Homstad is president of the Fairfax County Master Gardeners Association, a group of 270 volunteers that will celebrate its 35th anniversary on Sunday. What do the Master Gardeners do?
Our volunteers provide horticultural advice to the citizens of Fairfax County. We have plant clinics at farmers markets and public libraries from May to September. People can bring their plant questions; we can help them identify a plant, give advice on different types of gardening questions they might have, give them researched-based recommendations for treating diseases.
What are the most common questions you get?
One of the ones we get a lot at plant clinics is: What can I do about squirrels? We get a lot of questions about deer, too — deer-resistant plants.
So what can you do about squirrels?
The choice of plant makes a difference. Squirrels are going to want fruit trees or a vegetable garden. If you have bird feeders that are dropping seed, you’re probably going to be attracting squirrels. The best advice we give is: Learn to live with it. A lot of people think they can trap the squirrels and take them elsewhere, but that’s actually against the law in Fairfax County.
What are some tips for fall planting?
Right now it’s really time to start looking at dividing perennials, planting bulbs — it’s a great time to do that with the rain we’ve had recently. Do some pruning if you have some obvious dead limbs. It’s obvious what’s dead right now because there are still leaves on the trees.
What do you get out of volunteering your gardening knowledge?
It’s the feeling that you really are helping to educate people, to help them be a good steward of land, and then to have them be successful in their gardening. It really does provide personal satisfaction to have herbs or flowers that you grew yourself.
— Liz Essley
