Lawn and Garden Show 2008

Benedictine Monastery, Bristow, VA

Today marks the 9th Annual Lawn and Garden Show held on lawns of the Benedictine Monastery. This is the 2nd year this event was held at the Benedictine Monastery. The event was sponsored by the Master Gardeners of Prince William with partnership with the Virginia Cooperative Extension. Several exhibitors show case their products and services to the general public. The event attracted about 600 plus visitors and patrons. The parking lot was already 1/3 full prior to opening at 9 am on May 3, 2008. Among the vendors who participated were:

 

• Prestige Landscape
• Northern VA Woodcarvers
• Echo Hills
• Weedman Lawn care
• Thunder Ridge Emu Products
• Grigg Design
• P&H Nursery
• Suburban White Tail Management
• Virginia Bluebird Society
• PW County Public Works – Solid Waste
• PW Stafford Bees Club
• PW Wildflower Society
• Place of Peace – St. Benedictine’s Monastery
• Chick-fil-A
• Heritage Kettle Korn
• Southern States
• Bull Run Observer

The event included live demonstrations such as how to calibrate your lawn spreader; proper tree planting; pruning exhibit; growing herbs with limited space; and making container garden. Leslie Paulson, President of MGPW stated in the past the lawn and garden show took so much time in preparing for the event and rather putting work on the show, the MGPW decided to use their resource in putting a live garden  and show people the end results as in the case of using the Linton Hall Monastery Garden.

According to Nancy Berlin, a Natural Resource Specialists/Master Gardener Event Coordinator for the 150 plus volunteers, the goal of the exhibit is to “Educate the general public on best land use management practices and protecting our natural resources such as water quality by having beautiful gardens and landscapes”. Nancy pointed out the goal of this year event is focused on teaching on a personal basis rather on the number of turnout it has generated in the past. This type of interaction has been very effective and produced a positive response according to Nancy.

Great ‘Scapes is the premier exhibitor at the lawn and garden show, for a nominal fee of $20.00, Great ‘Scapes can come to your home, measure your lawn or garden, take soil samples, and send them to a lab at Virginia Tech for soil analysis. Once the analysis is completed, a written report is generated providing the customer a detailed analysis of your lawn or garden needs. The written report is an extensive package which includes lawn gardening tips, lime usage recommendations, the PH content level analysis, the level of acidity of the soil, and also provides the customer tips such as the amount of fertilizer needed for your lawn or garden.  According to Carroll Mackleroy, PWC Extension Representative, a common mistake that most homeowners make is cutting their lawns too short. The rule of thumb is for cool season tall fescue grass e.g., Kentucky Blue grass is 2 ½ to 4 inches high.

The Master Gardener Program is an all volunteer program that incorporates about 72 hours of classroom instruction work on botany, pesticides, soil conservation, gardening, and landscape techniques. The internship or pay back period for all this volunteer program is about 50 hours in the first year and 20 hours in subsequent years.

Deb Oliver, Public Outreach Representative for the PWC Department of Public Works for the Watershed Program also participated in today’s event. The program’s main task is to monitor and assess the County’s water streams quality, pollutants entering the water ways, and the impact on the natural wildlife. The organization other mission is to meet the “Clean Water Act” and the “Chesapeake Bay Act”. According to Deb, there are about 61 impaired streams in the Prince William County as of 2006. An impaired stream is defined as too much nutrients going into the stream. By nutrients, Deb is referring to waste, phosphates, pesticides and other fertilizers used by home owners and commercial businesses. Their other goals are to educate the public as well as monitor the quality of water streams.

Auxiliary Police Office Heidi Dukas, Program SepHead is a designing safe light by using landscaping lights, doors, plants, and hedges in deterring trespassers from homes and businesses. For instances, the PWCPD Crime Prevention Unit recommend planting rose thorn bushes for windows. The PWCPD Crime Prevention recommends trimming your bushes and hedges for accessibility and views. The number for the PWCPD is 703-792-7270.

In closing, the event was quite successful in terms of attendance, participation, and provided local residents a thorough understanding of land use management and preserving our precious natural resource – water.

Date Published: 2008-05-07 07:00:00

Section: Local News,