics and information booths at two separate locations at Farmer’s Markets in Loudoun County. Each week we featured a different theme that was designed to educate the public about current pest or damage that they might encounter in their garden. We had a display booth at the Loudoun County Fair for one week. website - www.loudouncountymastergardeners.org
NORFOLK Don Snipes	Norfolk Master Gardeners will be working on a new volunteer project at the Norfolk Botanical Garden in 2007.  The project will be evaluating new plant introductions compared to existing plants for our location.  This is being done at several locations throughout the state. Volunteers are also being trained as docents to provide information to the public on the shoreline-wetland restoration project at the Hermitage Foundation Museum and Gardens.  Topics will include plant materials, habitat improvements and the reason such efforts are necessary in an urban setting. Our web site is being improved so that NMGV will be allowed to log on with an ID and user password.  Items not pertinent to the public will be available here, e.g. reporting hours, ordering member apparel and other sale items, training information, etc. website - www.nmgv.org
NORTHUMBERLAND, LANCASTER, RICHMOND, WESTMORELAND and ESSEX (Northern Neck) Jinny Estell and Pat Rogers	Twenty-five people have signed up for our 2006 Training Course which is an all time record for us. Although we will cover all the material one usually includes, we are trying to modify the presentations to make them more focused on our particular environment and topics that frequently generate questions from the public at our Farmers’ Market Booths and Help Desk. We will be presenting a new program on Lawns in September. The population of the Northern Neck is growing rapidly and many recent arrivals come from areas with both climatic and environmental differences. Our emphasis will be on “Turf and Surf” – how to have a great lawn without negatively impacting our creeks, rivers and the bay. Our “America’s Red, White and Blue Garden” (red zinnias, blue morning glories, and white marigolds) at Lancaster Elementary school is thriving. We can’t wait for the students to return so the former second graders can see the results of their Ready, Set Grow project.
PORTSMOUTH Lu Anne Copeland	Our group is excited that our new extension agent has been hired and will be coming on board after Thanksgiving. We have been without an agent for several months since Traci Gillian left in May 2006. Several of us are currently planning our new 2007 Master Gardener Training Course that will begin in February 2007. It is shaping up to be our best class ever. This is the first unit report that our group has ever submitted. After Sylvia Heaster and I attended Master Gardener College in June 2006, we became excited about the association, and plan to become more active participants.
PRINCE WILLIAM Pat Reilly	Talk about a successful career! Prince William’s Julie Cochran has been extremely effective as our unit’s water quality technician. Under her guidance, coaching and encouragement, Master Gardeners have assisted 1416 homeowners. Adding up all the area of those lawns comes to a whopping total of 13,314,789 square feet of turf, or 305.67 acres. Julie shared her knowledge with other counties. She taught and mentored both paid and volunteer staff in conducting homeowner water quality programs. She also instructed on a day-long water quality track at Master Gardener College as well as at regional trainings. Julie has moved to a role as strictly a VCE-MG volunteer now. But the Master Gardeners that she trained will carry on, providing the same high-quality service that citizens and volunteers knew to expect from her. Thanks for everything Julie!
ROCKBRIDGE AREA Ted Jenks	We rebuilt one of our elementary school teaching gardens and worked with the W&L University community outreach program that provided 16 fraternity guys to help. They weeded, lugged, drilled, pounded, and nailed the outside raised beds and 3 of the interior beds. Mulch was placed around the entire garden. They did a great job, and a similar resource might be available to other units. Rockbridge Area MG’s will provide a continuing education program Thursday, October 26^th, on creating rain gardens on both public and private property. These gardens can protect watersheds by reducing the volume of storm water run-off and filtering out pollutants contained in the run-off.
SUFFOLK Danna Vroman	In July, we planted about 800 peanut plants which will be given out September 30 at the Community Gardening Festival in Va. Beach.  Then in August, we planted another 1200 peanut plants which will be given away at the Suffolk Peanut Festival.  This event runs from October 12-15 and requires a great deal of support from our Master Gardeners.  We will distribute any leftover plants at Driver Days October 21-22.  We continue to maintain our learning gardens and our Anniversary garden.
VIRGINIA BEACH Paul Campbell	Francis Land House Master Gardeners reported that 1,195 pounds of vegetables from the Heirloom Gardens were donated to the Food Bank this year. The very successful Ready Set Grow program was presented in 25 Virginia Beach Elementary schools to approximately 2500 students. The 7th Annual Community Gardening Festival was hosted by Virginia Beach and attended by 664 members of the public. Norfolk, Chesapeake and Suffolk Master Gardeners assisted in this project. There were a variety of speakers, demonstrations, plant sales, silent auction, etc. Green Education Series describes a new program to provide horticulture education for juvenile detainees at the Virginia Beach Detention Center. The classes consisted of: Soils, Fertilizers, Composting and Lawn Care. There were three Virginia Beach Master Gardeners and the Extension Agent who presented the classes to approximately 80 students in groups of 10-15. The program was very successful, will be augmented by the addition of a greenhouse on-site, and continued in the future. website - www.vbmg.org
WASHINGTON Tommie White	The Washington County MG training classes will begin in January on Tuesday and Thursday nights. The unit held a plant and book swap in October. In December they are having a Christmas workshop to create unique decorations for a small fee.