Don’t Miss – Southern Region Master Gardener Conference!

Excitement is building as we move closer to October and the 2014 Southern Region Master Gardener Conference scheduled for October 21-24 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Baton Rouge, Louisiana!  The state of Louisiana takes great pleasure in extending a special invitation to all gardeners to join with Master Gardeners, Extension Master Gardener coordinators, and University and celebrity horticulturalists for an outstanding event of gardening education and some good ole down home southern hospitality and entertainment! This conference has it all including beautiful rooms at the Crowne Plaza for the conference special of $94 with registration. Also, there are still openings available for the Wednesday’s Cajun Night Out and the various conference tours. For master Gardeners looking for educational hours before the end of December-this conference offers that opportunity.  Below are links that provide an overview of the conference as well,  invitations by LSU AgCenter’s Plant Doctor- Dan Gill, Baton Rouge Mayor-Kip Holden, Lt. Governor-Jay Dardenne  and Crowne Plaza representative-Lauren Cox.   Don’t miss this outstanding conference and the great opportunity to enjoy and share in our southern roots!

Overview Invitation to SRMG Conference
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj5bymY-_ng
2014 Southern Region Master Gardener Conference (General Promotion with Dan Gill, Mayor Holden, & Lt. Gov. Dardenne) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkguAhCH5ws
2014 Southern Region Master Gardener Conference (Crowne Plaza- Lauren Cox)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5rQYunwDAI

SRMG Conference Schedule & Registration:  www.southernregionmgconf2014.com

 

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Another Outstanding Louisiana Master Gardener State Conference!

A total of 231 Master Gardeners attended the 2013 State Master Gardener Conference held October 8-11 at the Sam’s Town Casino and Conference Center in Shreveport, Louisiana.  Master Gardener volunteers from Northwest and Piney Hills Master Gardener Associations hosted the event – delivering an outstanding program of speakers, tours, vendors, prizes and great accommodations! The theme for this year’s conference was “Gardening for Life” where participants enjoyed a terrific line-up of speakers and talks presented on health, sustainable living and garden design.

Chris Olsen, nationally known home and garden guru, designer, author and TV personality was the key-note speaker who shared his unique flair for home décor and design.  In addition to Olsen, a host of other entertaining and knowledgeable program speakers from around the country provided outstanding talks on various gardening subjects that included: The Urban Backyard Mini Farm; New Ideas for Organic Gardening; Retreat from the Heat with Shade Gardens; Ten Top Reasons to Garden;  Small Space Gardening; The Use of Rainwater in the Garden;  Seasoning the Melting Pot -Growing Herbs. Program speakers included Melinda Myers, Dolores Hydock, Leslie Halleck, Steve Huddleston, Billy Kniffen and Ann Mcormick. Local speakers presenting various gardening subjects included Dennis Forshee, Denyse Cummins, Matthew Linn, Lois Maberry, Ann Mccormick, Becky Taylor, Robert Powell, Ken Warren and Richard white.  Speakers representing the LSU AgCenter included Grace Peterson, David Himelrick and Bob Souvestre.

Participants found the conference to be very informative, educational and a worthwhile event, as determined through participant evaluations, who also expressed appreciation for the dedication and work by Northwest and Piney Hills Master Gardener volunteers in delivering an outstanding Louisiana Master Gardener State Conference.

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Registration for 2012 State Master Gardener Conference remains on-going

As reported by conference committee members of the Southwest Louisiana Master Gardener Association, more than 150 Louisiana Master Gardeners have currently registered for the 2012 State Master Gardener Conference scheduled for October 24 – 26 at the L’auberge Resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana.  Information on accommodations, registration, conference schedule and tours can be accessed through the 2012 State Master Gardener Conference site at:  http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/lawn_garden/master_gardener/LMG+State+Conference/

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2012 Louisiana Master Gardener State Conference

Plans are being finalized by the Southwest Louisiana Master Gardeners, hosts for the 2012 Louisiana Master Gardener Conference which will be held at the beautiful L’Auberge du lac Casino Resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana October 24, 25, and 26.  The 2012 conference will offer a variety of presentations, workshops, and vendors and the opportunity to share ideas and learn new things as we reinforce “Our Bridge to the Future” (the 2012 conference theme).  Conference registration will be $150 and the room rate (single or double occupancy) at the conference hotel will be $99.

More information on the conference program, including on-line registration, will be made available on the LMG website in the coming weeks.

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Budget Update/Butterfly Festival/2011 MG Conference

LSU AgCenter Budget Update

Several of you have inquired about the budget reductions and how that could impact the LSU AgCenter. We still face challenges and your advocacy is important to keep us viable into the future. LSU System President John Lombardi directed each campus in the LSU System to develop a preliminary plan to address the anticipated severe budget cuts to higher education for the 2011-12 fiscal year. The LSU AgCenter was directed to prepare for a cut of 23 percent, which amounts to approximately $16 million. This anticipated reduction on top the cuts over the past two years equates to a devastating 40 percent budget loss for the LSU AgCenter.

While a reduction of any amount will inhibit the LSU AgCenter’s ability to fulfill its mission, cuts of this magnitude are catastrophic. The LSU AgCenter, by the nature of its mission, has the vast portion of its budget vested in personnel. This plan will eliminate 211 positions through vacancies and layoffs that reduce or cut programs and in some cases entire units.

For the latest complete information, click here. You can also go to the “Focus on the Budget” webpage here: 

http://lsuagcenter.com/en/administration/about_us/chancellors_office/focus_budget/ 

MASTER GARDENER BUTTERFLY QUIZ BOWL COMPETITION 

The butterfly-themed Master Gardener Quiz Bowl Competition is scheduled for 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. at the butterfly festival in Haynesville, LA on September 11 with Robin Bridges, County Agent in Union County, Arkansas, as emcee.  There will be a panel of three judges to decide if an answer is acceptable and to keep score.  These judges will not be master gardeners nor will they be associated with any extension service, but will be knowledgeable about butterflies and butterfly gardening.  Each team will consist ideally of four members who can confer among themselves before giving an answer to a question; however, a team can compete with fewer members but would have a lesser advantage in conference. 

Choose a catchy name for your team and submit it and the names of the team members; there is no fee for entering.  The winning team will receive $300, second place $200, and third place $100.   For further information contact Loice Kendrick-Lacy. 

Loice Kendrick-Lacy, (870) 234-4910, loicelacy@att.net, www.claiborneone.org 

2011 International Master Gardener Conference 

Several of you have requested the date and location for the 2011 IMG conference. West Virginia University Extension Service and the West Virginia Master Gardener Association invite you to join them at the 2011 International Master Gardener Conference, October 11 -14 in Charleston, West Virginia. For full details, click here.

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Louisiana Master Gardener video-recorded classes

If you want to find out more about the Louisiana Master Gardener program, you can now check out video-recorded sessions of actual classes as well as sessions of the 2009 LMG conference held in Kenner, Louisiana. This will not only give you a better understanding of what the program is like for those interested in taking the class but will be a great resource for those volunteers who need continuing education hours to maintain your certification. You can click here or go to this weblink: 

http://www.lsuagcenter.com/LMGVideoCatalog

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Expert says hardy garden plants can last years

WEST MONROE, La. – Perennials are flowers and shrubs that live for two years or longer and are hardy enough to survive winter, non-woody and able to tolerate heat, LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dan Gill told the Louisiana Master Gardeners at their state conference April 30.

In Louisiana, they must be able to tolerate five months of daytime temperatures in the 90s and nights in the 70s, high humidity and occasional drought, Gill explained. Don’t let familiarity breed contempt, Gill told the gardeners.

“When you see something everywhere, it is because it is reliable,” he said. “If you want to stay on the cutting edge and grow what no one else is growing, be prepared for failure. Don’t look down on a plant because it is grown everywhere.”

Gill said he treasures true blue-colored flowers, mentioning lily of the Nile. “It is nicest planted in clumps or drifts,” he said. Plumbago is also a true blue flower. “It can get cold enough to kill plumbago,” he warned. Blue flowers can psychologically cool people in the summertime, he said.

Gill spoke complimentarily of Philippine lily. “We should all have this in our gardens,” he said. August is the prime time for bloom. “It is taller than I am,” the horticulturist said of the plant. “They frequently need to be staked.”

Full story, click here.

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Day 2 of LMG conference

The second day of the 2010 LMG conference is going well. Excellent speakers and hands on workshops were the majority of the day. Dan Gill was one of the featured speakers this morning.

Several master gardeners learn how to save Hibiscus seeds from LSU AgCenter horticulturist Denyse Cummins.

Dan Gill discussed perennials for Louisiana Landscapes this morning.

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Louisiana Master Gardener conference kicks off in West Monroe

We had a great evening at the West Monroe convention center as the 2010 LMG conference began with greetings from the Mayor of West Monroe, Dave Norris. Conference co-chair Harold “Buck” Bounds was the emcee for the evening. My hats off to Steve Hotard, Rafash Brew and the entire planning team for putting together a great program. Looks like over 150 LMG volunteers registered for the conference. There was a great meal and we had a live band for entertainment plus the educational and vendor exhibits were open.

We kick off the morning with breakfast at 8:15 AM and have Dan Gill as our keynote speaker to cover “Outstanding Old and New Perennials for Louisiana” at 8:30 AM tomorrow. Check back tomorrow for more details.

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Washington Post Article

The extension service’s programs help local gardeners grow

By Adrian Higgins, Thursday, April 1, 2010

The reach of the local extension agent has been greatly enhanced by the creation of Master Gardener groups. Frequently established as their own nonprofit organizations, they rely on the extension service for training, curriculum and science-based help in such new areas as organic pest control.

In Fairfax County, for example, two separate Master Gardener programs with 400 trained volunteers work closely with Adria Bordas, the horticultural extension agent, to reach tens of thousands of homeowners through plant clinics, talks and displays. They also teach fourth-graders how to grow plants.

Master gardener training program by the Montgomery County Master Gardeners, which is a University of Maryland extension. (Montgomery County Master Gardeners)

In its recently concluded session, the Virginia General Assembly considered legislation to close extension offices in the state’s most populated areas (including Arlington and Alexandria, Fairfax, Prince William County, Richmond and Norfolk), eliminate lawn and garden programs statewide and consolidate the offices that remained.

The state government backed away from such explicit program cuts but decided the extension service would suffer reductions of $1.1 million in the fiscal year beginning July 1 and $5.5 million the following year. The legislature also instructed the folks at the Virginia Cooperative Extension, in the midst of a strategic reorganization, to place “priority on the historic mission of extension.”

That sounds like a directive to imagine and serve a wholly agrarian society, though Virginia Tech’s Alan Grant, head of the Virginia Cooperative Extension, tried to put the cutbacks in the best light in a letter to the extension community. He wrote that the reductions notwithstanding, “extension will continue to provide community-based programs focused on current and emerging needs.”

Among the current needs, I would argue, is a need to maintain services in the most populated cities and suburbs. The need there is inherently great, and so too is the risk of well-intentioned homeowners armed with fertilizers and pesticides fouling public waters and killing beneficial insects, including pollinators. An underlying motive of extension agents in the region has been to reduce the effects of horticultural pollutants in our public waters while showing homeowners how to stop killing their plants.

The emerging needs? You need only look to the vegetable garden at the White House and first lady Michelle Obama’s crusade against childhood obesity to see that there is a deep desire to take back control over our diets and try to grow our own food. In recent decades, people turned to vegetable gardening as a hobby and a source of pride; now the gardeners I talk to want to put fresh, nutritious food on their families’ tables. They believe growing your own can make your body healthier while also, in a small but cumulatively meaningful way, make the Earth healthier, too. Novice gardeners need help. Experienced gardeners need help.

Showing new generations how to protect the environment and feed themselves in the crowded city and suburb may be as vital in the 21st century as helping farmers to cultivate the fruited plains in the 19th.

Full article.

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