The Fluvanna Master Gardeners provide leadership for a number of projects around the county.
Pleasant Grove Park Greenhouse
A newly constructed, solar and wind powered greenhouse has been built at the Native Plant Butterfly Garden. This unique space is intended for multiple Master Gardener activities over the coming years. The greenhouse will be used to propagate and grow plants for our annual spring plant sale as well as the adjacent Butterfly Garden. It is planned to be a site for both adult and children’s community education programs and will be a year round attraction for visitors to Pleasant Grove Park.
Over the summer, the greenhouse houses a number of native host plants specific to some of the butterflies’ common to central Virginia.
Experiments are currently underway for continued modifications to improve the temperature regulation without using electricity or propane, propagating plants using a hydroponic system and growing vegetables to encourage beneficial bugs.
Future plans are under discussion to create an indoor caterpillar home during the summer months to experiment and view the stages of metamorphosis from caterpillar, to chrysalis, to emerging butterflies.
Native Plant Butterfly Garden at Pleasant Grove Park
The Butterfly Garden was created in partnership with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, Fluvanna County Parks and Recreation, the Fluvanna Master Gardeners and the Virginia Native Plant Society as a demonstration of pollinator landscapes. Using primarily native plants, it attracts pollinators from early spring through the first frost. Weekly maintenance is provided by FMG volunteers, making it a popular site for educational programs and park visitors. Private donations have established fence protections from predators, and a greenhouse has been added for ongoing projects.
Horticultural Help Desk
This is a major community service and FMGs support the phone line in the VCE office and answer questions from county residents via email and phone from home. Residents bring in soil and plant samples for review and follow up in the VT labs. In addition, FMGs offer in person Help Desks at the Fluvanna Public Library (selected Tuesday afternoons from April through October) and at various Community Events (Fluvanna Public Library, FMG Plant Sale, Community Education Programs and other community sites). Dates for these events are posted on the FMG website.
Ag Day
Fluvanna County Schools offers “AG Day” each year as a collaborative effort of the VCE Fluvanna Extension Staff and community groups as an agricultural education day for 4th graders each spring.
Community Education
A primary purpose of the Master Gardener program is community education. All of the programs you see on this page support this key endeavor. In addition, Master Gardeners:
* Offer speaker programs on many topics
* Conduct tours of our Pollinator Garden and Greenhouse
* In partnership with the Master Naturalists and the Fluvanna Public Library, conduct a Connect with Nature summer program for area youth.
Children’s Garden
Fluvanna Master Gardeners have partnered with the Fluvanna County Cooperative Extension office to bring a gardening experience and instruction to 11 different third grade classes at Carysbrook Elementary School. In a designated garden site, the Master Gardeners work alongside the children to plant and tend flowers and vegetables in raised beds in the springtime. Teachers and staff appreciate the beautiful flowers, and the produce is given to a local food bank.
Community Garden
Come join Fluvanna’s unique planned community, for Gardeners Only! (No experience necessary!) Water, perimeter fencing, initial tilling and plenty of sunshine are provided. The Fluvanna County Community Garden was developed jointly by the Virginia Cooperative Extension, Fluvanna Master Gardeners and FCPR.
Plant A Row For The Hungry (PAR)
One of our popular community projects is PAR. A number of garden plots have been set aside at the Fluvanna Community Garden for the sole purpose of growing produce that will be donated to the MACAA Food Pantry in Fluvanna. In addition, members of the Community Garden and the Master Gardeners contribute by donating some of their surplus harvest to the PAR program. PAR typically runs to November. Gardeners plant in March and April and are plenty busy in the garden in August, September & October harvesting vegetables. Fall activities include getting the plots put to bed for the winter.
Earth Day
A countywide event offered each year in late April. FMG’s offer educational offerings and a Help Desk.
Lake Monticello Beautification Corps (LMBC)
LMBC maintains a number of common area gardens at Lake Monticello, including the Main Gate, Main Beach, the Ashlawn Clubhouse, and the Fairway Club House at the golf course. Master Gardener members of LMBC put their knowledge of plants, shrubs and pruning to work in the gardens and teach others these skills. Recent LMBC special projects include supervising the installation of irrigation systems at the Ashlawn Clubhouse and Main Gate, the replacement of the Bradford Pear trees near the pool with maple trees, and donating benches at the 5 beaches.