Pocket full of posies

LITTLE ROCK — Dawn Brendle Jackson’s favorite thing to do is “get dirty” - in her Conway garden, or in any other garden the Faulkner County Master Gardeners may be tending.

She logged 339.5 hours last year working on Master Gardener projects, and that accomplishment, plus a few others, helped earn her the title of Faulkner County Master Gardener of the Year for 2011.

“It’s a humbling experience or a condemning one,” Jackson of Conway said with a laugh. “I asked myself, ‘You spent how many hours doing what?’”

Jackson also logged 28 “learning” hours, achieved by attending a variety of seminars and workshops.

“All they need to do is have 20 working hours and 20 education hours after their first year as a Master Gardener,” said Kami Marsh, Faulkner County Cooperative Extension Service agent for agriculture.

The Master Gardener program is sponsored statewide by the Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture. For more information, call (501) 329-8344.

Jackson has been a Master Gardener for14 years. She is a 1996 graduate of the Pulaski County Master Gardener program and transferred her membership to the program in Faulkner County in 2005.

She currently serves as the Faulkner County Master Gardener office’s support co-coordinator and was technical coordinator from 2006 to 2010. Jackson was the Faulkner County Cooperative Extension Service Volunteer of the Year in 2006.

While in Little Rock, Jackson was the children’s activities coordinator at the Arkansas Flower and Garden Show; adult leader for the Seeds for Life 4-H project in the Little Rock Central High School neighborhood; and manager of the Seeds of Life Community Garden, all from 1997-2000.

She was also named Volunteer of the Year at the 1998 Arkansas Flower and Garden Show.

Born at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., Jackson moved with her family a lot during her childhood.

“My dad had what my grandmother called ‘the gypsy gene,’” she said. “After he got out of the Air Force, he got into sales. He would conquer one territory and move on to the next.

“His roots are in Lancaster County, Pa., and that’s where I call home. His parents and ancestors were Mennonite farmers in Lancaster County, and my mother’s people were active in 4-H and raised tobacco in Calvert County, Md.”

In addition to her family roots in horticulture, Jackson’s interest in the subject may have been further stimulated by her involvement with FFA at Garden Spot High School in New Holland, Pa.

Jackson and her husband, Brian, moved to Little Rock in 1989 with his job in the banking industry. They have an 18-year-old daughter, Lydia. The family moved to Conway in 2004.

“I’ve lived in Arkansas longer than any other place in my life,” Jackson said.

One place you’ll always be able to find her, however, is in the community volunteering.

“I don’t work anywhere for pay,” Jackson said when asked if she worked outside the home. “I’m the perpetual volunteer. My focus now is Master Gardeners. I’m also involved in the property owners association in our neighborhood, Treasure Hills.”

The Jacksons live on one and one-quarter acres in Treasure Hills, so she has enough space for a large garden.

“It’s ‘organized chaos,’” she said in explaining her garden. “I guess you could call me a hybrid. I like well-defined borders, but I also like a little wild. It’s a little like life - a learning balance.

“One of my favorite things to do is to surprise a friend or a neighbor with a posy. And that’s a challenge sometimes, especially in the winter. I save little jars and bottles, and when it comes time for one of these birthday posies, I go out into the garden and snip whatever I can find blooming, put those stems in the bottle or jar, and take them to my friends. Therefore, one of my goals in landscaping is to always be able to make a posy at the last minute.”

Jackson said her garden is a work in progress.

“I add to it every year, plant different things each year,” she said. “We like to do things ourselves. By doing that, it gives us time to brainstorm; it gives us time for the ideas to come.”

Jackson’s next step in the Master Gardener program is to become an Advanced Master Gardener. That means more time and work, so she said that would have to wait until Lydia goes off to college in the fall.

“She’s already been accepted to the University of Arkansas, where she plans to study hospitality and restaurant management,” Jackson said. “That program is part of the agricultural college, so she will be working with similar programs that the extension service offers. I’m happy about that.”

A graduate of Converse College in Spartanburg, S.C., with a degree in music, Jackson also likes to sing.

“I loved school,” she said, noting that she might take some additional college classes in the future. She may also look for avenues in the community where she could utilize her musical talents.

Another of her interests is historical preservation.

“I love to save plants in situations where an old house might be torn down,” she said with a smile.

“I’m also interested in seeing that the Frauenthal Cemetery on Beaverfork Road be saved and maintained. There have been efforts toward this in the past, but more still needs to be done.”

River Valley Ozark, Pages 57 on 02/02/2012

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