Archive for the ‘Master Gardener’ Category

On the upswing

December 21, 2010

At last, the first day of winter arrives….  Merry Solstice, everyone!

Why am I so happy?  I’m not a an ardent fan of winter, but as of today, the days grow longer and in just 45 ish days, around about February 4, the sun will shine upon my garden for 10 hours a day.  I love that day.  Groundhog Day, my birthday, and the magic day, all in a row, 2,3,4.  February is a good month!

In the meantime, I am making do with Christmas tree lights and candles in the windows of Henbogle house,  making holiday cookies, wrapping gifts and planning parties.  We still have some greens alive in the hoophouse, I hope we will be eating a few of them at one of our upcoming dinners.  Otherwise, I just want them to live through the winter for early spring salads.

Although I am busy with holiday preparations, I am thinking a lot about my garden, and I hope write a summary of the year over the holiday vacation.  In addition to a garden summary, I am also planning with some other Master Gardeners a seed swap for early February.  More on that soon, but if you have ever participated in a seed swap and would be willing to share some advice, let me know.

Happy Holidays!!

Halfway there

May 6, 2010

I had my last Master Gardener class on Tuesday — I am halfway to becoming an official Master Gardener!  What’s left, you say? The next phase is to complete 40 hours of community service.  My plan at this point is to volunteer for the MG program, improving communications systems among the Master Gardeners themselves, and to do some work in the community through volunteering, probably at a community garden site such as Caring Community Gardens or a public garden like the Viles Arboretum or Maine’s Governor’s Mansion, the Blaine House, which has an English cottage style garden designed for the site by the Olmstead Brothers in 1920.

In Maine the program is organized by the Cooperative Extension Service’s county offices.  I  took the class out of my county, so will have to do a bit of travel to complete my hours in the county in which I trained, but that’s OK, it was well worth it.  I learned a lot in the MG program, and really enjoyed the opportunity to meet other gardeners, many of whom are almost as obsessed as I am about gardening.  It is so nice to find you are not alone!


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