New Announcements

Thank you to everyone who attended Master Gardener College! Please be on the lookout for our conference follow-up survey.

Bumblebee Jamboree 2023, June 17 – Maymont Children’s Farm 1000 Spottswood Rd Richmond VA 23220

What: Kick off National Pollinator Week with free family-friendly activities buzzing with fun! The 11th annual Bumblebee Jamboree provides an opportunity for children to better understand the role pollinators play and what each of us can do in our own backyard to protect natural resources. Families are invited to participate in hands-on experiences at this free event that encourages kids to learn about birds, butterflies, bees, beetles, and bats. Children will enjoy pollinator-related crafts, snacks, games, and other interactive activities. They can get close to pollinators by watching enclosed observation beehives.
When: Saturday, June 17, 2023, 10:30 am–2:30 pm Information: Free admission. This event is hosted by the Chesterfield County Master Gardeners and the Chesterfield County office of the Virginia Cooperative Extension. Contact: For more information, call (804) 751-4401 or visit bit.ly/2023BBJ. View flyer here.

EMG Webinar Series 2023: The EMG monthly webinar series has returned! We look forward to bringing you a wide range of new and interesting topics. All webinars will be recorded and posted to our website (https://mastergardener.ext.vt.edu/webinar-archive/). Please plan to register for each webinar:

July 20 at 10:30 am – Hydroponics: Industry to Home Use, Dr. Josh Kardos, VT SPES. This talk will introduce hydroponics, discuss the pros and cons, describe various systems used and crops grown, highlight the industry, and describe how you can grow hydroponically at home. Register for the July webinar here
August 18th at 10am – Forest Health Update, Lori Chamberlin VDOF. Learn about the most common pests and diseases in Virginia’s forests. This presentation will teach participants how to identify forest health disturbance agents, and how to prevent damage. Our speaker, Lori Chamberlin, is the Forest Health Manager for the Virginia Department of Forestry. Register for August webinar here

Old June Announcements

The Louisa County Master Gardeners present their 2023 Backyard Gardening Seminar Series. These seminars take place one Saturday a month from 10:30 – 11:30am at the Louisa Co. Public Library. The next sessions include:

Gardening in the Valley Garden Tour – Northern Shenandoah Valley – June 24, 2023 – Tickets are now on sale for the 2023 Gardening in the Valley Tour, hosted by Virginia Cooperative Extension with support from the Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association. The tour is June 24, 2023, from 9am–4pm, rain or shine.

The gardens on this year’s tour include formal garden spaces, herb gardens, native plant areas, pollinator gardens, water features, art, and more. The featured gardens are: Warren Heritage Society Gardens (101 Chester St., Front Royal), The Blue House (Downtown Front Royal), Tall Oaks (approx. 1.5 miles east of I-81 in Frederick County), Montevento (approx. 5 miles west of Berryville in Clarke County)
Additional information and advance tickets ($10 each) are online at http://nsvmga.org/events/garden-tour/

Henrico County Celebration of Pollinators – June 1-30, 2023 Recognizing National pollinator Week (June 19-25, 2023) and reinforcing many of its own strategic initiatives in supporting pollinator health in Virginia, the Henrico County Virginia Cooperative Extension office , and its contingent of volunteer Extension Master Gardeners have planned a month-long celebration of pollinators commencing in June to educate, enlighten, and inspire Henrico County citizens about pollinators and their vital place in our daily lives and world. The events are free to attend:

Thursday, June 22, 7 p.m.: Screening of the documentary film My Garden of a Thousand Bees in the Board Room at Henrico County Government Center, 4301 E. Parham Road; and
Sunday, June 25, 1-3 p.m.: Pollinators at the Park in the Butterfly Garden at Armour House & Gardens at Meadowview Park, 4001 Clarendon Road. In addition, residents will be able to take advantage of several programs and activities that will last throughout June: • Pollinator Lego Expo: Youth ages 5 to 19 are encouraged to assemble a pollinator-inspired Lego creation and submit a digital image and description. Prizes will be awarded in three categories; • Pollinator Displays at the Tuckahoe, Libbie Mill, Fairfield and Varina libraries
Henrico Master Gardeners Plant Clinics, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays at Strange’s Florists, Greenhouses and Garden Centers, 12111 W. Broad St.
For more information, visit: https://henrico.ext.vt.edu/news/celebration_of_pollinators_2023.html and view the flyer here

Results Released for First Survey of Native Plants at Roanoke Nurseries Gardeners now have a snapshot of where to find native plants in the Roanoke area. Members of the Roanoke Master Gardeners, Roanoke Master Naturalists, Blue Ridge Wildflower Society, Plant SWVA Natives, and other dedicated gardeners surveyed all independent general nurseries, not including big box stores, within the Roanoke Valley who offer native plants for sale.

The survey was conducted in Spring 2022 to include plants native to the SWVA mountain region, as well as some plants native to nearby regions, such as North Carolina and the eastern portion of Virginia. The survey included cultivars (cultivated varieties of native plants) offered for sale. Each cultivar was evaluated by the team to determine whether the cultivar appeared to have a similar ecological benefit for pollinators. These results were then compiled for the benefit of the public and can be found here: https://www.plantvirginianatives.org/native-plant-nursery-survey
Other groups are welcome to use the materials developed for this project to conduct a survey in their area. For more information, contact Sharon Burnham at 540-343-0080 or at seabird66@cox.net.

“BMPs in Turfgrass” Trainings: Dr. Mike Goatley, Extension Turfgrass Specialist, has recorded and posted best management practices in turfgrass training material divided into two sections (Part 1 and Part 2) on the Virginia Tech Turfgrass web site: https://turf.spes.vt.edu/. To access these trainings, go to the Turf webpage (turf.spes.vt.edu/). Click on the Menu drop down and then expand the Extension Tab. Select the “VCE Master Gardener Volunteer Training” tab to access the recordings and accompanying handouts. You can also go to the MG page directly: https://turf.spes.vt.edu/Extension/VCE-MGVolTraining.html

Many more updates etc. are planned in the coming weeks and months. You can bookmark the VT Turf website and check back periodically for these improvements!

Revisions and updates to the EMG Training Handbook have been completed. The 2023 edition of the handbook can be downloaded by visiting: http://hdl.handle.net/10919/112743. The digital textbook version has been published and can be found here: https://pressbooks.lib.vt.edu/emgtraining/. The print version will follow shortly, more details will be provided in April.
Many thanks to all who assisted in this undertaking. We appreciate all our editors, authors, and contributors!