Biweekly Update 22 December 2025

New Announcements

Prince William County Announces “Gardening Basics” Webinar Series

  • Beat the winter blues, join Virginia Cooperative Extension and Master Gardeners for the Gardening Basics Series via Zoom. All classes are 6:30pm – 7:30pm. Every month we’ll have a new topic. Our first session is Jan 21 on Starting Plants Indoors/Winter Seed Sowing (click here to register).
  • For questions, please call 703-792-7747 or email MasterGardener@pwcgov.org.
  • To see upcoming dates and topics, please visit our website here.

Louisa Extension Master Gardeners 2026 Garden Expo with Seed Share – 1/31/2026 – 9:30a.m. – 12:30p.m (Inclement weather date: Feb 7). Louisa County Middle School – 1009 Davis Highway, Mineral, VA 23117

  • Please join the Louisa Extension Master Gardeners for our 4th Annual Garden Expo with Seed Share. The theme for 2026 is Creating Your Sustainable Home Garden.
  • What to Expect: Free seeds, educational information, gardening demonstrations, garden basket raffles and door prizes, and an opportunity to share saved seeds from your garden (For more information on saving and sharing seeds, see this page).
  • Questions? Please email us at lemgsscom@gmail.com.
  • Facebook link: Click here to see our Facebook page

Winter Salt Webinar Series Arlington County is producing a series of webinars to share information about best practices for being winter salt smart. For more information and to register for the webinars, please visit the Arlington County website here.

State Office Webinar Series All webinars are recorded and posted in the webinar archive:

Old December Announcements

VCE Loudoun MG 15th Annual Symposium – 3/21/2026, 9:00am to 3:00pm, Academies of Loudoun, Leesburg, VA

  • Please join VCE Loudoun Master Gardeners for our all day 15th Annual Garden Symposium featuring 4 prominent speakers. Registration opens January 8th. Lunch offered with additional fee or bring your own. Local vendors share their goods for your shopping pleasure. 
  • More info and registration can be found by following this link.

Monarch Watch | Milkweed Distribution Applications are open for Monarch Watch’s 2026 Free Milkweeds programs! Find out more information on how to apply here for habitat restoration projects and here for schools and educational non-profits.

Danville Master Gardeners 13th annual Spring to Green – 2/7/2026, 8:15am-4pm. Old Dominion Agricultural Complex 19783 US-29 g. Chatham, VA.

  • Spring to Green is now open for registration! We Have 3 speakers Peggy Singlemann, Jessica Driver and Elizabeth Tomlin. You can register here. Come on down and join the fun with vendors, Statewide Master Gardeners and a special surprise!
  • Any questions or need help please email us at dmgspringtogreen@gmail.com

VCE EMG Spring Plant Sale List: Please utilize this form to submit information about your upcoming spring EMG Plant Sale to be included in our state-wide list. This is the only form of submission for the event we will accept. Looking forward to beautiful plant sales! 2026 EMG Plant Sale Submission Form

Allium leafminer – Participate in a citizen science project to monitor the spread of this new pest of alliums! Scouting will start again in Late February 2026

Biweekly Update 11 December 2025

New Announcements

VCE Loudoun MG 15th Annual Symposium – 3/21/2026, 9:00am to 3:00pm, Academies of Loudoun, Leesburg, VA

  • Please join VCE Loudoun Master Gardeners for our all-day, 15th Annual Garden Symposium featuring 4 prominent speakers. Registration opens January 8th. Lunch offered with additional fee or bring your own. Local vendors will share their goods for your shopping pleasure. 
  • More info and registration can be found by following this link.

Monarch Watch | Milkweed Distribution

  • Applications are open for Monarch Watch’s 2026 Free Milkweeds programs! Find out more information on how to apply here for habitat restoration projects and here for schools and educational non-profits.

State Office Webinar Series All webinars are recorded and posted in the webinar archive:

  • Our 2026 Webinar Schedule is in the works! The following webinars are coming up in 2026. More info and registration links TBA.
    • January 6th – 10:00 AM – Box Tree Moth in Virginia – VCE Pest Update with Dr. Alejandro Del-Pozo
    • January 6th 2:00 PM – Urban Evolutionary Entomology with Dr. Lindsey Miles
    • January 21st – VCE Fruit Webinar Series: Strawberries with Gaylynn Callahan
    • Date TBA – Bird Behavior with Dr. Robyn Puffenbarger
    • Friday February 13th at 1:00 PM – Pruning Fruit Crops
    • Date TBA – Developing and Structuring EMG Helpdesks

Old November Announcements

Danville Master Gardeners 13th annual Spring to Green – 2/7/2026, 8:15am-4pm. Old Dominion Agricultural Complex 19783 US-29 g. Chatham, VA.

  • Spring to Green is now open for registration! We Have 3 speakers Peggy Singlemann, Jessica Driver and Elizabeth Tomlin. You can register here. Come on down and join the fun with vendors, Statewide Master Gardeners and a special surprise! Any questions or need help please email us at dmgspringtogreen@gmail.com.

VCE EMG Spring Plant Sale List: Please utilize this form to submit information about your upcoming spring EMG Plant Sale to be included in our state-wide list. This is the only form of submission for the event we will accept. Looking forward to beautiful plant sales!

Biweekly Update 11 November 2025

New Announcements

Danville Master Gardeners 13th Annual Spring to Green – 2/7/2026, 8:15am-4pm. Old Dominion Agricultural Complex 19783 US-29 g. Chatham, VA.

  • Spring to Green is now open for registration! We have 3 speakers: Peggy Singlemann, Jessica Driver and Elizabeth Tomlin. You can register here. Come on down and join the fun with vendors, Statewide Master Gardeners and a special surprise!
  • Any questions or need help please email us at dmgspringtogreen@gmail.com

VCE EMG Spring Plant Sale List: Please utilize this form to submit information about your upcoming spring EMG Plant Sale to be included in our state-wide list. this is the only form of submission for the event we will accept. Looking forward to beautiful plant sales!

2026 EMG Plant Sale Submission Form

Old October Announcements

State Office Webinar Series All webinars are recorded and posted in the webinar archive

Old Announcements

  • Allium leafminer – Participate in a citizen science project to monitor the spread of this new pest of alliums!

Vegetables are harvested from the gleaning garden.

Hanover Master Gardeners Gleaning Project

Gleaning is the practice of harvesting excess produce and distributing it to those in need. In short, gleaning directs valuable nutrition to citizens and diverts it from loss in the field. This practice connects food to people through local food pantries.

2021 Hanover Extension summer intern, Sara Hallam, planned and launched the Hanover Extension Master Gardener Gleaners as her project. Her interests in food insecurity and local gardening were drivers for her initiative. Thirty Extension Master Gardeners took food safety training to qualify as gleaners.

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A woman speaks with children at the Greer Garden.

Greer School Garden Project

By Christine Atkins, Piedmont Master Gardener

Woman sits on the ground with a group of children and holds her arms aloof.
PMG volunteer Christine Putnam, a retired science teacher, talks to 3rd graders about the importance of oak trees while PMG volunteer Fern Campbell gathers acorns for the children.

In 2021, the Piedmont Master Gardeners (PMG) began a partnership with Albemarle County Public Schools to provide gardening instruction and support at three elementary schools, beginning with Mary Carr Greer Elementary School. Greer serves the most diverse student population of any Albemarle County school, and some 75 percent of its students live in households below the poverty line.

Since last September, PMG volunteers have collaborated with Greer teachers to provide lessons to all first- and third-grade classes once per month to enhance their love and understanding of gardening and the environment. The lessons are structured to meet approved Virginia Standards of Learning for science, social studies and mathematics and were developed by Piedmont Master Gardeners who are retired teachers. Some examples include:

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Turf to trees project in Loudoun County

Turf to Trees

By Barbara Bailey, Community Engagement Coordinator Master Gardener Coordinator Virginia Cooperative Extension, Loudoun County

Turf to Trees project info box

Last September, Loudoun Extension Master Gardener Cynthia Falconer spearheaded a cost share grant project, Virginia Trees for Clean Water, awarded by the VA Dept. of Forestry, for her Potomac Green HOA common area.

The objective was to convert sections of turf to mulched beds with native trees and ground cover, thereby reducing runoff and nutrients flowing into Russell Branch Creek, which runs through the property, and reducing in-stream sediment. The trees will also shade a 600-foot section of the community trail system and provide an object lesson in the benefits of trees to community members.

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Master gardeners stand around cart and clap

Virginia Beach seed library cart enters fourth season

By Debi Edwards, Virginia Beach Master Gardener

The Virginia Beach Seed Library was created as a joint project of the Meyera E Obendorf (MEO) Central  Library and Virginia Beach Master Gardeners (VBMG) to entice the general public to start planting home gardens.  Since the grand opening in 2018, we have distributed 23,287 seed packets (over 232,000 seeds!) to 719 participants.

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House in colonial Williamsburg with trees

Colonial Williamsburg Arboretum Educational Tree Project

Colonial Williamsburg (CW) has within its boundaries a unique collection of trees and woody plants.  The majority of them are native to the Mid-Atlantic region, and those that are not, were introduced into the Virginia Colony prior to 1800.  Although these plants were familiar to Virginia colonists, many of today’s visitors do not recognize them because they are not readily available in commercial nurseries. 

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Boxes of produce sit on a stone path with yellow flowers in a garden behind them.

Fred Heutte Demonstration Garden COVID Response

By: Paul Ziegler, Norfolk Extension Master Gardener

For over 10 years, Norfolk Master Gardeners have operated a Demonstration Garden at the Fred Heutte Center in Norfolk’s Ghent neighborhood. The garden, consisting of 40 4ft X 4ft raised beds, utilizes Square Foot Gardening techniques to demonstrate how to maximize food growing potential in an urban environment.  The entire garden is maintained by a cadre of extremely dedicated Norfolk Master Gardeners and a few neighborhood volunteers. All produce is donated to the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia.  It has served as a hands-on educational opportunity for not only our Interns, but for our “seasoned perennials” as well.  It has been a central focal point to helpgroups and individuals interested in growing their own produce.

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Close up branches affected by boxwood blight show leaf yellowing

In Chesterfield, plant disease diagnosis goes virtual amid coronavirus

By: John McBride

In Chesterfield, plant disease diagnosis goes virtual amid coronavirus

Last summer, a local first-time vegetable gardener called the Chesterfield County Master Gardener Help Desk with a big problem: all his tomato plants seemed to be dying. Peg Tipple, Chesterfield County Master Gardener volunteer, jumped into action. After dissecting plant samples brought to the lab, she identified the problem. The gardener had planted his tomatoes in containers that were too small.

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