Current Master Gardener Projects
Eastern Shore Virginia Master Gardeners share their knowledge with the public and other members while earning their hours. Public gardens, club activities and outreach activities offer members a variety of choices to suit their skills and interests!
Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge
Located at the Bateman Educational and Administrative Center and features butterfly and bird demonstration gardens.
For more details, click here
For a garden map, click here
Eastville Inn Garden
The Eastville Garden is located between the Eastville Inn & the County Offices. Work starts in early March and continues thru November on Tuesdays at 9:30 AM.
Community Services Board Garden
The Eastern Shore of Virginia Master Gardener (ESVMG) volunteers take an active role in teaching and supervising clients at the Eastern Shore Community Services Board (CSB) garden located behind the CSB office on Greenbush Road in Parksley. ESVMG volunteers support the work of the dedicated CSB staff who bring the clients to the garden where their lives are enhanced through time spent working with the plants and enjoying the benefits of their labor.
For more details, click here
Kiptopeke Elementary School
The project at the Kiptopeke school is mostly inside the classroom. We work with the students once or twice per month adapting our lessons to fit with the science or math curriculum for the year. We cover subjects such as weather, water cycle, erosion, the parts of the seed, the parts of the plant, the life cycle of the plant, square foot gardening concepts (fractions), the butterfly life cycle, and other topics as needed.
Ker Place
The Herb Garden is shaped in a traditional, colonial style with 8 sides, within which are 8X8 sided beds placed at equal intervals around a center circle shape. The overall size is approximately 30+ft wide X 70ft. long. Research had been done to make this Herb garden an authentic historic period garden that would have been at Ker Place. Plants include chives, chamomile, catmint, bergamot, aster, candytuft, lamb’s ear, baptisiam oregano, parsley, atrimesia just name a few. Each spring replacements and annuals are planted. Continuous help is needed.
For more details, click here
For a garden map, click here
Kiptopeke State Park Native Plant Garden
This garden was established in July 2010 off Rte 13 south of Cape Charles, inside Kiptopeke State Park. The garden is 40’ x 120’ and planted with native plants, trees and shrubs. The largest project is the annual cutback and mulching both done late October or early November. Workdays are most Friday mornings from 8:30am-10:00am, but volunteers are also free to come on their own schedule.
New Roots Youth Garden (NRYG)
The New Roots Youth Garden is located at the corner of Fig St. and Stone Rd, next to Rayfields Pharmacy in Cape Charles. The purpose of the garden is to provide opportunities for local youth to develop personal growth, environmental stewardship, healthy lifestyles, social skills and awareness, community spirit, business proficiency, and the joy and satisfaction of meaningful work. We realize these goals by growing, eating, and sharing our harvest in creative, fun, and healthy ways
There are numerous opportunities to help at the open garden events, being a “teachers aide” for the core gardening program, leading an activity/class for the core program, help plant and maintain the raised and flower beds, and or help run the farm stand.
Northampton Free Library Native Plant Butterfly Garden
This is a small established garden located in front of the library in Nassawadox, down the street from Little Italy. In the spring, volunteers clean up the garden, plant annuals and mulch. The rest of the growing season a weekly schedule is set up, (via the internet) where groups of two or three maintain the garden by watering, weeding, trimming, deadheading and edging. It usually takes about 1 to 1 1/2 hours a week. In the fall, volunteers help with a final cleanup and review of the garden. Workdays are Wednesday mornings at 9:30 AM.
Virginia Tech Research Center Garden at Painter
This is an established low maintenance shade garden located at the Eastern Shore Agricultural Research and Education Center, 33446 Research Drive, Painter. The Class of 2013 began this multi-year project to improve the visual impact of the public area in front of the building. There is something of interest happening in every season. Once established, the garden needs occasional weeding, mulch turning, and watering with the system supplied by AREC. We hope to add more ajuga, plant bulbs and complete our moss flanked path collection.