Retirement brought us back east with a move from Houston, Texas to Blue Ridge, Virginia. Another of life’s many adventures with new beginnings on friends, shopping and finding my way around, all with a song in my heart and my dream of finally having a garden. What excitement lay ahead as I soaked up the many garden catalogs arriving daily in my mailbox. I thought I could just dig a hole or two, plop a pretty something in and viola, beauty to peruse. Well, that proved to be a lot more challenging than I anticipated. Born and raised on a large dairy farm in Howard County, Maryland, I felt my background lent itself to getting results from those little box store plants. After several years of dismal results but having a vision of what I wanted, I decided education was the right approach. But how and where?
By joining the Garden Club of Bedford, I found projects in floral, horticulture, and participation in community beautification. With a yearning to learn more about flowers, I began taking Flower Show School sponsored by the National Federation of Garden Clubs. These schools provide in-depth classes on flower show procedures, horticulture, design, learning the steps in judging designs, and an exam that knocks your socks off. I have successfully completed two of the required four courses toward becoming a judge at flower shows. But wait! How can I judge flowers when I can’t even grow them?
At various garden club events, I heard mention of Master Gardeners. And in attending gardening conferences in the area, many of the breakout sessions were led by Master Gardeners, all of whom seem so knowledgeable. How did they learn all this great information? I wondered if being a Master Gardener could help me build the garden of my dreams. I finally asked the question, what is a Master Gardener anyway? According to the Master Gardener Handbook, “a Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) Master Gardener is an individual who acts on behalf of VCE as a volunteer educator within his or her community after receiving specialized training in environmental horticulture through cooperative programming with VCE.” Receiving specialized training in environmental horticulture got my attention. Maybe this program is where I can broaden my knowledge and better understand our rich Virginia soil.
One Saturday morning while returning a book to the Montvale Library, a Master Gardener 
Program was about to start. I stuck my head in the door and was immediately asked to join in for the lecture. My plans of the day did not allow time for my attendance but I did pick up the literature on becoming a Master Gardener before leaving and took it on vacation with me. The more I read, the more I realized I could make my dreams come true and have a lovely garden at our home in Blue Ridge. With that goal in mind and realizing the big commitment, I filled out and submitted the application for the Master Gardener Program. Some weeks later, I received the next step in the process, went on the interview, was accepted, and thus began the start of life’s next fun adventure – how to plant a garden that will make me smile while getting out in the community helping others with the same horticulture problems that challenge me every day.
Now with the Master Gardener training complete, I am on to the next phase as an Intern. In this role and using my new found knowledge, I will give back to the community of Bedford in volunteer hours. And, I also feel confident that the garden of my dreams will become a reality!
Marjorie Loomis, Bedford Extension Master Gardener
Follow-up: Marge wrote this article in 2015. Since then, she has been an active, enthusiastic certified Master Gardener Extension volunteer. One of her current volunteer positions is editor of the Bedford Area Master Gardeners Association (BAMGA) membership newsletter.