Mabel’s garden in the west end of Richmond is a testament to her horticultural expertise. She designed and landscaped her property incorporating perennials, shrubs, trees and a variety of bulbs on a shady, steeply pitched lot. She has served on the GCV Horticulture Committee as well as multiple terms as Horticulture Chairman for Three Chopt Garden Club where she shares her knowledge in clever and enthusiastic ways. She always encourages “green practices”. Mabel has volunteered more than 1400 hours with Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden since 1986, and has been active as a Garden Guide since 1993, a job which requires intensive, ongoing training. She was Chairman of the Bloemendaal Council, the governing body of the volunteer corps, from 1992-94. For sixteen years, she has been involved with the committee for the Gillette Forum on Landscape Design, serving as Chairman from 2004-2007.

 

 

Donna has a true horticulture specimen garden containing hundreds of varieties of plants, which she graciously shares with her club members and the community. She makes her own compost and shares her knowledge by mentoring novice gardeners. Her garden has been open for Horticulture Field Day, as well as for the GCV Annual Meeting garden tours in 2009. Donna has taught plant grooming and propagation workshops for her club and for The Garden Club of Norfolk. Formerly the club Horticulture Chairman, Donna is currently Co-chair of the Tidewater Garden Symposium, a group she has participated in for 12 years.

 

 

Mary Lawrence, a member of NRGC for more than 30 years, and currently the club’s Horticulture Chairman, enthusiastically plants and nurtures roses for the GCV test collection. She served as a teacher for her club’s Ecology Camp last June, imparting her knowledge and love of plants to the 3rd and 4th graders who attended. Mary Lawrence was the “go-to” person during the design and selection of materials for the club’s Common Wealth Award- winning project, the Heritage Garden in Cedar Hill Cemetery, for which she promoted the use of drought resistant and native plants.

 

 

Frances’ expertise is roses, and she is a devoted caretaker of the 75 rose bushes in her garden. She has led programs and workshops focusing on the horticulture and exhibition of roses. Frances is a GCV Rose Committee member and has served as the Rose Chairman for Williamsburg Garden Club for 7 years. She consistently wins awards when exhibiting specimens and places much importance on using organic fertilizer and plant foods. Frances wrote a Journal article, “Going Green” regarding horticulture of roses, and promotes the use of organic fertilizer and plant food in the workshops she leads.

 

 

Margaret, a Master Gardener, strives to be an expert on all that she grows, including shade loving plants in a city garden, and a variety of trees, flowers, vegetables and blooming shrubs on her farm. She is a member of the Guilford Horticulture Society and past chairman of Adopt-a-Spot. She shares her love of horticulture by teaching children from a local church how to plant a vegetable garden and then encouraging them to share the produce with the community. Margaret educates herself on the subject of Uranium Mining in Pittsylvania County. She has written numerous letters on the subject to her congressman, and visited the offices in Richmond during Legislative Day to discuss her concerns.

 

 

Sue’s seven acre garden, which has appeared in Garden Gate magazine, includes unusual cultivars of low maintenance, native flowering shrubs and a vast collection of daffodils. It will be open for the 2010 HGW tour. Currently her club’s Horticulture Chairman, Sue has trained local Master Gardeners in landscaping, and has been a guest blogger for the GCV Horticulture blog. She is currently serving as co-chair of the GCV Conservation Committee and has lobbied for GCV-backed issues, as well as for her personal conservation beliefs. Sue, along with local landscapers and horticulturists, has helped to found a local horticulture club that is open to the public. Regular speakers and field trips are an ongoing part of this group. Sue recently accepted a 3 year position on the GCV Fellowship Committee, a part of the Restoration Committee.

 

 

By growing, exhibiting and photographing roses, Grace has educated the public. Her garden has been open for community events as well as HGW. She began with a bare backyard and designed an exquisite garden featuring roses. She composts, and is innovative and creative in her plant choices and planting techniques and is careful to research the best plants for the best location. She has worked to increase the general understanding of, and interest in growing roses throughout Staunton and Augusta County, for the public as well as garden club members. Currently a member of the GCV Horticulture Committee, Grace has served as Rose Chairman of The Augusta Garden Club for over a decade.

 

 

Gay is dedicated and passionate about horticulture and enjoys growing unusual plants that are native or adaptable to the Virginia Coastal climate. Her key interests are natives, perennials and daffodils. She presently serves on the GCV Conservation and Beautification Committee, and has held a number of committee positions at the Norfolk Botanical Garden, and in her own club. She has served her community by volunteering many hours on the Master Gardener hotline at Norfolk’s Fred Heutte Center as well as at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens greenhouse. Gay served as her club’s Horticulture Chairman, and Harborfront’s members say that she is their reliable source for Latin names and the correct spelling of plant names. Along with her many years of experience in gardening and volunteering, she brings tremendous energy to her fellow club members.

 

 

Carol, Horticulture Chairman for her club, is also Chairman of the Beautification Committee and a member of Greener Harrisonburg, a local gardening group. Carol enjoys being a mentor to new garden club members and neighbors and readily shares plants. She has been a leader of City Landscape Renewal projects, such as ‘visual impact’ gardens. Carol encourages leaf composting and shares her knowledge of proper planting and pruning of trees. She enjoys working with and training others in good gardening practices, and attends lectures and garden tours to expand her knowledge.