Master Gardener course begins soon

By WAYNE QUESENBERRY/Staff

Unseasonably warm temperatures and sunny days are turning thoughts toward spring. The Wythe-Bland Region Master Gardener Assoc. is focusing on the new season, too.
The local association, in conjunction with Virginia Cooperative Extension, is preparing for a new Master Gardener course, set for March 2 through April 29 at Wytheville Community College. To be held Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 to 9 p.m., the course will provide Master Gardener manuals to participants and guest lectures on the subjects of soil and composting, perennials and annuals, trees and shrubs, and pruning and planting.
Deadline for registration is Feb. 6 by contacting coordinator Suzanne Capone at 686-5843. Cost is $100.
“We’re always recruiting new members,” noted Capone. “We want to get more information about the Master Gardener program out to people.”
Organized in 1999, the Wythe-Bland Region Master Garden Assoc. now has 19 members. Its focus is on education about gardening.
“Annually, the association accepts applications from the public to have an opportunity of taking the Virginia Master Gardener classes,” remarked Libby King of Bland, a Master Gardener since 1999 and former coordinator. “The classes are taught as part of the Virginia Cooperative Extension with the textbook from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.”
She pointed out that all individuals receiving Master Gardener training must be able to commit to a minimum of 100 hours within 12 months. Fifty hours, King said, will be spent in classroom instruction with another 50 hours of hands-on internship in horticulture-based, educational projects as established by the association.
After completing the 50-hour internship, participants will receive their Master Gardener Certification. A minimum of eight hours of classroom instruction and 20 hours of educational projects are required annually.
Ongoing projects of the Wythe-Bland Region Master Gardener Assoc. are the Learning Gardens at WCC, landscaping the Stephen F. Austin Memorial Park in Austinville, a theme garden at the Rural Retreat Community Center and the entry garden at the Wolf Creek Indian Village & Museum near Bastian. This year, the group will offer hands-on vegetable garden and pruning workshops to the public.
“We mostly do landscaping with flower gardens and flower beds,” King stated. “There has been a lot of renewed interest in vegetable gardening because of the economy. That’s why we decided to do some seminars on vegetable gardening.”
The Master Gardener group schedules help clinics at various times during the annual Chautauqua Festival-in-the-Park. It conducts workshops and presentations of horticulture and community interests during the festival, too.
During the winter months, the association tends to administrative needs. It also does some planning for the spring season.
Capone owns and operates Omega Lane Farms in Rural Retreat where she raises herbs. She has been a local Master Gardener for more than two years.
“When I moved here from California,” Capone said, “I was looking to meet people with common interests. I took the class and I’ve been involved ever since.”
According to King, she first learned about Master Gardeners after reading several articles. She took the class and was hooked.
“I love it,” added King. “Master Gardeners are a great bunch of people and we have so much fun.”
For more information, contact Capone at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call her at 686-5843. Her mailing address is 139 Omega Lane, Rural Retreat, VA 24368.
Wayne Quesenberry can be reached at 228-6611 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).