Master gardeners have been planting and gardening at the Wharton House historical site. In addition, a successful herb plant sale was held and

educational literature on how to grow herbs was distributed with each plant. New MG training class will be held this fall.

April '03: The Master Gardener Association of the Central Rappahannock Area, The Native Plant Society and local Extension Agent Guy Mussey joined forces for a wildflower walk at one of our local public parks. We identified and labeled trees, shrubs, wildflowers and vines. We held our annual plant sale. Paula Kelley coordinated donated plants and pottings.

May '03: We went to the James Monroe Museum in Fredericksburg. Master Gardeners followed the lead of the Fredericksburg Rose Society, with our very own Master Gardener Alessandra Rampey, President of the local Rose Society, at the helm. There were classes on growing, roses, and the placement of mini roses. Beautiful roses were sold throughout the morning. Ann Gorrell also participated in this event with some of her own favorite herb dips. She was so popular a line formed at her table. Ann also had displays of the growing of herbs— in strawberry pots, in Hypertufa, in dishpans, in boots, and the way most of us grow them -- in flower pots.

June '03: The General Membership meeting forum was a superb lecture by John Bell from the Tri-County/City Soil and Water Conservation Office. He discussed numerous diverse subjects including when and how to fertilize lawns, septic system maintenance, as well as conserving water and other natural resources. The local chapter of the "Friends of the Rappahannock" had a wonderful display on hand and answered numerous questions about saving the Chesapeake Bay.

On the property of the Downtown Greens Community one of our Master Gardeners, Michael Costa is teaching local Mary Washington College students how to grow vegetables organically. The fruits of their efforts are donated to the Fredericksburg Food Bank. This is the third year Mike has worked with the Food Bank.

In mid-June, the Master Gardeners and members of the Native Plant Society took a tour of The Caledonia State Park. The morning began with a three-hour walk identifying wildflowers and shrubs. Following lunch, the group observed the Bald Eagles and fledglings in their natural habitats. To see these beautiful birds fly and fish is really something to behold.

At the end June we went to Alum Spring Park for more identification of plants, trees wildflowers and vines. This was in anticipation of a July First Saturday plant ID event, free and open to the public.

We realized our most successful Plant Sale yet – raising an amazing $10,793.55 !!!!!!

Groundwork has been completed on our Greenhouse Project.

Work continues on our first Cookbook.

The regional Green Thumb Gardening Series is continuing. It has 40 participants.

Our monthly Lunch and Learn Series continues to prove very popular.

We recently gave project status to a bulb giveaway to be held in conjunction with the Chesapeake Arboretum – it’s the Bold and the Bulb Program. We expect to give away between four and five thousand donated bulbs, along with proper planting advice.

On a housekeeping level, we are finalizing a review of our by-laws and our charter, and we continue to work on retention and appointment of committees.

Mount Vernon Plant Clinics: Conducted six unique plant clinics at Mount

Vernon Estate Gardening Days (three weekends in April-May). People from all over the USA visit and want to know how to take care of plants for sale that were grown in the Mount Vernon greenhouse. These are the same species as plants grown in the 18^th century colonial period. (My Aquilegia canadensis is doing very nicely.)

Plant Clinics: Plant clinics are held on different days each week throughout

the county during May-September. These clinics take place at farmers markets (9 clinics), libraries (8 clinics), NoVa Regional Park (1 clinic) plus the Extension Office (horticulture help line 5 days/week).

Advanced Training Class: A special class on diagnostics is in the planning

stage. The class will be held in mid-June.

2004 Orientation: Plans are underway to develop guidelines for accepting

applicants for the new class. This is a follow on to the successful approach used in selecting 2003-MG trainees.

Recruiting for VMGA: An effort to increase the number of Fairfax MGs to

join VMGA is paying off. The final number is yet to be determined.

Garden Tours: Four MGs graciously opened their gardens to Fairfax MGs

on the rainy weekend of May 16. In spite of the weather, it was a real treat instead of a treatment.

Hidden Rock Park - Goochland County -We planted an educational garden for tours.

Green & Clean- this project is advertised each year in the paper and residents may sign up to have the MGs and interns come out and measure their lawns, take soil samples and on a return visit discuss the necessary soil amendments needed without over fertilizing and damaging local watersheds.

Elk Hill Garden Renovation - this is an old mansion that has overgrown terraced gardens; the gardens are being clean up terrace by terrace with the help of a neighboring juvenile boys home. The boys are a great help and seem to enjoy being outside and learning.

Fighting Creek Park - Powhatan County, behind the library, we have built a woodland nature trail using native plants and marked informational signs.

Phone Bank - every Monday there is a Master Gardener present in the VEC office to answer questions from the Goochland and Powhatan residents

Master Garden Calendar - a project where a calendar is developed which indicates what needs to be done in the garden month by month.

Plant Clinics - are held the first and second Saturday of each month at a local businesses and nurseries. Also at the 4th of July Celebration at Hidden Rock Park.

Powhatan Animal Shelter - Master gardeners have designed and landscaped the new building

Field Days of the Past and the State Fair and Ginter information booths are manned by MGs.

Amelia Library - Amelia County does not have a MG program so we have been asked to design and plant the flowerbeds and we have agreed to do so.

Powhatan Wellness Fair - again the MGs and interns will be manning a booth.

April 15 we had our Spring Plant Sale, raising funds for our high school scholarship program. In early May, we celebrated our new class at their Graduation reception. 57 trainees became interns and 38 interns received their MG badges. The VMGA presented each one with a congratulatory letter and an invitation to join the VMGA.

Eleven Hanover MGs attended MG College including our 2 VMGA scholarship recipients, Christy Brennan and Jean St.John.

We have had several successful Plant Clinics this spring (29 scheduled for the year). Upcoming events include Pruning Clinic on June 21, a Daylily seminar June 28, the Tomato Festival July 5 and a Propagation workshop July 28.

Western Tidewater Master Gardeners was formed in the early 90’s. Our group, which meets monthly on the second Tuesday at Isle of Wight Courthouse, is growing nicely with 45 active members. We graduated a new class of 12 interns on April 10, 2003.

WTMG recently hosted an advanced training session in Smithfield, VA, for Master Gardeners from all over the Tidewater area. The rainy day response was good with well over 100 attending sessions on "Edible Native Plants, "Biogenetic Advances in Crop Production" and "The reintroduction and preservation of long leaf pines and pitcher plants".

Currently the group is preparing for the Isle of Wight County Fair. WTMG volunteers take an active role with the horticulture exhibit providing plant clinics, demonstrations and handouts for interested fair visitors. The Isle of Wight County Fair will be held at the fair grounds at Isle of Wight Courthouse, September 11 – 14, 2003.

It has been a busy spring for WTMG volunteers as they provided plant clinics for a number of retail outlets from True Value Hardware in Smithfield to Wal-Mart in Franklin, VA. The plant clinics provide timely information for shoppers as they try to get their yards/gardens in shape for the summer season.

For the first time the WTMG will work with the Smithfield, VA Chamber of Commerce on a Farmers Market on Saturday mornings from July 12 through September 12. Master Gardeners are planning to be present during the Market for a plant clinic and/or promotion of the Master Gardening Program.

For the second year the WTMG’s will plant an extra row in their vegetable gardens so we can "share the harvest" with the elderly residents of Covenant Place Apartments in Smithfield. The collections will start July 1^st and continue every Tuesday thereafter during the summer.

"Tuesdays in the Garden" Workshop Series started June 3 and will continue each Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. through the end of September. The series is held at the Master Gardener Demonstration Garden located at Ida Lee Park in Leesburg. Also the last Tuesday evening of June, July, and August the Master Gardeners will offer a "Twilight" program at 7 p.m. at the Demonstration Garden.
Master Gardeners set up a table at Agriculture Awareness Day held at the Heritage Farm Museum. Over 1100 elementary school children came through during the day and had the opportunity to see seeds in different stages of germination and then take bean and sunflower seeds home to plant.
Master Gardeners have had many calls to their Helpline this spring related to problems caused by the cool, wet spring. Most of them were a fungal problem of some sort.
The Loudoun Valley Homegrown Markets Association invited the Master Gardeners to set up a booth at the Farmer's Markets so Plant Clinics will be set up the third Saturday of each month through September at the Leesburg Farmer's Market.
A continuing education program for Master Gardeners was held June 20 at the Loudoun County Extension Office with Eric Day, Manager of the Entomology Lab at VT, and Lloyd Hipkins, Extension Weed Specialist at VT as the speakers. Eric covered exotic pests and Lloyd discussed aquatic weeds and their control. The training was attended by 32 Master Gardeners from Loudoun, Fairfax, Prince William, Warren, Shenandoah, and Clark counties.

Dale Firestone

James City County/Williamsburg Master Gardeners have participated in the Williamsburg Farmers' Market since it began last year. Master Gardener College provided lots of good ideas for our first year and MGs were at the market one Saturday a month from June - Oct.

For those considering working with local farmers' markets, we strongly recommend the "theme approach" rather than "just being there". The public has become very aware that not only will MGs answer general questions but will provide information on specific topics of interest. Since the first Saturday in May, our organization has had contacts with over 1,000 people, despite rainy, windy and cold Saturdays, for the 3 Saturdays in May. We have been a real asset to the market and to the community while having lots of fun promoting the MG organization.

Jinny Estell

Saturday April 26: "Bayscaping", an all day program attended by 106 paying guests
May 16 & 17: "Just Gardens " tours - fund raiser for the Haven (collected
over $10,000) - a battered women's shelter. Toured 6 private gardens in the community - one belonged to Lynne Hoen one of our Master Gardener Interns. Master Gardeners were stationed at each garden each day to answer visitor's questions, etc.
1st, 2nd, 3rd Saturdays of the month Plant Clinics at local farmers' market
New Activity - we have started a Hort Therapy program with the assisted
living residents at Westminster-Canterbury a retirement community here on
the Northern Neck.

Summertime is keeping us busy with our normal MG activities...so we submit the following, written by Jane Butler, NSVMG poet, as our unit report. It is far more interesting!

Report: Master Gardener College 2003 By Jane Butler
16th Annual Event,
Boy, am I glad I went
First night festivities, a meet and greet affair
Posters and displays were everywhere

NSVMGA walked away
With a 1st Place Prize
Susie Howard created the poster that captured eyes,
How to prevent a grass fire on your land,
One that might get out of hand

Morning sessions got things underway
Kent Mountford, Estuarine Ecologist and Environmental Historian
Spoke on the Chesapeake Bay
Bonnie Appleton, author and tree researcher
Spoke on how best to plant a tree and nurture

Marion Lobstein spoke on Virginia Flora
And plant diversity.
Many examples are planted
At the University

Dr Frost spoke on Species,
Endangered and threatened
Natural processes are a Native Plant’s friend
And will look after them in the end

Afternoon sessions offered
A wide array of classes
From growing asparagus and rhubarb
To learning about Miscanthus or grasses

PRINCE WILLIAM

The rain held off for the 6 hours of the 4^th annual Spring Fling April 26, and we had 2007 citizens attending. The effort expended the energy of 164 volunteers, including VCE-MGs from Fauquier, Arlington and both Fairfax groups.

The Plant a Row project has seen the successful spin-off of the east end collections to a new group called (appropriately) Prince William Plant a Row. The west end collections will remain a VCE-approved activity.

The Massive Master Gardener Plant Sale was another success. The plants were treasures at dime store prices, the variety was incredible and even the ever present rain held off for a fantasticevent. Total sales volume was in excess of $4000 and expected net will be well in excess of $3000.

This will ensure that our projects can be financially supported for another year. Bravo to all.

Our Master Gardeners are not all about work, money making and no play. In the past few weeks we have enjoyed a most enjoyable trip to Richmond where we had the opportunity to have guided tours of the newly renovated Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens. They are truly a treat for both the mind as well as the eye. For those who have not had the chance to enjoy the results of their recent massive construction program, please plan a trip there in the near future. After a delicious lunch and a visit to the Gift Shop, we motored on to The Maymont estate for another delightful experience. While the gardens and plantings at Maymont are fantastic, the true beauty of the estate resides in the tree specimens. There are numbers of incredible specimens that must have been mere whips when planted by the owners. We are so blessed that they had the wisdom and foresight to provide for visitors arriving well after their passing.

Just in case that these trips were not enough, a smaller group of MG’s (more select?) made a visit to Thomas Jefferson’s masterpiece home and gardens at Monticello. There they were welcomed by Gabrielle Rause, a brilliant stand-in for Director Peter Hatch and were provided with a detailed guided tour of Mr. Jefferson’s gardens and plantings. Then, on to The Center for Historic Plants located on another of the farms of the Monticello complex. Here, Center Director Peggy Cornett provided a detailed tour throughout all of the facilities, all the while offering varied and interesting tidbits about Thomas Jefferson and his life time of plant collecting and growing experiences. The tour ended at the sale booth for the historic Plant Center and it is noted in passing that cars seemed to be a bit heavier heading home than arriving.

We are midway through our summer "Learning Through Visits" tours of local gardens. So far, we've been successful in avoiding the raindrops.