NORFOLK MASTER GARDENERS
Working To Make A Better Environment
2025 Upcoming Events in South Hampton Roads
See the updated FAQ's for the Intern Training Class
Stay tuned for information regarding the 2026 class.
If you would like to be added to the Prospect List for the Class of 2026, please email us at
interntraining@norfolkmastergardeners.org.
Become A Master Gardener
Good Gardening 2025 at the Pretlow Library
The Good Gardening 2025 Series
at
Mary D Pretlow Anchor Branch Library
next presentation on
August 20th at 6:30PM. The topic is
"Saving Seeds from Your Garden"
Speaker: Kenyon Vandervelde
Stay tuned for further updates to the 2025 schedule.
- Good Gardening at the Pretlow Library
- The 2024 Infographic is online. See what your Norfolk MGs have been up to.
- Take a Moment to Listen to the newest source of information regarding the activities of the NMG. Presenting: Garden Chats
- The 2024 Brag Board is available.
It's July in Norfolk, Virginia. See the Planting Guide for Zone 8b.
(Pending the new guides from Virginia Tech Cooperative Extension Service that will include the recent change to 8b).
The New Plant Hardiness Zones Map from USDA.gov
Here is a Guide from the VCE showing the best times of the year to prune your shrubs.
Save the Dates for 2025:
Updates posted when available...
Gardening With Gill videos have a new home.
Good Gardening At Home videos from 2020 have a new home.
Soil test kits are free and available at each Norfolk Public Library branch. There is a $10 fee for the routine testing of your soil sample, which you will need to mail directly to the Virginia Tech Soil Lab. The results normally provide all the necessary information to correct your soil adequately. The test kit includes a form with instructions for collecting the sample and sending it to the Soil Lab along with your payment.
Norfolk’s Plant Hardiness Zone has changed with the new 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.
Plug in your zip code to see - all of Our Fair City is now in Zone 8B, with slightly warmer average winter temperatures as measured from 30 years of data. Zone boundaries for more than half the U.S. have changed in this map.
For us, this has implications for potentially longer growing seasons, weeds germinating earlier, and an increase in the number of insects. If only that translates to more pollinators!
As always, Norfolk Master Gardeners suggest that growers look for native species first. Plant Virginia Natives has links to important information about the long-term impact of these plants, which plants are invasive, where to buy natives, and the current Native Plants for Hampton Roads. This guide is available to download now, but a new edition is due out early next year. We look forward to seeing changes to the guide that may stem from the revised Hardiness Zones in our region.
Urban Ag Team is Here For You
- Need some help with a veggie garden?
- Or a pollinator garden, native plant garden or container garden?
- Are you a librarian or teacher and need help creating a teaching garden?
- Are you a civic leader or church interested in establishing a community garden?
- Or maybe a homeowner who would like to start a veggie garden, pollinator bed, native plant garden or container garden?
Our Urban Ag Team can help with all of that by providing you with all of the gardening advice and education you need to be successful. We will come to your organization, and we even make house calls!
Contact us at norfolkvce.mg@gmail.com
Norfolk Gardening News!
Introducing a newsletter written by Norfolk Master Gardeners.
Subscribe to Let's Grow Together!
All issues of Let's Grow Together.
Past issues of This Month in the Garden.
It's July in Norfolk, Virginia.
Check out the Planting Guide for Zone 8b.
(Pending the new guides from Virginia Tech Cooperative Extension Service that include the recent change to 8b).
The New Plant Hardiness Zones Map from USDA.gov
Here is a Guide from the Virginia Cooperative Extension
showing the best times of the year to prune your shrubs.
Norfolk Gardening News!
Introducing a newsletter written by Norfolk Master Gardeners.
Subscribe to Let's Grow Together!
The NMGs Crape Myrtle Pruning Project
was in Colonial Place
Residents of Colonial Place improved the appearance of their crape myrtles with
guidance and instruction
from the NMGs.
Here you see the before and after images.
For more information about this project, contact:
Paulette Crawford: Crawford27@cox.net or (757) 650-4129
Ginger Farrell: vafarrell@yahoo.com or (757) 972-5987
The Norfolk Master Gardener Association fosters communication, education, fellowship, and leadership among our members. The Association provides staffing, management and organization for approved Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardener (VCE-MG) programs.
Get Growing!
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