SPRINGHILL — Faulkner County Master Gardener James Howard was among the last to know he had been named the 2017 State Master Gardener Rookie of the Year for programs with 51 or more members.
“I am also a member of County 76 (an advisory group for the Arkansas Master Gardener program) and went to the state conference before it started to help set up a booth,” he said. “Conference registration was to open at noon, so I rushed in, registered and ran right back out in order to return to Greenbrier in time for my grandson’s graduation at 3 p.m.”
That was on May 21, the first day of the 2017 Arkansas Master Gardener State Conference in Little Rock.
“When I got back, everyone was congratulating me,” he said, smiling. “I said, ‘What for?’ They told me I had been named State Rookie of the Year.
“I was shocked, to say the least. What makes it even funnier is they had a huge poster with my name on it right by the registration
table. I never even saw it when I was standing there registering. When I learned I had received the honor, I was in shock. … So
many more did so much more than I did. … I was honored.”
Later in the conference, Howard and other honorees accepted their awards from Janet Carson of Little Rock, extension horticulture specialist with the Arkansas Master Gardener Program. The program is under the auspices of the Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture.
To become a certified Master Gardener, a person has to complete 40 hours of training offered by the Extension Service, then volunteer at least 40 hours of his or her time during the following year.
Howard logged 277 work hours and 85 education hours as a Faulkner County Master Gardener in 2016. He was named the 2016 Faulkner County Rookie Master Gardener of the Year in March.
“I’m so proud that he is being recognized on the state level,” said Kami Marsh, agriculture extension agent with the Faulkner County Cooperative Extension Service. “He is very, very deserving of this honor.
“The man is amazing. I learn something every time I visit with him. He is so willing to help. He has so many stories to tell. He is a true gem as a Master Gardener.”
Howard said he has always liked to garden.
“When we lived in Springdale, I saw a notice in the newspaper about Master Gardeners and thought it would be something I would enjoy doing,” he said, “but I worked for UPS at the time, and there was no way I had the time to do it. So when I retired from UPS, I decided to join.
“I saw an article in the local paper here and decided, ‘I’m just going to do it.’ My job had ended, and I had all the time in the world.”
Howard retired from UPS in 2011.
Howard joined the Faulkner County Master Gardeners and graduated from the class in February 2016.
“When I joined, they told me to sign up for a lot of different things and pick out one or two that I liked,” he said. “I signed up for four or five, and I liked all of them. I couldn’t cut out any. … That’s why I had so many hours in just 10 months.”
Howard is especially involved in the Teaching Garden Committee, which instructs members of the public on how to succeed at vegetable gardening. He is chairman of the committee this year.
“We meet twice a month,” he said of the committee, which sponsors the teaching garden at Freyaldenhoven Greenhouse on Siebenmorgen Road in Conway and offers free workshops to the public.
“The teaching garden has changed the way I garden,” Howard said, adding that plants are grown in raised beds in the garden. “I have learned a lot. Randall Davis got [the teaching garden] started. He and several other people on this committee are so knowledgeable and love to share their information. I spent as much time as I could there last year.
“Before I got involved with this project, I would have never consider a raised bed. Now the only gardening I do is in raised beds.”
Howard raises both flowers and vegetables at his home in Springhill, where he and his wife, Vicky, have lived for four years.
“We planted everything you see,” he said, pointing to a fenced backyard (fenced, he said, for their Yorkies) featuring multiple flowerbeds. His vegetable garden is in another garden spot outside the fenced area.
“We’re still working on the landscaping,” Howard said. “We built our house so we could have everything just like we wanted it.”
Howard said it’s hard for him to say what his favorite flower or plant is.
“Since I joined Master Gardeners, I decided to try to grow roses,” he said.
“I also joined the Central Arkansas Rose Society, so I guess maybe my favorite flower is the rose. … It is so fragrant. The Cinco de Mayo rose is my favorite right now, but roses can be difficult to grow. Any flower or plant can be difficult to grow. You need to stay with plants that are suited to your area,”
Howard said. “
“That’s one thing you will learn in the Master Gardener program. All of the members, who are all volunteers, are so eager to help out when they can. They are willing to give you starter plants,” he said.
“They helped me so much when I got started. I was so green,” he said.
“This year, my personal goal is to work in my personal garden,” Howard said, laughing. “I also plan to continue working in the teaching garden.
“We have a new Master Gardener class starting in September. We are all excited about that. It’s the first class we’ve had in a year and a half. Anyone interested in joining should call the Faulkner County Cooperative Extension Service at (501) 329-8344.”
Howard said the Master Gardeners will also teach a workshop on fire ants.
“Fire ants are getting to be a problem in the county,” he said.
Howard was elected first vice president of the Faulkner
County Master Gardeners Executive Board this year and will be president in 2018. In addition to the Teaching Garden Committee, he was also chairman of the logistics team of the Plant Sale
Committee.
Howard, 68, was born in Berryville but moved to Avilla, Missouri, when he was 3.
“I grew up on a small dairy farm,” he said. “We lived there until I was 15, and we moved to Springdale. I graduated from Springdale High School in 1967.”
Howard attended one year at Petit Jean Vo-Tech (now the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton), where he studied diesel
mechanics.
“I went there just long enough to figure out I did nor want to be a diesel mechanic, so I just drove one,” he said, laughing. He went to work for UPS and drove a tractor-
trailer.
Howard’s wife, Vicky, 66, grew up in Helena but moved to Houston in Perry County in 1967. She graduated from Perryville High School in 1968. Vicky is retired from Greenbrier Westside Elementary School, where she worked in the cafeteria.
The Howards will celebrate their 49th wedding anniversary in August.
They lived in the Saltillo community near Vilonia for about 20 years.
“Our kids went to Vilonia
schools,” he said. “Then we moved to Springdale and lived there four years. We’ve been back down here about 10 years.”
The Howards have four adult children.
• Son James “Jimmy”
Howard, 48, and his wife, Lori, live in Stanwood, Washington. He works for the Boeing Co. in Everett, Washington.
• Son Michael Howard, 46, lives in Springhill and worked in the gas-well industry. He has two children — Aaron, 27, who lives in Vilonia with his wife, Stacy, and 4-month-old daughter, Aubrie Rayne; and Ashton, 18, who attends Arkansas State University-Jonesboro.
• Son Randy Howard, 45, is a registered nurse in Sacramento, California, and has one son, Brad, 26, who lives in Fayetteville.
• Daughter Kim Vinacco, 39, lives in Springhill with her husband, D.J., and sons, Dalton, 18, and Tanner, 16. Kim is a registered nurse at Conway Regional Medical Center.