In this Garden Basics session, learn how you can turn your landscape into a sustainable, perennial, ecologically healthy space that provides food. We will focus on how to grow edible crops without ripping out flowers and shrubs to convert the beds into a vegetable garden. Ornamentals, fruits, vegetables, and herbs can co-exist and thrive in… Read More »Garden Basics: Foodscaping—The Edible Landscape
Our Spring Plant Sale will once again offer thousands of annuals, perennials, vegetables, fruit-bearing plants, trees, shrubs, herbs and houseplants, including a large assortment of native plants. In addition, shoppers can purchase gently used garden implements, yard décor, and other “Green Elephants.” The sale will also feature a Help Desk for answering gardening questions and… Read More »Spring Plant Sale
All too often, unsuspecting homeowners come home from a local nursery with an invasive species. Sadly, invasives wreak havoc on our ecosystems, denying birds and other native fauna the nutrition necessary to sustain them. Come learn why a Butterfly Bush is comparable to giving an 18-year-old junk food before running a marathon. You will learn… Read More »Garden Basics: Invasive Species—Not All Plants Are Created Equal
From 10 a.m. to noon Sunday, May 18, James Monroe’s Highland and the Piedmont Master Gardeners will host a plant swap at the historic estate. Swappers can exchange pest-free plants for a variety of other plants for summer gardens. Leftover seeds and non-native, non-invasive plants, including vegetables, also can be swapped. In addition, visitors are… Read More »Plant Swap at James Monroe’s Highland
Aleen Carey of Cultivate Charlottesville Food insecurity and food access are serious problems for many people in Charlottesville and Albemarle County. Community gardens—land cultivated by a group of people individually or collectively—can help. Join Aleen Carey (Executive Director, Cultivate Charlottesville) and leaders of Piedmont Master Gardeners community garden projects to learn about the scope of… Read More »How Your Garden and Others Can Help Address Food Insecurity
At 10 a.m. Saturday, June 14, the Piedmont Master Gardeners will present “Turn Your Garbage to Gold,” the next in a series of free outdoor workshops on composting. It will be held at the compost demonstration site in the Bread & Roses Gardens at Trinity Episcopal Church, 1118 Preston Avenue, Charlottesville. The workshop will showcase… Read More »“Turn Your Garbage to Gold,” an Outdoor Workshop on Composting
The Piedmont Master Gardeners’ Through the Garden Gate program returns this summer with intermittent “pop-up” garden tours emphasizing sustainability, based on the Eight Essential Elements of Conservation Landscaping developed by the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council. Gardens on the tours will serve as outdoor classrooms, educating the public on how best management practices help preserve our… Read More »“Through The Garden Gate” Returns with Free Pollinator Week Garden Tours
Flavorful, vine-ripened tomatoes are often the main reason many of us plant a vegetable garden. This session will provide practical advice on the basics of tomato growing success, including: Choosing tomato varieties Planting guidelines Caring for tomato plants Dealing with tomato diseases and pests Harvesting and storing tomatoes. Space is limited. Registration opens April 11… Read More »Garden Basics: Growing Tomatoes with Confidence
How do we adapt our gardens to handle a changing world and more extreme weather? Learn how to meet the challenges of unpredictability in your garden and weather extremes such as drought, excessive rain, and unseasonably high or low temperatures. Space is limited. Registration opens May 10 and closes at 5 p.m. July 18, 2025,… Read More »Garden Basics: Resilient Gardening
Gardeners, fruit growers, brewers, bakers, beekeepers, wine makers, artists, photographers, and crafters are invited to enter the agriculture and home arts contests for this year’s Albemarle County Fair, July 31 to August 2 at James Monroe’s Highland. Visit https://albemarlecountyfair.com/ to find contest categories and instructions and to register for the contests online. The Piedmont Master… Read More »Albemarle County Fair’s Agriculture and Home Arts Contests