Where can you make one stop and see nearly 20 different gardens in a 15-minute walk? At the UGA Hall County Cooperative Extension Office at 734 E Crescent Dr, Gainesville.
And you don’t even need to go into the building.
This year’s Hall County Master Gardener trainee class has been using their creativity to develop a showcase of demonstration gardens for perennials, annuals, vegetables and other plants at the Extension Office. It’s part of the Competitive Demonstration Gardens to put into practice what they learned in nearly 60 hours of classroom training earlier this year.
“The trainees have gone above and beyond in the gardens they’ve created next to the building,” said Bridget Tuckey, Master Gardener coordinator with UGA Extension in Hall. “Every time someone comes by the office, they ask about these incredible 8- by 8-foot plots filled with tomatoes, butterfly/pollinator attractors, daylilies, colorful annuals and combination plantings. It has been a great way to showcase our trainees, and it also shows the variety of options homeowners can include in their own landscapes.”
Limited only by imagination
Jeff Leitner, Hall County Master Gardener trainee, looks through his homemade kaleidoscope at flowers in a spinning planter.
One of the trainees, an engineer, constructed a twirling planter filled with colorful annuals. A look through the original hand-built kaleidoscope, aimed at the planter, reveals multiple images of brilliant flowers.
Several trainees developed their take on growing vegetables. Tomatoes seem to dominate but other edibles reflect a balanced diet that includes herbs, beans, radishes and peppers. Perennials like daylilies, black-eyed Susans, hostas and calendula are complimented by multiple varieties of annuals, such as petunias, nasturtiums, daisies, dianthus and marigolds.
“Given very few rules, the trainees have really taken pride in their creations,” Tuckey said. “The project, an outgrowth of needing to beautify our Extension Office grounds, has far exceeded expectations. They help tell the story of extension, education and beautification in an engaging and informative way.
Who are Master Gardeners?
Late summer and early fall, many county Extension Offices, including Hall, put out a call for people to apply for the following year’s class of trainees. Once selected to participate in the Hall program, each trainee attends twice-weekly classes, takes a few field trips and begins their required 50 hours of volunteer service before they earn the full UGA Master Gardener Extension Volunteer title.
“All types of people apply, and prior gardening experience is not required,” she said. “The application process begins later this summer, but interested folks can be put on an application waiting list by emailing Bridget.Tuckey@uga.edu.
“Our trainees and Master Gardeners give back to the community through education, beautification and stewardship. And along the way, many of them make lasting friendships.”
Hall County Master Gardeners produces several public events – two garden expos, a biennial Garden Walk tour of private landscapes, public education classes and workshops. The organization works with youth gardeners in the schools, plus hosts a public plant auction, book club and a seed swap.
To learn more about Hall County Master Gardeners, visit hallmastergardeners.com or call 770 535-8293. And be sure to stop by the UGA Hall County Cooperative Extension Office at 734 E Crescent Dr., Gainesville, just west of exit 24 off I-985.
You’ll be pleasantly surprised at the work of this year’s training class of future Hall County Master Gardeners. And you may learn a thing or two of diversity in gardening, just by seeing what this year’s trainee class has accomplished.
Photo: by Pamela A. Keene
