Nancy was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and grew up in Lafayette, Indiana. She graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science degree in landscape architecture. She moved from Indiana to Michigan and finally to Norfolk to be closer to her sister. Nancy started working for a Parks and Recreation department and then shifted her focus to K-12 school site design with a specialty in playground design, after which she worked for a planning/engineering firm on a range of projects from design standards, streetscapes, commercial and industrial sites, and parks. Her last focus was on public health facilities and healing gardens. She retired after 48 years in her field. She joined the Norfolk Master Gardener class of 2026 because she wanted to change her focus from planning to planting. She was interested in acquiring more information about community gardens. Nancy enjoyed the classes and thought they were well organized with detailed text and engaging speakers. While some of the material was a review for her, it had been a long time since she sat in a classroom. It was informative for her to relearn some things she had forgotten and new things to expand her knowledge in a hands-on planting approach. She liked the class size and the opportunity to learn more about her classmates. She was a little sad when the classes ended. To reach the required fifty hours, Nancy worked at the plant sale, seed starting with Little Creek Elementary School, East Ocean View Children’s Garden, the Zoo Garden, and the Fred Heutte Square Foot Garden. Now that she is certified, she plans to continue with many of the same projects but will try something new each year. Nancy organized a community vegetable garden at her church, Miles Memorial United Methodist Church. She plans the garden each year and organizes the youth group to assist with the planting. She harvests the vegetables and fruit every Wednesday for the community breakfast that is provided by the church. Vegetables and fruit that are not used for the breakfast are donated to a neighborhood food pantry to help families in need. She is a member of the Ocean View Lions Club, and it is with their support she has been able to get assistance with watering and backing to apply for grants to start the garden with its system of rain barrels. Nancy’s other interest is music ; she plays the clarinet in three bands—the Tidewater Concert Band, a jazz band , and a praise band at her church. She enjoys pottery classes at the recreation center, works on small quilting projects, enjoys quiet time with a good book, and sitting in her garden. Nancy has two children: Jen, who lives in Barcelona, and her son Thomas who is married to Alexis. She is Mema to her sweet granddaughters, Mila and Lola. She comes from a big family and is close to her siblings. There have been several fun adventures traveling with her daughter, Jen, in Europe. She has a sweet rescue pup, Brownie, who is aging but still up for a morning walk every day.  When you see Nancy, be sure to introduce yourself and welcome her to the Norfolk Ext

 Chrizar is a true Virginia native, having been born in Chesapeake and grew up in Virginia Beach. She attended Tallwood High School and received her B.S. in Biochemistry from Bridgewater College. She moved to Norfolk after college in 2018 to close the gap between Chrizar and her long-time boyfriend, who is now her husband. They have lived in the Ocean View area for eight years. Chrizar is a stay-at-home mom but plans to return to the workforce in the future. Before she was a mom, she worked in healthcare billing. Prior to that she was a pastry chef for almost a decade. Her specialty was breads. Since Chrizar has the privilege to be a stay-at-home mom for a few years, she wanted to do some community work to show her child the opportunities within your village. She started volunteering at the Norfolk Botanical Garden and learned about the Norfolk Master Gardens at the Potager Garden. They shared with her the efforts to give vegetables to the Southeastern Virginia Food Bank. Having grown up in Virginia, she has seen grocery stores close and knew this would be a problem for the residents. After her first successful vegetable garden, it made her smile to be able to give vegetables to her neighbors. Becoming a Master Gardener has opened many doors to her to continue engaging with her community. Chrizar thought the classes were well-organized. She believed the co-leads did a good job of guiding the class through the training. She particularly liked the commercials because this gave the project leads an opportunity to introduce themselves and for the class to put names with faces. Chrizar participated in a variety of demonstration gardens. She was a regular at the Potager Garden at Norfolk Botanical Garden and the Zoo garden. She worked at the Plant Propagation Palooza and Live Green by Keep Norfolk Beautiful for her outreach hours. She plans to continue participating with the Zoo Garden and is excited to help with the Butterfly Garden. When Chrizar isn’t gardening she likes to create art through watercolors, photography and crafts. She is also into weight training and hopes to compete in the future. When you see Chrizar, be sure to introduce yourself and welcome her to the Norfolk Extenson Master Gardeners.

Stewart was born and grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Westinghouse High School in Pittsburgh. He has earned two bachelor’s degrees and three associates degrees. He has also received certifications, all in engineering, technology and business. The U.S. Navy brought Stewart to Norfolk 1983. He has retired from the Navy as well as Verizon Communications LLC. Stewart joined the Norfolk Master Gardener Class of 2026 to improve upon his gardening knowledge and skills, and to leverage his experiences from all around the world. He was interested in meeting like-minded people and to continue being involved civically in his city and community. In order to meet the required fifty hours, Stewart participated in Dig and Divides, Significant Tree Program, the green house, East Ocean View Children’s Garden, spring plant sale, and Tucker Library Juneteenth Celebration. Going forward, Stewart plans to continue volunteering in these projects and will add the Tucker Demonstration Garden when that restarts. He is also interested in Master Gardener College, Master Food certification and the tree stewardship program. When Stewart is not participating in Norfolk Master Gardener activities, he enjoys distance cycling as well as distance swimming. He enjoys going to the gym, audiophile and is an avid gardener. Stewart is married with two grown children, a boy and a girl. He has both grandchildren and great grandchildren.  When you see Stewart, please be sure to introduce yourself and welcome him to the Norfolk Extension Master Gardeners.

Imagine that you are the last remaining individual of your kind. What would it take to ensure the survival of your species? And who would be willing to take on that task? An intrepid international group of conservationists accepted such a challenge to save the last Dendroseris neriifolia tree standing in the wild. On remote Robinson Crusoe Island, one of the Juan Fernandez Islands some 760 km off the coast of Chile, the last surviving wild tree daisy, Dendroseris neriifolia , estimated to be about 150 years old, clings to a cliff. These islands are the only place in the world where members of the Dendroseris genus are found. This is the only plant in the world that forms daisy-like flowers on a woody, branching trunk, which is how it got its tree-daisy name. 

Carmen was born right here in Norfolk. Her parents and siblings were brought here by the military. She is the eighth of ten children. She attended Christ the King Elementary School and graduated from Granby High School. Carmen is retired from the City of Norfolk where she worked in Finance. Previously she worked in retail management, title work, and the DMV. Carmen has always loved nature and gardening. She was attracted to the Master Gardener program long before she actually joined, but daytime work prevented her from attending classes. She promised herself she would join when she retired. Carmen liked the classes, particularly because they touched on so many subjects, many of which she knew a little bit about. But the classes made her want to learn more. She learned that if she doesn’t know the answer, she knows where to find it. Carmen wanted to try many of the projects. She particularly liked the Urban Ag events and projects. She has helped with the East Ocean View Children’s Garden, Ernie Morgan Center Eco Garden, the greenhouse project, plant sale, and seed packaging. Going forward, she wants to participate in a variety of projects. She loves the “make and takes” with the funny, curious, and ever-so-truthful kids. She enjoys meeting other Master Gardeners and learning about their projects. She likes seed packaging, weeding, watering, and harvesting! It satisfies her “instant gratification ” need! Carmen is loving retirement and is always busy. She spends time with family, friends, and neighbors. She loves to be outside and enjoys working in her own garden, fishing and star gazing, being a member of the Volkswagon Club of Tidewater and the American Legion, participating in a sweepstakes club, and volunteering in a flower arranging group. Carmen has three grandchildren, 2 great grandchildren (and another expected). She shares a one-eyed dog with her brother.  When you see Carmen, be sure to introduce yourself and welcome her to the Norfolk Extension Master Gardeners.

 Kellie was born in Maryland and her family relocated to Arkansas when she was 2 years old. The family moved to Virginia Beach when she was 7 and then to Norfolk when she was 15. Kellie graduated from Maury High School and Fordham University at Lincoln Center in New York. After attending college in New York City she stayed in New York for fifteen years, after which she decided to move back to Norfolk. Kellie was drawn to the Norfolk Master Gardener program when she met Jammica Boone, Jay Boone, and Will Redfern during the Virginia State University’s Sustainable Urban Agriculture Certificate Program in 2025. She had missed the orientations for the Master Gardener Class of 2025. To fulfill part of the 80 hours required for the VSU program, Will helped her to connect with the Master Gardeners at the Heutte Center Square Foot Garden and Gill Gillespie at the East Ocean View Children’s Garden. She is grateful for the opportunity to have worked and learned from Gill. In addition to wanting to cultivate in-depth gardening knowledge, she enjoyed getting to know Norfolk Master Gardeners and working on the projects before actually taking the classes. Kellie enjoyed the classes, especially when an instructor was passionate and engaging on a topic. She especially liked the classes that were held with the Virginia Beach Master Gardeners and Portsmouth Master Gardeners. To attain the required fifty hours, Kellie worked at the East Ocean View Children’s Garden, the Fred Heutte Square Foot Garden, Zoo Garden, Significant Tree Program, Potager Garden, Urban Ag visits, Teens with a Purpose FUSE Fest, Party for the Planet, and the plant and bake sale. She plans to continue many of the projects she has been a part of thus far and hopefully experience other projects as time allows. When you see Kellie, be sure to introduce yourself and welcome her to the Norfolk Extension Master Gardeners.

I recently received an official-looking letter in the mail from Virginia’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), informing me that they have teamed with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to survey and pesticide-treat my area (Ghent) to suppress the Spotted Lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula. As Extension Master Gardeners, this pest is one we need to be informed about so that 1) we can be on the lookout for signs of it and 2) we can educate residents about the threat it poses and what can be done. Some basics: · Spotted Lanternfly (SLF) is about as “pretty” a bug as you’re gonna’ find anywhere. Its preferred host is the tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima) – not a bad-looking tree. Both bug and host are invaders from Asia. If this were a comic book pairing, the bug might destroy the tree and then die off for lack of a food source. No such luck! · In addition to Ailanthus, SLF will feed on the sap of over 100 other species, including grape vines, hops, stone fruits, ornamentals, and landscape and forest trees. They are far from solitary, typically feeding together in large numbers. While feeding, they excrete honeydew, which leads to sooty mold, which does further damage to the plant. They present a clear agricultural, horticultural, and economic threat. · They’re on the move – with the aid of some pretty unexpected helpers. SLF lays its eggs on tree trunks or on any handy hard surface including grills, vehicles, trailers, firewood, outdoor furniture, bikes, toys, and trains. In the four years between 2014 (when it was first detected in Pennsylvania) and 2018, it had made its way to Northern Virginia and at least 18 other states and the District of Columbia. Now, it has been found in Norfolk, and specifically in Ghent. So the letter in my mailbox, promising not just to search for and kill any SLF detected, but also to treat or destroy any Ailanthus, certainly got my attention. I’ve found lots of resources and pictures of the SLF in all its instars, and of its creepily disguised egg masses (and I do mean masses), on the DACS, the USDA, and the VCE websites. I hope this quick summary will inspire you to follow and explore these links and get smart about both species. There appears to be no need to report sightings of SLF in Norfolk at this point, (the state is obviously on the case!) but a call to our local VCE office to report would be a good idea. And if you spot them, or think you have, there is certainly a need to take steps to remove any Ailanthus on our properties, and to kill SLFs and destroy their egg masses wherever we find them. · From VDACS: https:// www.vdacs.virginia.gov/plant-industry-services-spotted-lanternfly.shtml · From USDA: https:// Spotted Lanternfly | Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service · From VCE: https:// Spotted Lanternfly in Virginia | Virginia Cooperative Extension | Virginia Tech

 Susie grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and graduated from the University of Missouri. Her husband’s career in the U.S. Navy brought them to Norfolk in the early 1980s. They have been in and out of the Tidewater area since. His last position brought them back to Norfolk in 2015. They are both retired and were thrilled to move back to the Tidewater area. Susie retired as the Chief Financial Officer for the George Mason University Foundation, the charitable foundation for the university. Susie has been a life-long gardener and has known several Master Gardeners in other areas. She wanted to enter the program but had to wait until she retired before she could devote the time. Susie thought the classes were great. She was extremely impressed with the knowledge of all the instructors and the projects that she worked on. These were Weyanoke Bird and Wildlife Sanctuary, Significant Trees, NEX Outreach, the plant sale, and the Butterfly House at Norfolk Botanical Garden. She hopes to get involved in many other projects. She is particularly interested in the Eco-garden, the Elizabeth River Trail, East Ocean View Children’s Garden, the Kitchen Garden, the Fred Heutte Square Foot Garden, and the greenhouse. In addition to gardening, Susie enjoys cooking, reading, and walking her dog. She has three grown children and two grandsons ages 9 and 12. All her children grew up to be gardeners. When you see Susie, be sure to introduce yourself and welcome her to the Norfolk Extension Master Gardeners.