Master Gardener 1992-2011
Having been deeply involved with the purchasing and construction of the Travis County greenhouse, Ron went on to give presentations on “how to construct a home greenhouse”, both around the Austin area and at the Texas Master Gardener Conference in Denton, Texas. Ron continued this volunteer activity for several years. Ron and Skip Richter (Horticultural Agent) produced a video on this for Texas A&M.
Ron’s commitment to the greenhouse program was his involvement from the first stages of fund raising, selecting/purchasing the greenhouse and the general construction through all building stages. Ron was a leader in all these areas, making sure it was constructed with the finest degree of craftsmanship. He continued on as a member of the greenhouse staff for the next 5 years. He helped establish TCMGA’s involvement of plant sales and public plant information during Zilker Festival for many years. It was his leadership in this area that was greatly appreciated.
Another area of Ron’s expertise was plant propagation. He taught this for several years to the Master Gardener classes, school programs, garden clubs and life time learning programs. He co-invented (along with Don Freeman) the Grow Box plant system, giving talks on how to construct these to schools, clubs and scouting groups around the Austin area. Ron also taught citrus propagation for several Master Gardener classes and served as the main instructor for propagation to the greenhouse staff for numerous years, (1995 – 2002). Ron helped design and install the garden at the South Austin Senior Center, adding a rose bed and trellis the following year. He worked with the Porter Junior High School horticulture program for three years, giving freely of his time and expertise. In 2010, he was awarded the ‘5000+Hours of Service to Travis County Master Gardeners’.