Piedmont Master Gardeners

Garden Basics: Square-Foot Gardening
2024-09-21 14:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York)
Learn how to maximize your growing space in the vegetable garden by using the square-foot gardening method. Square-foot gardening makes it easy to organize your garden layout and stop guessing about spacing. You will also identify weeds more easily. You will take home a chart with suggested spacing for the most commonly grown vegetables, along with a template for laying out your garden.
Garden Basics is a partnership with the Bread and Roses ministry at Trinity Episcopal Church.
Space is limited. Please register below to reserve your place in the class. Registration closes at 5 p.m. September 20, 2024, or when the class is full.

Garden Basics: Fall Tasks in the Perennial Garden
2024-10-19 14:00 - 16:00
Take a trip to the demonstration garden at Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital to learn how to prepare your garden for winter. We will cover:

how and when to cut back plants,
fall mulching and soil amendments,
dividing and planting bulbs, and
fall transplanting.

You will go home with a flowering perennial to transplant into your own garden. Garden Basics is a partnership with the Bread and Roses ministry at Trinity Episcopal Church.
Space is limited. Please register below to reserve your place in the class. Registration closes at 5 p.m. October 18, 2024, or when the class is full.

Garden Basics: Nature’s Cornucopia of Holiday Plants and Decorations
2024-11-16 14:00 - 16:00
Welcome the winter holiday season with this festive workshop.

Learn how to select, showcase, and maintain plants such as amaryllis, paperwhites, and Christmas cactus.
Discover possibilities for decorating with materials collected in the yard or on the trail.
Get inspired with examples using a variety of fragrant greens, cones, berries, dried flowers, and seed pods.

You will create a simple take-home decoration. Garden Basics is a partnership with the Bread and Roses ministry at Trinity Episcopal Church.

Space is limited. Please register below to reserve your place in the class. Registration closes at 5 p.m. November 15, 2024, or when the class is full.

RESCHEDULED AT NEW TIME AND PLACE Garden Basics: Indoor Gardening—You Don’t Need a Green Thumb!
2025-02-15 13:00 - 15:00
Learn how to beautify your surroundings with indoor plants. Our class will focus on
• plant selection,
• repotting,
• containers,
• environmental factors, and
• ways to maximize the use of greenery in your home.
We will set you on the path to long-term success as an indoor gardener.
PLEASE NOTE: This rescheduled session will be held in the Barn at James Monroe’s Highland, 2050 James Monroe Parkway, Charlottesville.
The class is full.
Photo: Designed by Freepik

Garden Basics: Foodscaping—The Edible Landscape
2025-04-26 14:00 - 16:00
In this Garden Basics session, learn how you can turn your landscape into a sustainable, perennial, ecologically healthy space that provides food. We will focus on how to grow edible crops without ripping out flowers and shrubs to convert the beds into a vegetable garden. Ornamentals, fruits, vegetables, and herbs can co-exist and thrive in the same space.
Space is limited. Registration opens Feb. 15 and closes at 5 p.m. April 25, 2025, or when the class is full. Garden Basics is a partnership with the Bread and Roses ministry at Trinity Episcopal Church in Charlottesville.
Photo: Designed by Freepik

Garden Basics: Invasive Species—Not All Plants Are Created Equal
2025-05-17 14:00 - 16:00 | Trinity Episcopal Church, 1118 Preston Avenue, Charlottesville, VA, United States
All too often, unsuspecting homeowners come home from a local nursery with an invasive species. Sadly, invasives wreak havoc on our ecosystems, denying birds and other native fauna the nutrition necessary to sustain them. Come learn why a Butterfly Bush is comparable to giving an 18-year-old junk food before running a marathon. You will learn how to recognize and eradicate the top 10 invasive species in the Piedmont region, with a particular focus on invasives still sold in retail nurseries. And you will come away with a list of native species to plant in their place.
Space is limited. Registration opens March 8 and closes at 5 p.m. May 16, 2025, or when the class is full. Garden Basics is a partnership with the Bread and Roses ministry at Trinity Episcopal Church in Charlottesville.
Photo: Designed by Freepik

Garden Basics: Growing Tomatoes with Confidence
2025-06-21 14:00 - 16:00 | Trinity Episcopal Church, 1118 Preston Avenue, Charlottesville, VA, United States
Flavorful, vine-ripened tomatoes are often the main reason many of us plant a vegetable garden. This session will provide practical advice on the basics of tomato growing success, including:

Choosing tomato varieties
Planting guidelines
Caring for tomato plants
Dealing with tomato diseases and pests
Harvesting and storing tomatoes.

Space is limited. Registration opens April 11 and closes at 5 p.m. June 20, 2025, or when the class is full. Garden Basics is a partnership with the Bread and Roses ministry at Trinity Episcopal Church in Charlottesville.

Garden Basics: Resilient Gardening
2025-07-19 14:00 - 16:00 | Trinity Episcopal Church, 1118 Preston Avenue, Charlottesville, VA, United States
How do we adapt our gardens to handle a changing world and more extreme weather? Learn how to meet the challenges of unpredictability in your garden and weather extremes such as drought, excessive rain, and unseasonably high or low temperatures.
Space is limited. Registration opens May 10 and closes at 5 p.m. July 18, 2025, or when the class is full. Garden Basics is a partnership with the Bread and Roses ministry at Trinity Episcopal Church in Charlottesville.
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Garden Basics: Household Food Waste—The Big Picture: How food storage and preservation can be part of the solution
2025-09-20 14:00 - 16:00 | Trinity Episcopal Church, 1118 Preston Avenue, Charlottesville, VA, United States
Consumers are responsible for most of the wasted food that winds up in our landfills and harms our environment. Learn some easy and practical strategies to reduce food waste, such as properly storing and preserving food for later use, including food harvested from the garden. Freezing, canning, dehydrating, and fermenting are great options.
Space is limited. Registration will close at 5 p.m. September 19 or when the class is full.
Garden Basics is a partnership with the Bread and Roses ministry at Trinity Episcopal Church in Charlottesville.
Photo: Designed by Freepik

Garden Basics: Tiny Indoor Gardens for Winter Green Thumbs—Easy, Nutritious Microgreens and Sprouts
2025-10-18 14:00 - 16:00 | Trinity Episcopal Church, 1118 Preston Avenue, Charlottesville, VA, United States
Microgreens and sprouts are the most local food you can eat. In this hands-on class, you will learn simple and inexpensive ways to grow delicious microgreens and sprouts. Small but mighty, these nutrition powerhouses are especially welcomed in the winter months.
Space is limited. Registration opens August 11 and closes at 5 p.m. October 17 or when the class is full.
Garden Basics is a partnership with the Bread and Roses ministry at Trinity Episcopal Church in Charlottesville.
Photo: Designed by Freepik

Garden Basics: When, Where and How to Prune—plus a tool checkup
2025-11-22 14:00 - 16:00 | Trinity Episcopal Church, 1118 Preston Avenue, Charlottesville, VA, United States
Proper pruning can improve the health and structure of trees and shrubs. In this session, we will focus on:
• the basics of structural pruning,
• when to prune various species,
• where and how to make proper cuts,
• the right tools and how to use them, and
• how to prune safely.
Arrive 30 minutes early with your pruning tools for a checkup on sharpness and condition.
Spaces is limited. Registration will close at 5 p.m. November 21 or when the class is full.
Garden Basics is a partnership with the Bread and Roses ministry at Trinity Episcopal Church in Charlottesville.
