Master Gardeners to break ground on Vines Center demo garden Nov. 16
By Fred Miller
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Fast Facts:
- Groundbreaking for Pulaski County Master Gardeners demo garden Nov. 16
- Demo garden and groundbreaking on C.A. Vines Arkansas 4-H Center
- Master Gardeners is program of the Cooperative Extension Service
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FERNDALE, Ark. — Pulaski County Master Gardeners will break ground Nov. 16 on a demonstration garden at the C.A. Vines Arkansas 4-H Center.
The groundbreaking will be at 2:30 p.m. at the garden site in front of Cabe Hall at the 4-H Center in Ferndale, said Kathy Ratcliffe, president of the Pulaski County Master Gardeners.
Ewell Welch, director of the Arkansas 4-H Foundation; Rick Cartwright, director of the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service and associate vice president-extension of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture; and representatives of Master Gardeners, the Arkansas 4-H Center and the Cooperative Extension Service will attend the ceremony, Ratcliffe said.
The garden will be designed and managed by the Master Gardeners, a program of the Cooperative Extension Service. Educational programs will be offered in partnership with the Vines Center.
“The primary purpose of the demonstration garden will be to provide a setting for educational events for 4-H’ers, public and private school students, and other youth and adult groups,” Ratcliffe said.
“It will showcase plant species and varieties appropriate for central Arkansas, demonstrate research-based gardening and agricultural techniques, and teach nutritional guidelines,” Ratcliffe said.
The Pulaski County Master Gardeners Demonstration Garden will include warm and cool season vegetables in raised beds, a trial garden for annual and perennial ornamental plants, fruit bushes and trees, a composting area, honey bee yard, a native plant border, commodity crops and a rain garden.
The garden area will also include a tool and equipment shed, seating areas, gravel paths and a central gazebo, Ratcliffe said.
The 4-H Center staff and the 4-H Foundation will share management and upkeep of the garden with the Master Gardeners, Ratcliffe said, as well as offer educational events.
For more information about 4-H, contact your county extension office.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
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Media Contact: Mary Hightower
Dir. of Communication Services
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2126
mhightower@uada.edu
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