MGACRA :FREDERICKSBURG & THE COUNTIES OF STAFFORD, SPOTSYLVANIA, KING GEORGE & CAROLINE
Menu
July 2021
MGACRA-SPONSORED EVENTS CALENDAR
(Formatting: Month date - "Name of Event," time, at location (location address). Contact, person's name, email address (place in calendar by name, in order of starting time, alpha)
Some lectures and events will be offered via You-tube or ZOOM technology. The Free Lance Star and MGACRA Facebook page will also be used to post/advertise all activities.
All gardening, insect, plant disease, and horticultural related questions can be called into our VCE office: 540-658-8000. Guy Mussey is our VCE Agent for the four-county area and Fredericksburg. Additional resources are available at: ext.vt.edu where subjects of interest can be searched.
MG Monthly Meetings: Monthly GENERAL meetings will be held via ZOOM until October 2021. Registration will be required to access any meetings being conducted via Zoom prior to October 2021.
14 Jul - MGACRA Board Meeting, 1:30 p.m., via ZOOM (link will be emailed to Board on April 9). POC: Tina Will, brianandtina.will@gmail.com.
21 Jul – MGACRA General Meeting, Time 6:30 p.m. POC: Kathie Holliday, klholliday7@gmail.com Guest Speaker/Topic: Join MG Tracy Woods Blevins for a Garden Tour and discussion on Plants of the Year. Her talk will feature the winners just announced in 2021 as well as a few favorites from previous years that have been given top honors by the Perennial Plant Association, American Conifer Society, National Garden Bureau, and the American Hosta Growers Association. Learn about the awards, organizations, and criteria used in selecting them. Location: 6904 Cloudy Way, Spotsylvania, VA 22551. Open garden begins at 6:30 p.m. Meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. Bring your smartphones or tablets to follow a guided virtual tour (https://www.plantsmap.com/collections/36092). Feel free to bring a chair and a beverage. The garden is flat and easily accessible to everyone. The talk will be in the woodland shade garden where it’s cooler. The house will not be open but very nearby for restrooms are the options of McDonalds, Dairy Queen, Sheetz, Taco Bell, Subway, Food Lion and more at the Route 1 Thornburg intersection / I95 Exit 118.
Bio: Tracy is a cofounder of Plantsmap.com, a mobile website that provides tools to digitally document plant collections for public and private landscapes, gardens, parks and more. Tracy has been an avid plant collector since 1999. She first became a master gardener in 2005, with the Alabama Cooperative Extension, and has been an active member of the Master Gardener Association of the Central Rappahannock Area since 2012. She is a member of GardenComm, AmericanHort, the Perennial Plant Association and other organization that promote growing more plants. See the Plantsmap.com Connecting People With Plants Journal for more plant based content.
Other Calendar Events:
27 Jul - Master Gardener 4th Tuesday Series (free and open to public), 7:00 p.m via Zoom. Registration link for the lecture will be posted on our website: https://www.mgacra.org/july.html, and on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MGACRA/.
Speaker/Topic: Mariya Hudick from Tri County City Soil and Water Conservation District (TCCSWCD)/Programs offered by TCCSWCD and the volunteer opportunities available for both youth and adults.
Don’t forget to complete the MGACRA Board of Directors Survey. Your Board of Directors has been considering how best to serve the needs and preferences of MGACRA members as the pandemic winds down somewhat. We need to know how you feel about regathering in person, indoors, starting in 2022. Through October 2021, Wednesday general meetings will be held via Zoom We hope to be able to hold an in-person meeting in the Rowser Building in November in order to conduct officer elections for 2022. We also hope to plan an in-person holiday social in the Rowser Building in December. To help the Board plan our activities for 2022, please take 2 minutes to complete the anonymous 6-question survey at this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GJQFL7W
The survey will close July 12th so results can be tabulated for the next Board of Directors meeting.
MG Volunteer Opportunities:
30 Jul – 8 Aug - Fredericksburg Fair! This year’s co-coordinators will be Judy Jones and Tina Will. Volunteers are need to prepare our displays, set-up tables and displays, man the MGACRA booth and takedown and return material to Rowser VCE Office. Check your email for detailed information and instructions. Any questions? Please contact Tina Will, Brianandtina.will@gmail.com
:
Fredericksburg Fair Volunteer Schedule is as follows:
DATES TIMES SHIFTS
Mon-Thurs, 26-29 Jul Assembly & Set-up Contact Tina Will
Time TBA
Fri, 30 Jul 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. 5 to 9
Sat, 31 Jul Noon – 10:00 p.m. 12 to 3
3 to 6
6 to 9
Sun, 1 Aug Noon – 10:00 p.m. 12 to 3
3 to 6
6 to 9
Mon-Fri, 2-6 Aug 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. 5 to 9
Sat, 7 Aug Noon – 10:00 p.m. 12 to 3
3 to 6
6 to 9
Sun, 8 Aug Noon – 10:00 p.m. 12 to 3
3 to 6
6 to 9
Mon, 9 Aug Disassembly/Return to Rowser VCE Contact Tina Will
Time TBA
The Rte3/Gordon Rd Plant Clinic is being organized by Ray Mikula. A link to Signup Genius will be sent via email soon, and will also be posted on our website: mgacra.org. The clinic will run every Saturday through July, August, and September. Time: from 8:45 a.m. to 12:10 p.m. All volunteers should be vaccinated because there will be contact with the general public and children who are not vaccinated. The sign-up link is https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B044DA9A623AAFF2-rt3farmers
New Project Alert! Deacon Commons Community Garden: Master Gardener Jen Lin is looking for volunteers to help with developing the plans for a newly approved community garden project! Her neighborhood's large public green space will be turned into a community garden, to include a native plant area, a small botanical park, and some community vegetable plots. If you'd be interested in helping with plant selection, advising on developing the plots, or helping figure out the best layout you can contact her at ravin@vt.edu. Any work on the planning stage of this garden WILL COUNT for volunteer hours!
Cedell Brooks: Coordinator Alvin Calhoun welcomes volunteers to join him at Cedell Brooks Park workdays every Thursday from 9am - 12noon! can let Alvin know you're coming by signing up in Better Impact (click on the Opportunities tab, go to the Opportunities Calendar, and click on whatever Thursday works for you!), or you can just turn up with your tools. Please contact Alvin if you have any questions at aac.a4@gmail.com
Native Garden at Widewater State Park: Coordinator Beth Daily welcomes all volunteers to join her at Widewater State Park. Reach out to Beth with any questions, and the park rangers on site are also happy to answer any questions you may have while working in the garden. Snacks and water are available for purchase in the gift shop, and parking is free for garden volunteers! Beth can be reached at elizabethdaly@juno.com.
Smart Green Lawns: Smart Green Lawn volunteers are super busy and the season is just getting started! Additional volunteers are needed. No special lawn knowledge is necessary, and one-on-one training will be provided via via zoom or in the Extension office. New volunteers will be work with our veteran SGL volunteers to really learn the ropes. Please contact Lisa Ellis if you are interested in volunteering or have questions about the project!
Belmont Nature Trail: MG Jody Wilken is the Grounds Coordinator at Belmont, and she is looking for some volunteers to work on the Nature Trail giving educational walking tours to visitors. Though you would be volunteering as an MG, Belmont has its own internal volunteer process as well, which includes a background screening (paid for by Belmont). Don't let that process scare you off, though, you'd still be earning Master Gardener hours! Please contact Lisa Ellis or Jody (jwilken@umw.edu) to get started!
Chatham Historical Gardens: Did you know that you can earn volunteer hours every Wednesday, year-round, from 8am-1pm by joining project Coordinator Carol Hyland in the beautiful Chatham Historical Gardens? Interested? You can sign up in Better Impact (click on the Opportunities tab, go to the Opportunities Calendar, and click on whatever Wednesday works for you!), or you can just turn up with your pruners. Please contact Carol if you have any questions at cahyland@cox.net
Continuing Education:
Q&A with Guy: Guy will be hosting an informal, FREE, and open to the public lawn and garden Q&A (via Zoom) every third Friday of the month from May thru August! Pass the word, it is free and open to the public..
Soil Sample Video: The Extension Office has prepared a short video on how to take a good soil sample! The video is now up on YouTube and will be posted on our website. You can also click on the link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J93LtWMTs0
Watching the video WILL COUNT towards your Continuing Education hours.
Page Last Updated: 20 July 2021, RF
(Formatting: Month date - "Name of Event," time, at location (location address). Contact, person's name, email address (place in calendar by name, in order of starting time, alpha)
Some lectures and events will be offered via You-tube or ZOOM technology. The Free Lance Star and MGACRA Facebook page will also be used to post/advertise all activities.
All gardening, insect, plant disease, and horticultural related questions can be called into our VCE office: 540-658-8000. Guy Mussey is our VCE Agent for the four-county area and Fredericksburg. Additional resources are available at: ext.vt.edu where subjects of interest can be searched.
MG Monthly Meetings: Monthly GENERAL meetings will be held via ZOOM until October 2021. Registration will be required to access any meetings being conducted via Zoom prior to October 2021.
14 Jul - MGACRA Board Meeting, 1:30 p.m., via ZOOM (link will be emailed to Board on April 9). POC: Tina Will, brianandtina.will@gmail.com.
21 Jul – MGACRA General Meeting, Time 6:30 p.m. POC: Kathie Holliday, klholliday7@gmail.com Guest Speaker/Topic: Join MG Tracy Woods Blevins for a Garden Tour and discussion on Plants of the Year. Her talk will feature the winners just announced in 2021 as well as a few favorites from previous years that have been given top honors by the Perennial Plant Association, American Conifer Society, National Garden Bureau, and the American Hosta Growers Association. Learn about the awards, organizations, and criteria used in selecting them. Location: 6904 Cloudy Way, Spotsylvania, VA 22551. Open garden begins at 6:30 p.m. Meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. Bring your smartphones or tablets to follow a guided virtual tour (https://www.plantsmap.com/collections/36092). Feel free to bring a chair and a beverage. The garden is flat and easily accessible to everyone. The talk will be in the woodland shade garden where it’s cooler. The house will not be open but very nearby for restrooms are the options of McDonalds, Dairy Queen, Sheetz, Taco Bell, Subway, Food Lion and more at the Route 1 Thornburg intersection / I95 Exit 118.
Bio: Tracy is a cofounder of Plantsmap.com, a mobile website that provides tools to digitally document plant collections for public and private landscapes, gardens, parks and more. Tracy has been an avid plant collector since 1999. She first became a master gardener in 2005, with the Alabama Cooperative Extension, and has been an active member of the Master Gardener Association of the Central Rappahannock Area since 2012. She is a member of GardenComm, AmericanHort, the Perennial Plant Association and other organization that promote growing more plants. See the Plantsmap.com Connecting People With Plants Journal for more plant based content.
Other Calendar Events:
27 Jul - Master Gardener 4th Tuesday Series (free and open to public), 7:00 p.m via Zoom. Registration link for the lecture will be posted on our website: https://www.mgacra.org/july.html, and on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MGACRA/.
Speaker/Topic: Mariya Hudick from Tri County City Soil and Water Conservation District (TCCSWCD)/Programs offered by TCCSWCD and the volunteer opportunities available for both youth and adults.
Don’t forget to complete the MGACRA Board of Directors Survey. Your Board of Directors has been considering how best to serve the needs and preferences of MGACRA members as the pandemic winds down somewhat. We need to know how you feel about regathering in person, indoors, starting in 2022. Through October 2021, Wednesday general meetings will be held via Zoom We hope to be able to hold an in-person meeting in the Rowser Building in November in order to conduct officer elections for 2022. We also hope to plan an in-person holiday social in the Rowser Building in December. To help the Board plan our activities for 2022, please take 2 minutes to complete the anonymous 6-question survey at this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GJQFL7W
The survey will close July 12th so results can be tabulated for the next Board of Directors meeting.
MG Volunteer Opportunities:
30 Jul – 8 Aug - Fredericksburg Fair! This year’s co-coordinators will be Judy Jones and Tina Will. Volunteers are need to prepare our displays, set-up tables and displays, man the MGACRA booth and takedown and return material to Rowser VCE Office. Check your email for detailed information and instructions. Any questions? Please contact Tina Will, Brianandtina.will@gmail.com
:
Fredericksburg Fair Volunteer Schedule is as follows:
DATES TIMES SHIFTS
Mon-Thurs, 26-29 Jul Assembly & Set-up Contact Tina Will
Time TBA
Fri, 30 Jul 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. 5 to 9
Sat, 31 Jul Noon – 10:00 p.m. 12 to 3
3 to 6
6 to 9
Sun, 1 Aug Noon – 10:00 p.m. 12 to 3
3 to 6
6 to 9
Mon-Fri, 2-6 Aug 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. 5 to 9
Sat, 7 Aug Noon – 10:00 p.m. 12 to 3
3 to 6
6 to 9
Sun, 8 Aug Noon – 10:00 p.m. 12 to 3
3 to 6
6 to 9
Mon, 9 Aug Disassembly/Return to Rowser VCE Contact Tina Will
Time TBA
The Rte3/Gordon Rd Plant Clinic is being organized by Ray Mikula. A link to Signup Genius will be sent via email soon, and will also be posted on our website: mgacra.org. The clinic will run every Saturday through July, August, and September. Time: from 8:45 a.m. to 12:10 p.m. All volunteers should be vaccinated because there will be contact with the general public and children who are not vaccinated. The sign-up link is https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B044DA9A623AAFF2-rt3farmers
New Project Alert! Deacon Commons Community Garden: Master Gardener Jen Lin is looking for volunteers to help with developing the plans for a newly approved community garden project! Her neighborhood's large public green space will be turned into a community garden, to include a native plant area, a small botanical park, and some community vegetable plots. If you'd be interested in helping with plant selection, advising on developing the plots, or helping figure out the best layout you can contact her at ravin@vt.edu. Any work on the planning stage of this garden WILL COUNT for volunteer hours!
Cedell Brooks: Coordinator Alvin Calhoun welcomes volunteers to join him at Cedell Brooks Park workdays every Thursday from 9am - 12noon! can let Alvin know you're coming by signing up in Better Impact (click on the Opportunities tab, go to the Opportunities Calendar, and click on whatever Thursday works for you!), or you can just turn up with your tools. Please contact Alvin if you have any questions at aac.a4@gmail.com
Native Garden at Widewater State Park: Coordinator Beth Daily welcomes all volunteers to join her at Widewater State Park. Reach out to Beth with any questions, and the park rangers on site are also happy to answer any questions you may have while working in the garden. Snacks and water are available for purchase in the gift shop, and parking is free for garden volunteers! Beth can be reached at elizabethdaly@juno.com.
Smart Green Lawns: Smart Green Lawn volunteers are super busy and the season is just getting started! Additional volunteers are needed. No special lawn knowledge is necessary, and one-on-one training will be provided via via zoom or in the Extension office. New volunteers will be work with our veteran SGL volunteers to really learn the ropes. Please contact Lisa Ellis if you are interested in volunteering or have questions about the project!
Belmont Nature Trail: MG Jody Wilken is the Grounds Coordinator at Belmont, and she is looking for some volunteers to work on the Nature Trail giving educational walking tours to visitors. Though you would be volunteering as an MG, Belmont has its own internal volunteer process as well, which includes a background screening (paid for by Belmont). Don't let that process scare you off, though, you'd still be earning Master Gardener hours! Please contact Lisa Ellis or Jody (jwilken@umw.edu) to get started!
Chatham Historical Gardens: Did you know that you can earn volunteer hours every Wednesday, year-round, from 8am-1pm by joining project Coordinator Carol Hyland in the beautiful Chatham Historical Gardens? Interested? You can sign up in Better Impact (click on the Opportunities tab, go to the Opportunities Calendar, and click on whatever Wednesday works for you!), or you can just turn up with your pruners. Please contact Carol if you have any questions at cahyland@cox.net
Continuing Education:
Q&A with Guy: Guy will be hosting an informal, FREE, and open to the public lawn and garden Q&A (via Zoom) every third Friday of the month from May thru August! Pass the word, it is free and open to the public..
Soil Sample Video: The Extension Office has prepared a short video on how to take a good soil sample! The video is now up on YouTube and will be posted on our website. You can also click on the link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J93LtWMTs0
Watching the video WILL COUNT towards your Continuing Education hours.
Page Last Updated: 20 July 2021, RF