PMG Spring Plant Sale, Indoors at Albemarle Square
2024-05-04 10:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | VA
Due to rain in the forecast, the Piedmont Master Gardeners’ Spring Plant Sale will be held INDOORS from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 4, at 300 Albemarle Square in Charlottesville. The sale will offer thousands of annuals, perennials, vegetables, fruit-bearing plants, herbs and houseplants, including a large assortment of native plants. Preview a sampling of the herbaceous plants we will be offering. Availability is subject to change. In addition, shoppers can purchase garden implements, yard ornaments and other “Green Elephants.” The sale will happen rain or shine and will feature a Help Desk for answering gardening questions and educational displays on a variety of topics. All proceeds support the many free and low-cost programs the Piedmont Master Gardeners offer to the community. Cash and credit cards will all be accepted.

Garden Basics: Dividing Bulbs, Corms, Tubers, and Rhizomes
2024-05-18 14:00 - 16:00 | VA
Many beautiful plants come from bulbs, corms, tubers, and rhizomes. Some can be left in the ground over the winter, while others can be dug up, stored, and planted the following spring. You will discover:

how to identify bulbs, corms, tubers, and rhizomes;
how they reproduce;
how to dig them up; and
how to store them for the winter.

A hands-on activity will demonstrate the proper method for dividing. 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. May 17, 2024, or when the class is full.

PMG Speakers Bureau: Growing a Better Lawn
2024-06-04 18:30 - 19:30 | VA
Our lawns offer aesthetic and environmental benefits around our homes while providing a green space where children and pets can play. We can grow our lawns in ways that maintain these benefits while limiting harm to people and the environment. Learn a sustainable approach to lawn management that includes:
• Using environmentally friendly practices,
• Managing weeds and pests while doing no harm to pollinators, birds, and other wildlife, and
• Replacing some lawn with ground covers and low-maintenance native plant beds.
This in-person program is hosted by the Piedmont Master Gardeners and The Center at Belvedere and is free and open to all.
Register here.

Garden Basics: Backyard Composting for Healthy Soil and a Healthier Planet
2024-06-22 14:00 - 16:00 | VA
Composting makes sustainable and beneficial use of food and yard waste, reduces chemical fertilizer and insecticide use, and keeps organic wastes out of landfills. This workshop will cover:

soil and plant nutrient basics,
the benefits of natural soil building by creating compost from organic matter, and
composting techniques appropriate for home gardeners.

We will also examine samples of compost batches in various stages of decomposition. 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. June 21, 2024, or when the class is full.

Garden Basics: Making Hypertufa Containers--CLASS IS FULL
2024-07-20 14:00 - 16:00 | VA
Hypertufa containers last for years and are ideal for displaying flowers, bulbs, succulents, and other plants—indoors or out. You will learn:

what hypertufa is,
how to make a hypertufa container safely, and
plants that do well in a hypertufa container.

You will also make a container to take home, with instructions provided in advance. Garden Basics is a partnership with the Bread and Roses ministry at Trinity Episcopal Church.
The class is full.

Entries Due July 31 for the Albemarle County Fair
2024-07-31 12:00 - 20:00 | VA
The Piedmont Master Gardeners, in partnership with Albemarle/Charlottesville 4-H Youth Development, invite home gardeners, brewers, bakers, beekeepers, viticulturalists, artists and crafters to submit entries for the 2024 Albemarle County Fair. Extension Master Gardeners and other volunteers will accept entries from 12 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 31, at the Agriculture and Home Arts Barn at James Monroe’s Highland, 2050 James Monroe Parkway. Instructions for submitting entries can be found here. Ribbon-winning entries will be on display throughout the fair, which runs from 4 p.m. Thursday, August 1, to 9 p.m. Saturday, August 3, at Highland. Entry submissions are free; fair admission is $5. For a detailed schedule, please visit https://albemarlecountyfair.com/.

PMG Speakers Bureau: Saving Dark Skies
2024-08-06 18:30 - 19:30 | VA
Light pollution is making nights almost 10 percent brighter every year. The disappearing darkness not only limits our view of the stars but also has serious implications for the health of all living things. Biological processes have evolved with our planet’s rhythm of night and day. Lighting up the night disrupts this predictable cycle. In addition, excessive outdoor lighting is disorienting and often fatal for migrating birds, nocturnal flying insects, and baby sea turtles.
The good news is that light pollution is fixable. Join Master Gardener Christine Hirsh-Putnam and Monticello Curator of Plants Peggy Cornett to learn more about the impact of light pollution and the many ways we can mitigate it.
This in-person program is hosted by the Piedmont Master Gardeners and The Center at Belvedere and is free and open to all. Register here to attend.

PMG Speakers Bureau: Saving Seeds from Your Garden
2024-08-19 18:30 - 19:30 | VA
Have you wondered whether you can save and replant seeds from ornamentals, native plants, and vegetables you enjoy? Join us to learn about the benefits of saving your own seeds and to receive great tips on how to get started with harvesting, processing, and saving seeds.
The workshop will cover:

Plant pollination
Cross-pollination issues and preserving variety integrity
Seed processing and storage
Special needs of some seeds
Seed viability testing.

We will also suggest plants that are good candidates for seed saving. Register for this free program here.
Photo courtesy of Penn State Master Gardeners.

How to Become an Extension Master Gardener (in person)
2024-09-11 14:00 - 15:00, 2024-09-20 11:30 - 12:30 | VA
Join us for an in-person information session on how to take part in the 2025 training class for Extension Master Gardeners serving the Charlottesville and Albemarle County area. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how you can deepen your expertise in gardening and share it with the community in fun and rewarding ways.

Rain Barrel Workshop at Starr Hill Downtown
2024-09-19 18:00 - 19:00 | VA
A single rain barrel can collect hundreds, even thousands of gallons of rainwater each year. Visit the Piedmont Master Gardeners’ Help Desk at this rain barrel workshop presented by the James River Association and the Rivanna Stormwater Education Partnership. For the $50 registration fee, participants receive a 55-gallon drum, a RainRecycle rain barrel kit from The Rain Barrel Depot, and a pint of beer. Register here.

Garden Basics: Square-Foot Gardening
2024-09-21 14:00 - 16:00 | VA
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.

How to Become an Extension Master Gardener (online)
2024-09-24 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-09-26 18:00 - 19:30
Join us for an online information session on how to take part in the 2025 training class for Extension Master Gardeners serving the Charlottesville and Albemarle County area. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how you can deepen your expertise in gardening and share it with the community in fun and rewarding ways. To attend, please register here.

Saving Seeds from Your Garden--at Scottsville Library
2024-09-28 14:00 - 15:30 | VA
Join us to learn about the benefits of saving your own seeds and to receive great tips on how to harvest, process, and save seeds from your garden.
Our workshop will cover:
• Plant pollination
• Cross-pollination issues and preserving variety integrity
• Seed processing and storage
• Special needs of some seeds
• Seed viability testing.
We will also suggest plants that are good candidates for seed saving.
Hosted by the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library, Scottsville Branch, to kick off its new Seed Library.
