GARDEN BUILDERS: 2025 introduces new lunch and learn programs
by Cindy Brewer/Victoria County Master Gardener
February 1, 2025
CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS
Desert Rose
The primary goal of the Victoria County Master Garden Association (VCMGA) is to share “research- based horticultural information” with members of the communities in Victoria and its surrounding counties. One way we do this is through programs like our “Lunch and Learn with the Masters.” Master Gardeners will make seven presentations on horticulture over the next nine months in the hopes that attendees will implement this information into their gardens and properties in our local communities.
The Master Gardeners have noticed that attendance subsides during the hot, busy vacation months of July and August; therefore, the Lunch and Learn (L & L) program will take a break at that time and resume presentations in September and October.
Our first L & L presentation will be held on Monday, February 10 and the next four consecutive months, into June. There will be no presentations in July or August. It will resume again on September 8 and conclude on October 13.
Lunch & Learn is free program for the public and is always held on the second Monday of the month from 12:00 p.m. (noon) to 1:00 p.m. at the Victoria Educational Gardens Pavilion at 283 Bachelor Drive, near the Victoria Airport. Please bring your lunch and a drink. Plan to get excited to learn about how to make your garden a beautiful and productive addition to your property.
Gardener Mike Martignoni, whom one can often find at the local farmer’s market with canned vegetables and plants from his garden, will start off the 2025 year of L & L by presenting on Monday, Feb. 10, with Preparing Your Spring Garden.
Monday, March 10, Master Gardener David Hensley will present Here We Go a Mulching. This presentation will teach about the different kinds of mulch and how to apply them to protect your garden from the heat and cold.
On Monday, April 14, Master Gardener Carla Rodriguez will fulfill a request from attendees from the past year and teach Growing and Caring for Plumerias. Plumerias are known as the Hawaiian lei flower. While they are easy to grow in south Texas, they do require special care. Do come to learn how this beautiful- smelling flowering plant can be an addition to your patio or yard.
Monday, May 12, Master Gardener Mark David will present Helping Our Earth: Recycling in the Crossroads. He plans to make recycling easier for us by teaching what is accepted as recyclable material by the city and county of Victoria. Yes, there are significant differences between the two.
On Monday, June 9, our daylily expert, Master Gardener Brenda Heinold, will share how the VCMGA has updated its daylily garden and will teach How to Care for Daylilies Thru the Year. The new daylily gardens at VEG will become a renewed teaching site and focal area.
There will be a Summer Break from Lunch and Learn from June 10 to September 7. Of course, the Victoria Educational Gardens will be open throughout the summer and we encourage the public to visit often as they can.
We begin Lunch and Learn again on Monday, September 8, with Master Gardener Brynn Lee presenting Growing and Caring for Desert Roses. Brynn will demonstrate how to start desert roses from seeds and include all the dos and don’ts of growing them.
The concluding Lunch and Learn event will be held on Monday, October 13, with Master Gardener Marcia Kauffman sharing a Halloween- themed presentation on Wicked Plants: Plants with a Twisted Plot. You have to come to believe that plants can be wicked.
LUNCH AND LEARN 2025
1. Monday, February 10 – Preparing Your Spring Garden
2. Monday March 10 – Here We Go a Mulching
3. Monday, April 14 – Growing and Caring for Plumeria
4. Monday, May 12 – Recycling in the Crossroads
5. Monday, June 9 – How to Care for Day Lilies
6. Monday, September 8 – Growing and Caring for Desert Roses
7. Monday, October 13 – Wicked Plants with a Twisted Plot
Gardeners’ Dirt articles are published in The Victoria Advocate each Saturday.