FRIENDSHIP — Members of the Hot Spring County Master Gardeners have been busy the past few weeks collecting plants from local residents for the group’s annual plant sale.
Several of the Master Gardeners met recently at the home of Pat Treadway in Friendship to sort and transplant some of the plants they have collected, which are being stored in Greenway’s greenhouse until the sale. Other plants have been started from seed and grown in Treadway’s greenhouse, as well as at other locations.
The annual plant sale will be held from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Hot Spring County Fairgrounds, 1303 Collie Road in Malvern, which is next to the Cotija Mexican Restaurant on Martin Luther King Boulevard. Plants will include locally grown trees, shrubs, flowering plants, annuals, perennials, bulbs, rhizomes, vegetables and herbs. Hanging baskets will also be available for purchase.
Treadway, who is the timekeeper (record-keeper) for the local Master Gardeners program this year, said proceeds from the plant sale, which is the group’s largest fundraiser, are used for horticulture projects and contributions to scholarships offered by the Arkansas Master Gardener Program.
Joining Treadway at her greenhouse were Ann Wright of Malvern, Sandra Hathcock of Friendship and Lester Meredith of the Saginaw community, chairman of this year’s Plant Sale Committee. Meredith has been a Master Gardener for at least 10 years. The other three are “newbies,” having joined the Master Gardeners within the past two or three years.
“This is my first year to serve as chairman,” said Meredith, who is retired and a past president of the Master Gardeners.
“They appointed me when my eyes were closed,” he said, smiling.
Wright joined the Master Gardeners in 2015. She retired from the Dawson Education Cooperative in Arkadelphia in June 2014 and joined the local gardening group shortly thereafter.
“I became a member to learn how to landscape my yard,” Wright said, smiling. “I have always loved working in the yard, but I am not a faithful gardener. I like plants with self-maintenance. I have a 50-year-old classic dogwood in my yard that I love.
“I’ve met the nicest people in Master Gardeners.”
Hathcock joined the Master Gardeners in June 2016. She is a retired cosmetologist.
“I love the feel of dirt,” Hathcock said. “It’s relaxing; it’s just you and the Lord. I just love it.”
In addition to plants for sale, the event will feature two speakers.
Wright will do a demonstration on how to use hypertufa, which is a concrete mixture used to make flowerpots and other containers.
“We will have the printed instructions for those who are interested,” she said. “This mixture is light and porous.”
Wright’s demonstration, Pot Making With Ann Wright, is set for 9 a.m.
Randy Heard of Midway, landscaping supervisor at DeGray Lake State Park and an Arkansas Master Naturalist, will speak on landscape design at 10.
Melvyn Stewart of Malvern is president of the Hot Spring County Master Gardeners. Other officers are Angela Berryhill of Lono, vice president; Ingrid Silvester of Bismarck, secretary; and Mark Shipp of Malvern, treasurer.
Rachel Bearden, Hot Spring County Cooperative Extension Service agent for agriculture and adviser for the Master Gardeners Program, said the volunteer program is an education and community-service organization.
She said once a Master Gardener completes a 40-hour training class, he or she is required to complete 20 education hours and 20 community service hours in Hot Spring County.
“The Master Gardeners have 22 projects devoted to beautification around the county,” she said. “They take care of flower beds in the parks and at the mayor’s office in Malvern, just to name a few.
“They also work with the gardens in the schools, and they work in our office. They also are available to go out and speak to civic groups, so they do educate the public [about gardening].”
Master Gardeners also maintain the horticulture building at the Hot Spring County Fair. Members recently trimmed the crape myrtles at the courthouse.
Treadway said the Master Gardeners did a total of 664 volunteer hours last year.
The Hot Spring County Master Gardeners meet on the fourth Monday of each month in the 4-H building at the county fairgrounds. The program is under the auspices of the Hot Spring County Cooperative Extension Service, which is part of the University of Arkansas System, Division of Agriculture.
For more information on the Hot Spring County Master Gardeners or the group’s plant sale, call the Extension Service office at (501) 332-5267.