Newsletter

February, 2012

NORTHERN SHENANDOAH VALLEY MASTER GARDENER ASSOCIATION NEWS

 

UPCOMING MEETINGS

All meetings will be the third Sunday of the month, and we will meet at 4pm.  All will be pot luck.  Each county coordinator will be responsible for providing the eating utensils, plates, coffee/drinks. (Check with hosts of private homes if you have any questions.)

  • Sunday, February 19, 4pm, EPS building, 161 Commonwealth Court, Winchester.  The speaker will be Lisa Giles of Hillbilly Daylilies, located in Berkley County, west Virginia.  Lisa is a WV Master Gardener.

Directions:  Commonwealth Court is the first traffic light on route 11 north of route 37.

  • Sunday March 18, 4pm, Warren County Government Center, Front Royal.  A speaker has not been set.
  • Upcoming programs will be on roses with Mary Stickley and herbs with Carrie Whitaker.  If you would to have a particular speaker at one of our meetings or if you would like to host a meeting at your home and show off your garden, let Angeliki Hutchinson know.

OTHER EVENTS

  • Saturday, February 4, Garden In The Valley Symposium, Shenandoah University, Hester Auditorium.  A full day of information presented by 5 horticulture professionals, speaking on different aspects of home gardening.  The presentations will cover green and living walls, organic ideas for growing fruit, new plant introductions, plant pests and invasive bugs and learn how to take care of trees and shrubs in your yard.
  • Thursday, February 16, Master Gardener Class starts, Shenandoah County Government Building in Woodstock.
  • Monday, March 5, Bus Trip to the Philadelphia Flower Show.  Contact Terry Fogle at Fort Valley Nursery at 540-459-5151.
  • Wednesday, March 7, Bus Trip to the Philadelphia Flower Show.  Contact Schrock Bus lines at 540-678-2871.
  • Wednesday, March 7, 7:00 PM,  Garden Fest planning, Shenandoah County Government Center
  • Saturday, April 14, Tomorrow’s Landscapes: More Birds, Butterflies, and Bees for Your Garden Ferrari Center in the Student Union at Shenandoah University in Winchester, sponsored by the Piedmont/Blue Ridge Horticulture Society and the Environmental Sciences Department at Shenandoah University.  Experts will provide valuable advice on ways to increase birds and butterflies in our yards with plant choices suited to the Virginia/mid-Atlantic climate and soils. Speakers will be encouraging the reduction of area devoted to lawns and use of pesticides, increased use of native plants, and responsible stewardship of our shared space.  Shenandoah University Environmental Sciences professor, Dr. Woody Bousquet, will moderate the conference.  Speakers include
    • Dr. Douglas Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home
    • Vincent Simeone, shrub and tree expert and director of Planting Fields
    • Dr. Kim Winter, wildlife expert with the Potomac Environmental Council
    • Jim McCormac, birding and wildlife authority
    • Janet Davis owner of a native perennials nursery in Rappahanock County
    • Stephen Orr, author of Tomorrow’s Garden & garden editor of Martha Stewart Living magazine

JUNIOR MASTER GARDENER PROGRAM MEETING MINUTES by Lynn Hoffman

Attendees:  Extension Staff Members:  Tammy Epperson, Laura Shifflett, Mandy Simon, Brittany Michael, Avery Born.   MGs present:  Lynn Hoffmann, Pat Burslem, Marianne Pagington, Martha Mitchell, Larry Haun, Teri Flynn, Angie Hutchinson, Brenda Powell, Helen Lake, Marsha Burd, Theresa Krause, Belinda Palmer.

Introductions were made and a short briefing on the Children’s Program at the Northern Virginia  4-H Educational and Conference Center in Ft. Royal was made by Brittany Michael and Avery Born.  They hope to expand their children’s program and start a garden and a summer Jr MG program.  They were asked to provide a calendar for the program and what opportunities would be available for MG to help assist.  They were given Marsh Burd’s information as a point of contact for the program.

Discussion continued about widening the scope of the program to public schools.  Times were discussed and how the program could work with the school system.  Currently  one school in Winchester had a beginning program; and the elementary school in Berryville used to have a MG children’s program.  It was agreed a meeting should be scheduled expand this program to the public schools just.

The discussion continued with a brief summary and goal of what we wanted to accomplish with this Children’s Program for 2012.  Goal:  Teach children about growing plants, the importance of being a good land steward and use that knowledge to grow a garden for the benefit of the community.

The agenda included the following items.

1.  Students

The group decided that the class should have a minimum of 10 students and could have as many as 25.  Returning older students would be used as counselors in both the classroom and the garden.  This year there would only be one class level for new students.  If students wanted to return from the previous year, they would be allowed.

2.  Location of Class

Tammy Epperson will contact Wesley United Methodist Church to see if they would host the Jr MG program again.  Classes will be held on Tuesdays unless there was an issue with the church.  Times would remain the same. Instructors will plan to teach from 10 A.M. to 11:30.  We will reserve the room until noon.   Tammy will advertise for the children and will prepare a contract for the parents to sign.  Students will be required to take the classes and work in the garden through out the summer.  Students would graduate at the end of summer.  Graduation date of Oct 16 was set.  There will be a luncheon at the Wesley United Methodist Church and all instructors were encouraged to attend.

3.  Start date and day of week

The classes will start on March 6, 2012 and all classes will be on Tuesdays.

Class Schedule

  • March 6
    • Introduction:   Martha Mitchell
    • Notebooks and name tag making:   Helen Lake
    • Garden skills and Our goals:   Lynn Hoffmann
  • March 13             Plant growth and development: Pat Burslem
  • March 20             Soils and water: Angie Hutchinson
  • March 27             Ecology and Environmental Horticulture:  Marsha Burd
  • April 3                   Planning your vegetables garden: Theresa Krauss
  • April 10                 Worms: Marianne Pagington
  • April 17                 Insects and Diseases: Martha Mitchell
  • April 24                 Bees and pollinators:Helen Lake

No Class during Apple Blossom Week April 29- May 6

  • May 8                    Trees:  Marianne Pagington
  • Week of May 14-18:  will plant the garden TBA
  • May 15                 Composting: Helen Lake
  • May 22                 Herbs:  Pat Burslem
  • May 29                 Succulents: Larry Haun
  • June 2                   Gardenfest at Belle Grove
  • June 5                   Fruits and Nuts: Angie Hutchinson

Field Trips – Open to all MGs:

  • June 12                 Trip to the Shifflett Farm in Shawnee Land
  • June 19                 Trip to Shenandoah University Green Roof: Lynn Hoffmann

The meeting ended at 12:30 and a follow-up meeting was scheduled for Feb 7 at 10:30.  The meeting will be in the first floor conference room of the Frederick County Office Building, 107 N. Kent St.

Items to be discussed for the next meeting include:

1. Garden Shed and installation – with/or without kids?

2. Summer sign up schedule

3. Gardenfest Children’s Table

4. Frederick County Fair entry for the children

JANUARY BOARD MEETING MINUTES by Suzanne Boag, Secretary

See Board Meeting Minutes on NSVMGA Website

JANUARY MEETING MINUTES by Suzanne Boag, Secretary

See Meeting Minutes on NSVMGA Website

PRESIDENTS REPORT by Cynthia Haley

Hi Master Gardeners!  I hope everyone’s New Year has gotten off to a great start.  The weather’s been holding up quite well so far but I’m sure Old Man Winter will hit us sooner or later.

2012 is going to be a great year, and we have a lot of items on the calendar, so now is the time to get out your calendar and start marking the upcoming events.  Your County Coordinators have probably sent you notification of their meetings so be sure to put those dates and times on your calendars.  Also, check out the NSVMGA website to see when the MG work dates are set for Belle Grove and Glen Burnie (Museum of the Shenandoah Valley).  You can also contact Lynn Hoffmann for information on Bell Grove or Mary Stickley for information on Glen Burnie.

February 4th is the “Garden in the Valley” Symposium.  This is a great way to knock out some educational hours while gleaning useful information.

The Classes for the 2012 MGs starts February 16th.   They still have a couple of openings if you know of anyone who’s interested.  Have them contact Randy Langford or Anni Sherman to sign up.

Next will be the trips to the Philadelphia Flower Show.  There are two trips planned so you have a choice of where you want to leave from.  The first is on March 5th from Woodstock and Strasburg.  You can sign up with Terry Fogle at Fort Valley Nursery by calling him at 540-459-5151.  The second one is March 7th leaving from Winchester and you can contact Shrock Travel at 540-678-2871 to sign up.

The next planning meeting for Garden Fest is set for March 7th at 7:00 PM at the Shenandoah County Government Center.  If you can, please make this meeting.  We’ll need to firm up the schedules and events planned for Garden Fest.

Garden Fair at Blandy is set for Saturday and Sunday, May 12th and 13th.

Garden Fest will be Saturday, June 2nd.

Speaking of Garden Fest, the last planning meeting went quite well with some great ideas discussed. One of them was having a Silent Auction set up.  We need donated items to be auctioned off so if you have something you think would make a great auction item please contact Angie Hutchinson and let her know.  Don’t think it has to be something large.  Angie will be putting things together to make baskets to be auctioned off so you may have a gem or two that can be combined with something else to make a great basket or even a great basket to put things in.  You all are so creative that I know we’ll have some great items brought in.

We also need Second Hand Rose items collected and you can start bringing them to the monthly meetings.  If you have large items please email me and I’ll arrange for someone to pick it up . If you need pots for your plants or have pots to donate for others to use, let Carolyn Wilson know at the next meeting, and she’ll get you fixed up.

Of course, there are many more activities and events than what I’ve had room to mention here.  You can find a whole list on our new calendar on our website.  Just click on the activity on the calendar and it will give you the details for the event.

For email addresses for anyone listed here you can get them from the roster on the “Members” section of the website.

Hope to see everyone at the next meeting February 19th. Happy growing!

FREDERICK COUNTY COORDINATOR’S REPORT by Teri Merrill

May you all experience a wee bit of Ireland in your lives this month!  I don’t know about your garden, but my daffodils are very confused and are making their way upward.  With the weather we’ve had this winter, I’m confused too!

Possibly the most exciting event this month is the educational seminar scheduled for Feb. 4 at Shenandoah University.  This seminar will include a lot of great information for us as gardeners, and as master gardeners who pass along best horticultural practices to the public.  If you have not signed up, please contact Lynn Hoffmann.

We have a meeting with Mark Sutphin, our new Extension agent, at the Frederick Cuunty Government building on Monday, Feb. 13, at 5 pm.  The address is 107 N. Kent Street, Winchester, across from the Winchester Star.  We will meet in the conference room, Room 1006, on the first floor, south end of the building, pass the elevator and stairs and head straight down the hall.  You should have received an e-mail with the agenda for this important meeting. Please make every effort to attend.  I would like to hold more meetings with our county members throughout the year, because I think it’s at this level where we can really work together, meet new people, and feel good about our efforts.

Lynn Hoffmann needs your help with the Junior Master Gardening program, which starts later this month.  You don’t have to teach to be of service!  Contact Lynn at gwendydog@gmail.com and she can find other activities for you that would be of tremendous help to the program and give you an inkling of what it’s all about.

CLARKE COUNTY REPORT by Mary Craig

I am working on scheduling a Clarke meeting some time this month.  We will plan projects to work on this year.  We will also review last year’s projects to see what we can improve on for this year.

We will set up at the Farmers’ Market each Saturday, as usual.  If you haven’t done a Farmers’ Market, it is a lot of fun and you’re welcome to come sit with us any Saturday to see how we set it up and the kind of questions we get.

We plan to have a booth at the Clarke County Fair again this year.  You are welcome to come help one evening with that, too, even if you are not in Clarke.  It’s a great venue for getting information to the public and answering questions for them.  And we reach different people than those that frequent the Farmers’ Market every week.

I would like to see us add two new demonstration gardens this year.  Our xeriscape garden at Chet Hobert Park (below) is a very good example of what kinds of plants do well with little water and not a lot of attention.  And it looks good all season long.  I’d like to add a butterfly garden and adopt a rain garden if we can get enough people interested.\

SPRING

LATE SUMMER

Of course, there will be the two annual events at Blandy where we will set up a booth:  Garden Fair and Arborfest.  These are open to all MGs and we encourage everyone to take a turn to see how our booth provides educational materials and information to the public.

I would love to get enough people together to have a hypertufa workshop.  I have some materials and would like to make a few containers, but it is not the kind of project that is fun to do all by yourself in the carport.  It’s much more fun with a group of friends to chat with and share ideas while you work on your hypertufa.

We have also been asked to help make some more rain barrels this year.  Jennifer Willoughby, from ICPRB, has two workshops scheduled:  Feb. 25th and March 11th.  If we can get 5 or 6 people to help Alison Teetor, Clarke Co. Parks Dept., build them in her heated workshop, we can get 30 done in a few hours.  The best dates for her are Sat. Feb 11th or 18th, or a handful of weekdays.  Anyone who wants to help contact me ASAP and I’ll let her know.  You are all welcome to help no matter what county you live in.  It’s very interesting to see how they are put together.  And it’s something we should all be encouraging the public to invest in.  It is wonderful to have that water when there is a dry spell.  And if you daisy-chain two together it’s even better.

I’m already planning what seeds to get started for GardenFest.  This will be our Ninth year and it gets better each year.  I hope you are all looking forward to the spring and another fruitful year as Master Gardeners.

SHENANDOAH COUNTY REPORT by Carolyn Wilson

It’s a little early for any actual work to begin in the garden, but, because of the mild weather so far, I have picked 3 daffodils and have several others showing color.  Also my flowering quince and witch hazel are showing color.  After our record snow fall several years ago, I’m all for a warmer winter.

However it’s never too early to start thinking about plants for Gardenfest.  (We just had the first planning meeting on January 30.)  As you wander around your garden checking on those first hardy plants starting to poke up, be thinking of what you can dig up to bring to Gardenfest on June 2.  Even if it’s too early to start digging, remember to bring any pots that you do not need to the MG meetings so I can get them distributed to those who need them.  Lots more information to follow later.

I know that there is a bus trip to the Philadelphia Flower show leaving from Winchester on March 7 however if that location or date doesn’t work for you, I have signed up for the one leaving from Fort Valley Nursery at 6:30am on Monday March 5.  It costs $89 and will also stop in Strasburg.  Payment is due by February 10.  For more information call Fort Valley Nursery at 540-459-5151.

Also be sure to let all your gardening friends know about our Master Gardener classes starting on February 16 in Woodstock.  Check our web site for more details.  Please consider volunteering to help with the classes.  This would be a great way for some of last year’s interns to earn some hours during the winter.

Let’s hope for an early spring. Meanwhile keep reading all those lovely gardening catalogs and planning your garden.

MEMBERSHIP REPORT by Mary Craig

The list will be updated soon with those who have paid dues and hours from last year.  Please take a few minutes this winter to look over the last one on the website and make sure your information is correct.  If you have any changes or corrections, let me know.

HISTORIAN REPORT by Mary Craig

In 1994 there were 18 Master Gardener students in the class.  Most were from Front Royal, with a few from Luray and Strasburg.  Frank Baxter was President and Corey Childs was the class trainer.  The classes were held in Front Royal.  Sadly, none of that second NSVMGA Master Gardener class is active today.

I will continue to highlight a year each month.  If any of you have information to add about any of the past classes, feel free to send it on to me.  I would especially like to have class pictures, if any of you happen to have a picture of your class.

NEW PLANT HARDINESS ZONE MAP

Published by USDA; available at http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/

Paper copies not available yet.

 EDITORS CORNER by Richard Stromberg

Everybody is commenting on the warm weather and early blooming.  Living on a south facing slope, Snowdrops always bloom in January, but this year my earliest weed, Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) is already blooming too.

Meanwhile, inside we are enjoying two orchids that were passed on to me by other Master Gardeners (another great thing about being a MG):  a yellow Dendrobium that Carol Groves rescued from Lowe’s trash several years ago and a Jewel Orchid (Ludisia discolor) that Katherine Rindt gave to me recently.  The latter is known primarily for its dark leaves with red stripes, but it put up a raceme and the small, white flowers have opened.

February 2012 Printable PDF