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April
2007 Unit Reports |
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(Hill City MGA) Deborah Straw |
Our School Programs in five of Festival of Gardening, our only fund raising event, is
slated for Saturday, May 5th from 8:30 to 1 pm at the Aviary in April 19th will be our Recognition/Graduation
for our 23 new Master Gardener Trainees.
Speakers for the program will be We have begun staffing on Saturday mornings at website - www.hcmga.com |
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(South Central MG) Linda Logan |
The South Central Master Gardeners enjoyed a good turnout at an
Advanced Master Gardener Seminar held on March 27 in
Blackstone. Attendees received advanced training in Entomology and Small
Fruits. Master Gardeners are hosting our annual spring plant sale on April 28
at Aaron's Sales and Leasing in South Hill from 10-2. We are expecting an
overwhelming turnout for this event ! Master Gardeners will also hold a plant
clinic on June 2 at |
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CARROLL, GRAYSON and city of (MGs of the Charles Whittle |
Educational efforts include Earth Day events at Work on memorial gardens continues in addition to several |
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Lynn Foote |
The
Chesterfield County Extension Service and the Master Gardener Program are The
training for the “Gardening for New Residence Pilot Program” took place in April
with 15 Master Gardeners receiving the training. The trained staff is anxious to begin and
just awaiting the applications. The
Horticultural Horizons at The
Grass Roots Program has accepted 286 clients and many of the clients have
been served and received their reports. Sixteen
Master Gardeners received advanced training from Rich Reuse, Department of
Forestry, on Winter Tree ID. In
April Master Gardeners participated in an Environmental Fair at Master Gardeners were invited to a Chesterfield County
Volunteer Recognition event in April.
www.chesterfield.gov/extension . |
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FAIRFAX - Merrifield George Graine |
32 MGs have been trained to do four different programs at Senior Centers. This includes how to care for house plants, container gardens, vegetable gardens/garden design, and how to grow orchids. Fairfax MGs provided the training. The county provided funds to support this program so that senior citizens will be able to take something home. 14 MGs are involved in a writers program. The thrust of this effort is to write timely original articles of approximately 500 words on gardening topics. These articles can be used by editors of homeowner/civic associations for publication in their in-house newsletters. www.fairfaxmastergardeners.com |
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FLOYD, MONTGOMERY, GILES, and PULASKI ( Gwen Ewing |
We are gathering donations for our annual association silent
auction, May 18, 2007. The money raised will fund our school grant
program. In March 2007, we awarded $3,502.00 to seven organizations including:
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FLUVANNA Pat Platt |
A class of 13 new Master Gardener Trainees recently completed the class work necessary to become certified. This has been a busy winter and spring for our group. We recently helped school children plant native flowers and vegetables at the Holland-Page House – a restored county homestead. The Children’s Garden at Central Elementary is finishing up another successful school year. We had a booth at the Celebrate Children Fair in April. Many of us enjoyed Ag Day at Pleasant Grove where we helped every 4th grader in the county plant zinnia and tomato seeds in their own mini-greenhouse that they got to take home. In appreciation for allowing us the use of their recreation hall, we had a morning to clean out and replant the garden around the flagpole in
front of the In May, we begin our seasonal Horticultural Help Desk at the Farmer’s Market every Tuesday and at the extension office every Wednesday. A refresher class for members and training
for our new members was held at the end of our last meeting. |
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( Kay Kimmell |
Master Gardeners are currently helping Tri-County/City
Soil and Water Conservation District (540) 899-9492 distribute seedlings in
King George, Spotsylvania, Stafford and Public libraries sprout master gardener and Virginia
Cooperative Extension help through plant clinics and green talks. To learn what’s greening at your county
library contact: Porter Library, Smoot Memorial Library, King George, Salem Church Library, Caroline Library Ladysmith Branch is at Master Gardener Plant Clinics will open at the
Spotsylvania Farmers’ Market through September. A new plant clinic will start at the First Saturdays in the Garden 2007 programs for summer are July 7th,
Mary Washington House, August 4th, |
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GOOCHLAND,
POWHATAN Chuck Miller |
Our 2006 Intern Class of 19 was inducted into membership into the
GPMGA on Jan. 11. A new class of 17 Trainees began their education on
Jan. 23. They have now completed the study portion, passed their tests
and have become Interns. Both Interns and MGs have begun 2007 projects. Projects include Plant Clinics held at We've had time for some education as well with classes at our
regular meetings on growing herbs (with instructors from Lavender Hills
Farm), and learning to make rain barrels. And, not to exclude the fun,
we've had field trips to Brent and Becky's Bulbs in web site: www.gpmga.org |
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Christy Brennan |
Our first Home
Gardening Series was a success with 32 graduates who will be attending our
general membership meeting in May. The The Plant Clinic
schedule has started with a bang, the The Maymont Flower
Show had great participation. Twenty-four VMGAs manned the booth
and educated 935 volunteers and gave out 600 packages of AAG seeds. We would like to
invite everyone to the Hanover Spring Plant Fair - April 21st, website - hanovermastergardeners.org
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HENRICO Beverly Cochrane |
Interns have successfully finished their training. Our new mentoring program helped many of them get off to a good start. Our April meeting features Sylvia Wright speaking on
Eco-scapes. A caretaker for the
environmental community, Wright teaches that for any style garden, plants
should not simply be selected to provide contrast of structure, texture or
color, but make an environmental contribution. In May, we will meet at the home of a fellow Master Gardener for lunch and our annual plant swap. Lisa Sanderson is our new Horticulture Extension
Agent. She comes to us with a great
resume, having received her undergraduate degree in Landscape Horticulture,
and her Masters in Agriculture Education, both from NC State. She has worked for the J. C. Raulston
Arboretum, several nurseries, and a landscape architect as well as a
landscape company in SMART Lawn teams have been trained and are ready to start. Approximately 20 applications have come in for the program and many more are expected. Plant clinics at various garden centers begin the first weekend in April. |
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ISLE OF
WIGHT, SOUTHAMPTON and city of FRANKLIN (Western Tidewater) Betty Jo Hendricks |
Our new interns have formed three teams of five to work on specific projects as well as on plant clinics and other opportunities. The specific projects are to format a landscape plan for the Isle of Wight Ruritan building, a native plant and wetland garden and to develop and promote plans for youth, working within the schools and other organizations. These programs will form a basis to work from in the future as we continue to grow. The herb and plant clinic held as part of the Patriot’s Day celebration was a success
despite the weather. The Smithfield Curbside market will begin on May 19 and
we will have a plant clinic and offer AAG merchandise for sale. A number of
our MG’s are anticipating registering for the MG College. |
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Ann DeForest and Anne Odle |
All projects/programs are gearing up with spring’s
arrival. New Pruning Team project has held and have several clinics
scheduled for MG‘s and the public. website - www.jccwmg.org |
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NELSON Kathryn Skinner, Patricia Bailey, Shirley Wilson |
There
are a number of plant vendors who join us in this endeavor. The public
looks for this annual event, now in its fifth year, where we are
able to instruct about the horticultural items available. All of
our trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, vines, and vegetables are
donated. Our proceeds from the sale supply the majority of the NCMG
financial needs for the year. |
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Don Snipes |
In May the Green
Thumb Lecture Series will begin. It is a project for homeowners and is
conducted by the master gardeners from |
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NORTHUMBERLAND,
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Our annual Gardening in the Northern Neck program, held on March 24th, “Plants, Places, and Pleasures, the Best in Virginia Gardening” was the most successful program yet. We had over 170 attendees and 10 vendors. Beginning in April we will again expand our NNMG Extension Help Desk from one extension office to 3 offices – Lancaster, Northumberland, Westmoreland. We will also begin our plant clinics at the monthly Heathsville and Irvington Farmers’ Markets. Our annual Arbor Day celebration will be held April 25th
at Lancaster Primary and April 27th at |
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Lu Anne Copeland |
We are going to
have a busy spring and summer thanks to our new extension agent. On April 13, 2007, six trainees became
master gardener interns, and seven interns from last year became master
gardeners. We celebrated by having a
graduation party that included a covered dish luncheon. On April 17, 2007, we had our monthly
meeting at the Norfolk Zoo and followed the meeting with a tour of the zoo
grounds and greenhouse. We are working hard to prepare for our
annual We also are
hosting a picnic for area master gardeners on June 26. Everyone is invited; just bring a covered
dish. RSVP to Sylvia Heaster by June
22, 2007 at 757-399-5201 if you plan on attending. |
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ROANOKE, BOTETOURT, CRAIG and city of ROANOKE Kathryn Debnar |
Roanoke Master Gardeners are as busy as all MGs across the Commonwealth with the Greenline and Clinics. We are also getting ready for our annual Spring Plant Sale on Saturday May 12th, at the VCE offices on Branbleton Av.
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ROCKBRIDGE Ted Jenks |
RAMGA is planning an educational bus trip for May 8 to the Hahn Horticulture Garden at Virginia Tech, the Smithfield Plantation, and the home of Elissa Steeves, an ardent plant collector and avid gardener. Our tenth annual Plant Sale & Clinic will take place
on Saturday, May 12, from 8:30 to noon at |
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Paul Campbell |
Virginia Beach Master Gardeners celebrated their 25th Anniversary with a dinner dance - the theme being 1982, the year we began. We honored one Master Gardener, Leilani Ozment, who was in the original class and continues to volunteer as a Master Gardener. Additionally, two other Master Gardeners, Vera Geddes and Gloria Winiker, who have in excess of 5000 volunteer hours, were recognized with plaques for their volunteer service. The Mayor of Virginia Beach presented a proclamation honoring Virginia Beach Master Gardeners on the 25th Anniversary. The Mid-Atlantic Home and Flower Show provided excellent opportunities for our Master Gardeners to accrue volunteer hours as: moderators for speakers, VCE Booth, Virginia Beach MG Booth and Children’s activities. At the City Annual volunteer dinner celebration, six of
our Master Gardeners were recognized by the City of |
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WYTHE, BLAND,
SMYTH
(Wythe-Bland Region) Nancy Hagen |
WBRMGA has just
revitalized the We welcomed a new
member, Deb Vrsansky, who transferred from her Master Gardener unit in |
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Jackie Lohr |
Our Mondays in
March lawn mowing training is complete.
The students should know what to do, how to take care of their
equipment, and most of all, how to operate everything safely. They receive tips on salesmanship and, if
they want, we refer any potential customers who call the extension office in
search of someone who mows lawns. Our summer
diagnostic clinics are now being planned.
We don’t concentrate on lawns or pruning but on whatever is growing in
each client’s yard and any questions that those plants may surface. We do have summer lawn clinics that haven’t
begun yet. Our favorite summer
activity is a group tour of four local landscapes on four separate days. The sites could be a fellow master
gardener’s yard or a place like the South of the Ferry Farm in |
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