Blog Post

Looking Back

Ben Potts, Class of 2022 • Dec 12, 2022

It’s early December and most MG projects are finished for the year so it’s a good time to reflect on my rookie season in the Norfolk Master Gardener Community.


Hopefully the Class of 2022 will be the last class affected by COVID. We began meeting via Zoom only, went to having a choice between Zoom and in-person meetings and finished with mandatory in-person meetings when it came time for our project presentations. Viewing that first Zoom class reminded me of the beginning of the old “Brady Bunch” television show: boxes full of smiling faces but not really being able to ascertain personalities. I looked forward to and attended all of the in-person training sessions when they became available, meeting both my classmates and the seasoned Master Gardeners who led the training. Those “perennials” were knowledgeable and they made it clear that they wanted all of us to succeed. My classmates were and are incredibly diverse, incredibly fun to be around and incredibly supportive of one another.

I was told that fifty volunteer hours is what I needed to graduate from NMG Intern to NMG Volunteer. With much enthusiasm I decided to dip my toe into every volunteer opportunity I could when we were able to start earning hours. After I made it around to many of the different projects I picked out some favorites and tried to volunteer only three days a week. Then I began receiving Joey’s e-blasts for one-time special projects. Fifty hours came quickly but instead of raising my arms at the finish line to celebrate my accomplishment I continued the journey through the summer and fall. I love being outdoors! Master Gardener projects gave me the opportunity to spend time outdoors while meeting new friends, reconnecting with old friends, enjoying the passion that the project leaders have for their projects and exploring areas of the city that were unfamiliar to me.


Just a few of the ways Ben stayed busy as a Norfolk Master Gardener

And I learned so much as I volunteered around the city. With the Significant Tree folks I learned that, no matter how dense the tree canopy you are under, a 15 minute downpour will soak you to the skin. At the Zoo Garden I learned that when an adult male lion roars at you from 6 feet away it causes your whole body to vibrate (it also causes you to jump backward faster than you thought possible). The shoreline work projects, whether it was phragmites removal in Riverfront or planting native marsh grasses with the Elizabeth River Project, taught me to expect muddy shoes and wet feet. At Weyanoke I learned that walking backward carrying one end of a 12-foot, 75-pound log over vine-covered ground is a sure way to find yourself soon lying on that vine-covered ground with the end of the log laying on your chest. With the Potager crew I learned that although we Americans and Brits share a common language the same word can have two completely different meanings (since blogs are to be G-rated I won’t go into detail). I also learned that it is very hard to get rid of a gopher! The Ernie Morgan Center project taught me that advertising a post-project brunch is a sure way to get me to volunteer. A very earnest 1st grader in the Li’l Sprouts program at St. Patrick’s taught me that if you swallow a loose tooth while eating you can write the Tooth Fairy a note and you will still get money for it. I learned that, like the Norfolk Naval Shipyard not actually being in Norfolk, the City of Norfolk’s Tree Farm is not in Norfolk. The NMG Plant sales taught me that garden cart retrieval is great exercise and wearing comfortable shoes is a must.


Oh and I also learned about all sorts of gardening: From prepping the soil to plant seeds barely larger than the head of a pin to measuring massive old oaks with trunks so large that it would take three people holding hands to complete a circle around it. What a great experience this first year has been! 


I’m really glad that I hate being outdoors in cold weather (unless I’m hiking or walking at a fast pace).  I’ve only done one project in the last three weeks and probably won’t do any more this calendar year.  If the weather was more to my liking and there were no projects on the schedule, I’d be suffering from NMGPDD (Norfolk Master Gardener Project Deficit Disorder)!


Wishing everyone a happy and healthy New Year!




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