By Cathy Maddox
MASTER GARDENERS
❤
Montgomery Botanical Gardens Volunteers from the Capital City Master Gardener Association (CCMGA) obviously love the Montgomery Botanical Gardens at Oak Park (MBG). This group of enthusiastic volunteers support the development and care of the gardens through serving on the MBG board of directors, donating funds, providing educational presentations, guided tours, helping with publicity, creating, and maintaining planting beds within the overall design of the plan for the gardens, and even performing ongoing gardening functions. From the very first MBG organizational meeting in 2013 to explore community support for establishing botanical gardens in Montgomery, master gardeners have been involved as an integral part of developing and sustaining the gardens. CCMGA members adopted MBG as a major volunteer project for their organization in 2014 and has contributed thousands of hours of volunteer time to help the gardens become the place of beauty and peace that it is today, and they are not slowing down. Some of these master gardener volunteers began their involvement with MBG by performing the difficult work of digging and removing matted vines, saplings, and weeds along the main drive into the park which had been overgrown and unsightly for a long time. That Daylily Bed area has now been completely cleared and replanted with healthy azaleas, camellias, and other southern shrubs. The spring blooms
54 BOOM!
June 2021
RiverRegionBoom.com
useful in the many propagation tasks. The greenhouse will be an excellent resource for both CCMGA and MBG. It is also a great venue for master gardeners to provide demonstration classes for MG Interns, as well as offer classes for the public through MBG events on topics such as propagation, transplanting, and caring for plants.
Volunteer In Biblical Garden
have been a glorious reward for their hard work.
The most recent contribution to MBG by CCMGA is the creation of new color beds on each side of the main entrance to MBG. The committee to create the new circular beds was chaired by Justin Skipper, MG. These beds as well as the entrance walk were edged with stones gathered from throughout the garden grounds. One of the CCMGA members even donated the necessary funds to extend the existing irrigation system to make these new beds possible. Last year the Master Gardeners established a Pollinator Garden at MBG as part of the national Green Bridges program to attract pollinators to stop and visit the many blooms. They extended that garden this spring.
CCMGA donated the funds to purchase the materials for a greenhouse and provided most of the volunteers to construct it at MBG. It took several years to complete the building, then equip and furnish it, but the greenhouse is now operational, and plants happily grew and flourished under the care of CCMGA volunteers. The late Terry Graydon, husband of Linda Graydon, one of the master gardeners’ volunteers, constructed a beautiful support table Members of CCMGA for the double are also involved with sinks donated Lynne Kuhlmann and on the ladder is other organizations by Karin Karin Carmichael, MG Volunteers that have contributed Carmichael, to the beauty of another master MBG. Some of our members are also gardener, and another, Tom members of the Montgomery Area McLemore, connected the Daylily Society that have established a plumbing for the sinks. These Daylily Display Bed along the curve of the sinks provide a convenient walkway through the Southern Garden source of water for planting, at MBG. It has been a beautiful, eyewashing pots, mixing catching addition along with Plant ID solutions, and washing signs to inform visitors about the variety hands. Another master gardener, Dave of lilies and perennials in the bed. The Toellner, constructed a sturdy potting Federation of Garden Clubs also has bench for the greenhouse that will be The River Region’s 50+ Lifestage Magazine
