Newsletter Articles & Archive

“I love ALL things gardening” is the way MG Intern Eleanor James sums up her reason for wanting to take the MG class, and her enthusiasm in sharing what she grows in her yard is contagious. As a child, Eleanor gardened alongside her mother, who had grown up in the country, grew vegetables and flowers, and always had a meticulously tended yard. When Eleanor, her husband, and 3 children moved into a new home with minimal landscaping 30 years ago, she had a blank slate to create the yard of her dreams, and it continues to be a source of joy, peace and fulfillment. Landscape design is a special interest of hers, and her yard now includes 8 Japanese Maple trees, over 100 hostas, along with azaleas, rhododendrons and other plants. She hopes to add a bridge, fountain, and raised beds one day, but with a yard that has limited full sun it is sometimes hard to find the right place for some of the things she would like to grow. Her favorite season is Spring and her favorite time to work in her garden is early morning, often starting by 5 am but always ending before noon. She loves the process of watching things grow and seeing her yard come alive as flowers bloom, and like many gardeners, finds herself talking to her plants at times. One plant had not bloomed for 3 years and she remembers telling it one day that it had better bloom soon or she might dig it up- and the next day it had blooms!

This is the first time Eleanor has applied to be in the MG class, but she had thought about it for several years and kept missing the application cut-off dates. She loves to learn and has enjoyed the class, but her favorite part has been getting to know classmates and sharing information. She has worked in the Demonstration Garden at Ellington and is eager to help at Sevier Park once that gets started, as that project will likely include some landscaping design opportunities. She sees garden areas as big puzzles with individual plants being puzzle pieces, and she loves to see how they can best fit together to complete a wonderful design.

In addition to gardening, Eleanor loves to travel and usually finds time to visit local botanical gardens wherever she is. She worked almost 25 years in the hospitality industry as an event manager and in other roles, but after the pandemic she decided it was time for a change and now works at the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville. She and her husband have 3 adult children and a dog named Quincy, who is her gardening buddy. Her favorite holiday is Christmas and she decorates the inside of the house while her husband does the outside. Their yard has won neighborhood awards for “Best Christmas Decorations” but has never won for “Most Beautiful Yard” in the spring or summer- yet! Eleanor thinks the judging is done after many of her flowers have already bloomed and faded, but with all her plans for future enhancements in the yard, a Most Beautiful Yard award may be in her future. She also wants to meet the requirements for a Smart Yard and maybe open her garden for a tour in the future after some work on their home is completed.

By Blake Davis

"A tree’s beauty lies in its branches, but its strength lies in its roots." — Matshona Dhliwayo

I’m learning that if I’m willing to slow down, if I take most problems to the garden I can typically follow the leaves and branches of any issue down its trunk, tracing the line until I find its roots.
Roots don’t just hold a tree in place. They grow in the dark and quiet, thickening, locking in the soil, intertwining with others and feeding the life above. Some trees even grow “stress wood”, denser and stronger from enduring wind and weather. 

That’s been on my mind lately.

A few weeks ago, over coffee at The Well, a friend and I swapped stories about growing up on farms- he in the Midwest, me between the Tri-Cities of Tennessee.
He told me about the time his father tipped over a tractor.

He said over several nights, a friend came over to “help.” They didn’t lift anything, they just stood there night after night staring at the issue. Every so often taking a sip of a beer and saying “Well… you know we could try….”

Earlier this summer, while working in the yard to prepare for a birthday gathering, I tried to move a massive concrete planter filled with soil and plants despite having a bad back.
My back doctor scolded me, saying I should have known better. She’s right. My pride and eagerness for progress overrode my better judgment. I could have waited. I should have asked for help.

It’s the same with any big, tipped-over thing in life. Sometimes the work is showing up beside someone else, not rushing the fix, letting the shared time sink roots before the visible change takes place.

That truth has been shaping conversations within my family. We’re raising young children, busy with dual careers and still grieving the sudden loss of a close friend who was taken ten months ago, just days after my youngest son was born. Loss like that reshapes the landscape. When deep-rooted relationships are torn away, they leave a hole that no quick planting can fill. You can’t replace the nutrients of time in an established garden. 

It’s caused us to start asking: Who are our thirty-year friends? Who will we still be running beside decades from now? Whose will be the roots so deeply embedded beside ours that they naturally grow next to us as we stare at tipped-over problems, more focused on standing side by side to make a good plan than rushing to the solution. 

I think of my uncle in Atlanta, who has been in the same running group for over thirty years. In their eighties, it’s more of a shuffle than a run- but the pace isn’t the point. Decades of showing up together, rain or shine, have created a network of roots, strengthened to weather every season. 

That’s why, with the old saying about ‘the best time to plant a tree’ in mind, I gathered a few men for a regular breakfast. I wrote intentional questions to skip small talk, and it worked. We went deep. But a few months in, one of them said, “What if we actually did something together? Could we meet at each other’s houses and knock out some projects before work?”

It was a great idea. And now, we rotate between homes and gardens, tackling whatever’s on the list of the host for that week. When my turn came, I faced a patch under pine trees thick with poison ivy… something I’d been picking at alone with a headlamp after the kids went to bed, unable to outpace the growth.
That Thursday morning my friends showed up. We grabbed pitchforks and shovels, spread a mountain of dropped mulch and by 8:30 it was done. 

I feel like gardening is often considered a solitary activity. But I’ve seen the Master Gardeners descend in droves on a problem. And I’ve started to organize my projects into “pot work” and “ground work.”
Pot work is the quiet, meditative stuff I do alone. Ground work is the heavy lifting saved for the community. The kind that thrives with extra hands, shared ideas, and laughter. 

After all, a plant in a nursery pot can stay alive for awhile, but without intention, it will dry out or its roots will circle and choke its growth. It reaches its full potential only when connected to the soil, able to reach out and weave into a broader ecosystem built to flourish and expand. 

That’s why I’m challenging myself to make time for other’s gardens. At first, it felt like a sacrifice- it makes sense that less time on my own projects would feel limiting. But when my turn comes for the project swap, I’m always astonished at how much shared effort can achieve, and how much deeper I feel my roots grow.

 

But the biggest benefit has been the memories. The serviceberry trees I planted alone hold core memories of my daughter reaching for juneberries as a baby from her old backpack carrier. But the greenhouse platform I built with my son’s godmother -the friend we lost last October- carries sacred memories from the entire Saturday we spent working side by side to build it.
Now as my son grows, his memories of his Godmother are fading. But the trees she helped me plant are also growing, and will continue to take root in the narrative of his life as he sits under the canopy of their leaves, just because she asked if there was anything she could help with in my yard, and I said yes. 

Because in the end, the roots we’ve grown through laughter, loss, and shared labor are the ones that will hold us steady when the winds come. 

If there is anyone in the Master Gardeners group you have a friendship with, and you know you are both inundated with projects, invite them to do a project swap. You might be surprised at how much you’re able to get done when two or more are gathered.
And you’ll be deepening the roots of relationship and connection at the same time. Even if you’re just standing staring at a problem, sipping a beer and saying “You know, we could try..” 

By Paul Prill

A recent survey by the National Wildlife Foundation discovered that 90 percent of participants favored leaving their fall leaves to help the environment and wildlife. Yet only 15 percent actually left their leaves on their properties. 23 percent threw away between 6 and 10 bags of leaves, and 11 percent threw away more than 10 bags. What about the remaining 51 percent? Living under the requirements of HOAs demanding that they bag and removed leaf litter (We need to work on easing this restriction). The fact that we call it leaf litter betrays a poor understanding of how nature works to renew itself.

It’s not as I have suggested in the past that the leaves release important nutrients to the soil. The actual nutrient content of dead leaves is minuscule (about 1 percent nitrogen, and less that 0.1 percent each of phosphorus or potassium according to a 2022 Iowa State University Extension analysis). But what the study overlooks is that all kinds of critters are working late fall, winter, and early spring to decompose those leaves into tiny piece, which are further decomposed by the bacteria and fungi already in the soil. Earthworms live under the surface of the leaves and contribute to the shredding process, and as they move through the leaves and the soil beneath it, they leave behind their castings with all of the microorganisms they contain. The result is better soil structure, more nutrient availability to plants either developing root systems over the winter or those new flower and vegetable starts which will be planted in the spring. And while they don’t have large amounts of NPK, the castings do have many of the micronutrients (magnesium, zinc, copper, zinc, iron, calcium, and sulphur) which are also necessary to healthy plant development.

Earthworms are not the only insects which aid the decomposition of plant material. The centipedes in our yards, along with the beetles, work to reduce leaf material making it more accessible to the microorganisms in the soil. And, like earthworms, they burrow in the soil, creating pathways for roots and air and water, ensuring that the soil in our yard does not become compact and potentially anaerobic. Pill bugs, which are not technically bugs, but are crustaceans, can pull harmful heavy metals (like lead, cadmium, and arsenic) out of the soil and reduce their levels in the groundwater that makes nutrient uptake possible.

All of this decay takes place in the presence of oxygen, and so they will off-gas carbon dioxide. But throw bags of leaves in a landfill, let them get smushed under all that weight, and their environment quickly become anaerobic. They no longer produce carbon dioxide as they decompose, but methane, and according to the Environmental Protection Agency, methane is 28 times more potent as a greenhouse gas as is carbon dioxide. Admittedly the few bags of leaves that one might put on the curb won’t curb global warming significantly, but why contribute to the problem at all if we can just leave the leaves?

The leaves in our yard also provide habitat for those tiny critters that overwinter in our area. We love the luna moth, but most of us don’t know that our leaves will contain the cocoons or chrysalises of that moth as well as a few butterflies. We’ve already mentioned beetles. They continue to breed over the winter, and their babies need shelter, not to mention some other insect larva to eat. Firefly eggs will overwinter in our yards before entertaining us on those warm spring nights. And, given our attention to raising bees in MG of DC, we should know that queen bumble bees use the warmer ground under the leaves to wait until it’s warm enough to go look for a place to start a new brood. She is the only one who survives, so if we remove her habitat, we remove the potential offspring who will become the next generation of pollinators!

Food, shelter, soil improvement, insulation, weed suppression, pathways through our properties, leaves are not litter. They perform important services in our flower beds and lawns. If you use chopped leaves for your compost, by all means run your lawn mower or use your leaf shredder to get some for the pile. But think seriously about leaving most of the leaves intact and rake them into areas you want to plant in next spring, make some leaf mold (a rich soil amendment) create habitat for small mammals and amphibians, if you have them. And when the spring arrives, and you see the birds looking sideways at the ground, and using their feet and beaks to throws things out of the way, remember they are looking for the food you have generously provided them as those insects, living in the leaves, have nourished your soil.

by James Hearn

The journey of a gardener is one of perpetual learning. By moving beyond simply following advice to actively seeking and generating knowledge, any gardener can become a researcher in their own right. This shift in perspective transforms the garden from a plot of land into a living laboratory. By embracing these principles, gardeners can adopt a research-driven approach that not only enhances their own plots but also contributes to a larger, collective understanding of the natural world.

Integrating Scientific Thinking into Your Gardening Practice

At its heart, research is about asking questions and systematically seeking answers. This mindset is a natural fit for gardening, a practice filled with variables and opportunities for discovery.

Developing a Curious Mindset: A research-driven gardener is, above all, curious. Instead of viewing a pest outbreak or a struggling plant as a mere failure, they see it as a puzzle. Why is this happening here? What conditions are different? This questioning attitude is the very first step in any scientific inquiry.

Turning Gardening Challenges into Research Opportunities: Every gardening challenge is a potential experiment. For instance, if your tomatoes are suffering from blight, you could research several organic control methods and test them on different plants, carefully observing and recording the results. This is a small-scale, personal research project. You are no longer just a gardener; you are an experimentalist, testing hypotheses and gathering data right in your backyard.

Sharing Discoveries with the Gardening Community: The final step of the research process is sharing what you've learned. Whether through a local garden club, an online forum, or a citizen science platform, sharing your observations—both successes and failures—contributes to a larger body of community knowledge. Your small experiment, when combined with the findings of others, can reveal larger patterns and more reliable best practices.

Continuous Learning and Adaptation: A research-driven gardener knows that there are no final answers. The garden is a dynamic system, and practices must adapt to changing conditions. This commitment to ongoing learning and adjustment based on observation and evidence is the key to long-term success and resilience.

Ethical Considerations in Garden Research: Even in a personal garden, it’s important to consider the ethical implications of your experiments. This includes using environmentally safe treatments, considering the impact on local wildlife and pollinators, and responsibly managing any non-native plants you might be testing.

Emerging Research Areas for the Gardener-Scientist

The skills of a research-driven gardener are more valuable than ever, with many pressing environmental issues directly relating to the soil, plants, and ecosystems found in our backyards.

Urban Agriculture: As cities grow, so does the interest in producing food locally. Gardeners can experiment with container gardening, vertical farming, and intensive planting techniques to discover the most productive methods for small, urban spaces.

Climate Adaptation: With changing weather patterns, gardeners are on the front lines of climate change. A research-driven approach can help identify and test plant varieties that are more resilient to drought, heat, or erratic rainfall, contributing vital knowledge for adapting our gardens and food systems to a new reality.

Biodiversity Conservation: Gardens can be havens for biodiversity. Gardeners can contribute to conservation efforts by experimenting with native plant installations, creating pollinator habitats, and meticulously tracking the wildlife that visits their space. This provides crucial data on how even small plots can support a rich web of life.

Sustainable Gardening Practices: The move away from chemical inputs towards more sustainable methods requires new knowledge. Gardeners can research and test techniques like composting, cover cropping, integrated pest management, and water conservation, sharing their findings to help build a more robust and evidence-based model for sustainable horticulture. 

By embracing a curious, observant, and critical mindset, any gardener can elevate their practice. Becoming a research-driven gardener enriches the personal experience of tending a plot of land and transforms it into a meaningful act of discovery and contribution. Every seed sown becomes a question, and every harvest, a piece of a larger story.

The Master Gardeners of Davidson County Executive Board is thrilled to announce a new initiative designed to empower you, our dedicated members and interns, to showcase your exceptional horticultural skills to the wider Nashville community! We believe the 2025 Nashville Fair (September 5-14) offers a fantastic platform to demonstrate the depth of talent within MGofDC, promote our mission of horticultural education, and inspire others with your growing achievements.

To encourage your participation in the Fair's competitive growing events, we're launching the Nashville Fair Green Thumb Exhibition Program! This program offers reimbursement for entry fees (up to $10 per individual, in $2 increments) for eligible competitive categories, including Agricultural Exhibitions and the exciting Giant Pumpkin and Watermelon Weigh Off. This is your chance to enter your prized produce and highlight the incredible work you do!

How to Get Reimbursed:

It's simple! First, enter your best fruits, vegetables, or other eligible horticultural entries at the Nashville Fair between September 5th and 14th. Be sure to keep clear digital copies of both your proof of payment and proof of entry into the competitive categories.

In September, a dedicated online reimbursement request form will be available on the Member Services page. Fill out the form, upload your documentation, and acknowledge the program terms. Reimbursements, issued via Venmo (preferred) or physical check, will be processed between September 15th and October 31st, on a first-come, first-served basis until our allocated budget is depleted.

The Executive Board is excited to see our Master Gardeners shine at the Fair! For any questions, please email webmaster@mgofdc.org.

By Melanie Brewer

Becoming an empty nester necessitated that I explore new interests. Since that year was 2020, my options were limited. But as the world was shutting down, I was opening my eyes to what was already around me. I noticed the mossy earth beneath my feet and the canopy of trees shading me from the sun and hosting birds singing and swooping. Long neglected landscaping with hardy anabelle hydrangeas, overgrown ground cover, and my great grandmother's “pinks” (phlox), longing to be nurtured. Returning to nature in my own backyard continues to be enjoyable and life-giving, both in the labor and the rest. I began the work of clearing, restoring, and creating the landscape which is still in progress. The bird calls and songs started to sound like music for my soul. I started learning to identify the birds using the Merlin app from Cornell Lab (not sponsored, just a great app!). Feeders, nesting boxes, binoculars, and photography came next. The first nesting box placed in our backyard, newly coined “the haven,” was for bluebirds. The second year, we finally had residents: Carolina chickadees. Our disappointment at the lack of bluebirds quickly turned to delight as we got to know these cute little birds who are amazingly curious, courageous, resourceful, and resilient. Here’s some of what we’ve learned about carolina chickadees: 

Habitat

Chickadees are year-round residents of the southeastern United States. They reside in various wooded areas, such as forests, parks, and well-wooded suburbs where they have access to food and shelter. 

Appearance

These chickadees are 4-5 inches long and weigh only 0.3-0.4 ounces! Their wingspan is 6-8 inches. They are easy to identify with their black cap and bib, white cheeks, and gray wings.

Songs and Calls

True to their name, chickadees often announce themselves with a “chick-a-d-d-d-d” call. They have multiple other calls and songs, commonly one of many variations of “hey sweetie” or “fee-bee”. These are used to maintain contact in a flock, establish dominance, defend territory, mate, and, of course, when young, beg for food.

Diet

Chickadees are skilled foragers and enjoy a diet of caterpillars, small insects, and fruits. At feeders, they enjoy black oil sunflower seeds, peanut chips, and suet. Chickadees hide sunflower seeds in the nooks and crannies of trees to return to later… and, impressively, remember where they have hidden them! During the breeding season, a set of parents may take 300-500 caterpillars per day to the nest box to feed their babies.

Nesting

Chickadees often nest in cavities found in dead trees. The nests are constructed with green moss and lined with mammal hair or plant fiber. They also use nest boxes with dimensions smaller than a bluebird house. In our nesting box, they lined it with green moss and it looked like the “hair” component was fur from our puppy! It is important to place a baffle on the pole beneath the nesting box to protect the box from predators such as snakes and raccoons. 

Baby ‘dees

In Tennessee, eggs are laid from mid-March through April. Chickadees average a “clutch” of 4-6 eggs, which hatch 14-15 days later. Both adults stay busy feeding the young. The young fledge, or leave the nest, after 17-18 days. The young then remain with their parents for two more weeks, then are off to start their own journeys.

When preparing your backyard for chickadee and other bird visitors, first and foremost, create a safe environment for these friends. Clean the feeders on a regular basis. Maintain fresh water sources. Keep cats indoors. Prevent window strikes by using decals or drawing with washable markers. Limit or eliminate use of “-cides,” including pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides. This summer, take a moment to observe the activity already going on around you, whether at home or at a local park. By simply “paying attention” I have gained so much joy. Though my daughters are out of the house, my “nest” is still full.

By James Hearn

In the world of gardening, advice is plentiful. It comes from neighbors, social media influencers, product packaging, and seasoned family members. While often well-intentioned, this deluge of information can be contradictory and confusing. Adopting the principles of scientific literacy, as detailed in resources like WSU Extension's "Scientific literacy for the citizen scientist," empowers gardeners to navigate this landscape with confidence, turning their gardens into places of learning and successful cultivation.

Scientific Literacy for Gardeners: Thinking Like a Scientist

At its core, scientific literacy is about critical thinking. For the gardener, it means developing a toolkit to assess the quality of information before putting a new technique into practice or spending money on a promising product.

Distinguishing Between Evidence and Anecdote: An anecdote is a personal story: "I tried coffee grounds around my hydrangeas, and they thrived!" Evidence, in contrast, involves systematic observation and data, ideally from a controlled experiment. While anecdotes can inspire new ideas, evidence provides a more reliable basis for action. The scientific method, which begins with a question and proceeds through testing and data collection, is designed to move beyond the anecdotal.

Evaluating Research Sources and Recognizing Limitations: Not all information is created equal. A university extension publication or a peer-reviewed journal article carries more weight than a personal blog or a company's promotional website. It’s also crucial to understand that every experiment has limitations. A study conducted in a specific climate or soil type might not yield the same results elsewhere. Acknowledging these limitations is a hallmark of good science.

Marketing Claims vs. Scientific Findings: The goal of marketing is to sell a product. Claims of "miraculous growth" or "revolutionary results" should be met with healthy skepticism. A scientifically literate gardener asks: Where is the data to support this claim? Was the research independent or funded by the company itself?

Developing a Skeptical Yet Open Mindset: The goal isn't to be cynical but to be inquisitive. A skeptical gardener questions claims and seeks evidence but remains open to new ideas that are supported by credible information. This balanced approach is the foundation of lifelong learning.

Tools for Evaluation

To put this mindset into practice, gardeners can use established frameworks for evaluating information.

The CRAAP Test: This is a simple yet powerful acronym for assessing sources:

•     Currency: How recent is the information?

•     Relevance: Does it directly apply to your situation?

•     Authority: Who is the author or organization, and what are their credentials?

•     Accuracy: Is the information supported by evidence? Can you verify it from other sources?

•     Purpose: Why does this information exist? Is it to educate, persuade, or sell something?

Recognizing Peer-Reviewed Research: This is the gold standard for scientific information. Before being published, a peer-reviewed article has been scrutinized and validated by other experts in the same field.

Understanding Statistical Significance: When research mentions that a result is "statistically significant," it means there is a very low probability that the observed outcome was due to random chance. This adds a level of confidence in the findings.

From Observation to Understanding

Ultimately, applying these critical skills enhances the art and science of gardening. Every garden has a story to tell, and observation is the foundation of discovery. By carefully watching how plants respond to different inputs and conditions, you are already engaging in the first step of the scientific method. When you seek out reliable information to solve a problem or improve your results, you elevate your practice. This approach of blending personal observation with credible external knowledge not only improves individual gardens but also contributes to a more informed and effective gardening community, where community knowledge builds a powerful, collective understanding.

A family and childhood full of gardening gave Class of 2025 intern Glenn Kiger his introduction to gardening and he has never lost interest. Growing up in North Carolina, Glenn’s parents had a big garden, as did their close neighbor, and Glenn spent hours watching and listening and learning as both worked and discussed their vegetable gardens. Unlike many kids, he remembers enjoying working in the garden as a child and eating what was grown, both the fresh vegetables and those his mother had canned or preserved in some way. In addition to his parents being gardeners, Glenn also had other family members who were farmers and gardeners and aunts who had a fish farm.

After his second retirement in 2024, Glenn knew he wanted to take classes of some kind because he loves learning and decided Master Gardener was a good place to start. He is hoping to use what he is learning in class to continue to improve his small yard in East Nashville. His ultimate goal is to have a beautiful, low maintenance yard that attracts birds and butterflies that he and his wife can enjoy for years. Gardening is a form of relaxation for him most of the time, but he recently injured an elbow while digging out some dead Pampas grass and has wisely decided to have someone else remove the remaining plants. He currently has vegetable and herb gardens in place and he also has some flowers and landscaping that were installed by someone else, but plans to restructure those in the future. His MG volunteer experience so far has been at Ellington, Meigs Middle School, and the Nashville Cemetery but is excited about working at Shelby Park too as it is close to his home.

Glenn and his wife are parents to 5 sons, 3 biological and 2 that were adopted, and have one grandson who is 3. Before moving to Tennessee, Glenn’s career in health-care management took them to several states including Texas, Louisiana, Virginia and North Carolina. He retired from the healthcare field in 2017 after 37 years and then became a full-time tutor at John Overton High School, where he enjoyed working with kids and the freedom to work greatly reduced hours compared to his previous career. He also became the boys tennis coach, which he continues doing even though he stopped tutoring in 2024. He says it is a great part-time job that only lasts 2.5 months per year, and he has played tennis most of his life. Travel is another interest and with a family wedding coming up in Ecuador, he is looking forward to that trip. Hiking, going to the theater and ballroom dancing are other hobbies he and his wife enjoy and along with gardening, will have more time to enjoy in retirement.

By Genma Holmes

Seventy-four years ago this month, 23 Black women invited by educator Blanche Ennix and Ruth McAlpin, wife of Tennessee State University Agriculture professor Dr. Neal McAlphin, gathered in the home of the McAlpins for a garden club interest meeting. At the meeting, the women discussed forming a new garden club that would be inclusive of the Black community. During the 1940’s, after World War II, garden clubs were extremely popular throughout the country. But due to society norms of the time, Black women were excluded from participating in the established Nashville garden clubs.

The meeting at the McAlpins would not only challenge who participated in garden clubs, but the women became a powerful, nurturing force in Black Nashville, and later, Greater Nashville at large. Their garden club would go beyond the scope of gardening and beautification of the home; their club led many firsts in horticulture, civic engagement, and education in Nashville and around the country. 

From their first interest meeting in 1951, the women worked extremely hard learning about plants and flowers. At each meeting, the members brought in complete assignments on growing, arranging, and preserving flowers. According to their history compiled by charter member Dolores Crump, “They set up workshops, and clinics directed by flower arrangement designers, certified judges, and well-schooled gardeners who challenged them to use their imagination to create beauty from the simplest of household items, few flowers, and limited foliage.”

The newly found garden club was named The Ardent Gardeners Association by devoted gardener Ruth Grant’s husband, Dr. William H. Grant, a local physician. He was genuinely impressed with the club’s enthusiasm and desire to learn about the gardening industry. 

At every opportunity, members visited flower shows, participated in flower arranging clinics, and visited gardens throughout their first year. At the end of their hectic year of learning and growing in their gardening knowledge, Ruth McAlpin encouraged the members to share all their newly acquired skills with the community.

 

The Ardent Gardeners’ first flower show on July 11, 1952, at the Hadley Park Community Center (left to right): Henri Dixon, Rhea Tarleton, Ruth McAlpin, Ruth Grant, Dora McClelland, Hazel Burley, Rachel Lindsay, Arthurine Welch, Lillian Thomas, Mary Walker, Carrie Denney, Martha Allen, Mattie Claiborne, Kathleen Lawrence, Mattie Flowers, Alberta Bontemps, Elizabeth Petway Lowe, Eva Nash, Blanche Ennix, and Thelma Treherne. Ardent Gardeners Association Records, 1951-1998, Box 3, Folder 7

The Ardent Gardeners made their public debut on July 11, 1952. Club members invited Black Nashville to the first flower show presented by Black women to the Black community. The gala was held at the newly built Hadley Park Community Center because it was the only place outside the members’ homes, churches, and schools available for such an exhibition. According to Dolores Crump’s history notes, "After the success of their first show, members were encouraged through the counseling of Dr. Neal McAlpin, the club’s chief consultant in the areas of plant care, garden planning, and flower preservation, to incorporate specimens from their yards and gardens in their shows.

With his encouragement, the Ardent Gardeners continued to study, grow, improve, and learn. They invited certified judges to inspect and evaluate their flower exhibits. The ribbons earned by the members were valued treasure.

Meet Charter Member Mrs. Hazel Suggs Burley

Kicking off “Christmas in July” with Mrs. Burley in her home. 

Mrs. Hazel Suggs Burley, a charter member of Ardent Gardeners, is still with us at the tender age of 104. I had the fantastic opportunity to visit with Mrs. Burley to hear her many gardening stories and the importance of chartering the Ardent Gardeners Association in 1951. I reviewed her numerous newspaper clippings, gardening programs, and photos from yesteryear. I was in awe of the attention to detail that was evident among all the gardeners.

News article on Ardent Gardeners members with students.

Mrs. Burley shared with me the many impactful projects sponsored by the Ardent Gardeners Association over seven decades. They made floral arrangements for various organizations, including a girls’ home, veterans, Tennessee State University, Fisk University, Meharry College, and Hubbard Hospital, among others. Ardent Gardeners took students on field trips to visit gardens and exposed them to horticulture, art, and culture. 

I shared with Mrs. Burley photos from my garden with my grandchildren. I also gave her updates on the number of volunteers who want to help restore the Doris Campbell Busby Memorial Garden in the atrium at Nashville General Hospital. When I mentioned the garden, her eyes beamed with pride. She immediately started sharing about the challenges it took to get the Doris Campbell Busby Memorial Garden open and the significant role it played at Hubbard Hospital.

Doris Campbell Busby Memorial Garden

The Doris Campbell Busby Memorial Garden, appropriately named after garden club member Doris Campbell Busby, had become one of the signature projects of the Ardent Gardener Association during the 70's and 80's. The club named it after Doris Campbell Busby, director of volunteer services at Hubbard Hospital, to honor her leadership that made the garden possible and her fierce devotion to volunteering and giving back to the Nashville community. Doris was known for "voluntelling" friends and family from various civic organizations and clubs to help lift the spirits of patients, families, staff, and faculty. In 1995, the hospital underwent expansion and renovation, resulting in the removal of the garden. In 2000, the garden was slightly smaller but restored along with the fountain to its former grandeur. 

MGofDC Crosspollinate with Ardent Gardeners

This year, several MGofDC members cross-pollinated their time and passion to help bring the Doris Campbell Busby Memorial Garden back to its former purpose. My involvement with both organizations started years before 2025.

In 2014, Ardent Gardner member Phyllis Cain asked me to be a speaker for her monthly meeting. Phyllis knew my family’s history and their love of gardening. She asked me to talk about my grandmother, mom, and a host of aunties who were known for their gardening skills. The women in my family were part of a garden club in Mississippi. Gardeners on steroids, their monthly meetings were legendary in our small town. Their meetings, the club’s mission, activities, and topics closely followed what I had read from the archives of Ardent Gardeners, Philadelphia’s Oasis Garden Club, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia Black Women Garden Clubs. The gardeners in my family, like many members of Ardent Gardeners, were educators who touched the lives of their students as well as the communities they resided in. 

When I became an MGofDC intern, I sought to engage with projects that would nourish my soul, support my Marine son's mental well-being, reconnect me with my family's gardening heritage, and foster connections among people from diverse backgrounds. After a few suggestions I made received no traction, I continued to look for gardening projects that would not pay homage to institutional strongholds of the past. Thankfully, with the MGofDC's flex hours, a few of the hours I am spending in the Busby Garden would help maintain my certification in MGofDC.

After the shutdowns, I accepted an invitation to become part of Ardent Gardeners by the immediate past president, Alyssa Peacock Leonard (‘16). She had a burning desire to bring back the Doris Campbell Busby Memorial Garden to its glory days. The Busby Garden Chairperson, Faye Weaver (’14), also had a fire inside of her to restore the garden after years of not being able to work in the garden like she had before COVID. She said once, “We are going to need help. It is going to be a huge undertaking. But I know we can get it done if we stay focused.”

Ask and The Doors Will Open

MGofDC Members, Genma  Holmes (’23), Alyssa Peacock Leonard (‘16), and Faye Weaver (’14) restoring the Doris Campbell Busby Memorial Garden.

Patsy Campbell Petway sitting under tree donated by the Ardent Gardeners members.

Ardent Gardeners’ names plaque Commemoration was dedicated in 1984. Two members, Hazel Suggs Burley and Pasty Campbell Petway, are still members of Ardent Gardeners. 

Pascha Sweat ('23) and Susanna Hadley ('23) were speakers at the Ardent Gardeners Women's History Month Luncheon at the meeting hosted by me.  Also in attendance were Master Gardeners Alyssa Peacock Leonard, Charity Bunyon (’24), and Gayle Akins (’23).

Faye’s determination to seek out volunteers paid off. After many walked by the unlocked doors to the atrium and witnessed MGofDCs volunteering, others were eager to play in the dirt in the garden. Doctors in white coats, nurses, hospital staff, college faculty, Greek organizations, and members from various garden clubs signed up to volunteer. 

Eleanor James (Intern ‘26) shared a wealth of information on keeping the plants healthy in an atrium, Susanna Hadley (’23), owner of Nashville Lawn Care & Landscaping Services, shared her expertise, and the next steps needed to open the garden to the public. 

Follow along each month as I share the journey to restoring the Doris Campbell Busby Memorial Garden. The Ardent Garden Association will celebrate its 75th Anniversary in 2026! Please join us as we share their history and contributions to the Greater Nashville Area!

Get to know our 2025 Co-Recording Secrtary: VIcki Toth

What is your favorite thing about gardening?  

Being outside experiencing the tranquility and noticing the small things in the garden.  And in the end, the final product.  The beauty, simplicity, and how things can change overnight and from year to year.

What led you to become a master gardener?

My mother would introduce me to one of her friends and say, "You know, SHE is a MASTER GARDENER!"  I felt like it was such a special thing that I vowed to one day achieve that distinction as well.

What is your favorite thing about being a master gardener?

I have learned so much and continue to learn.  Every meeting, garden visit, and interaction with my fellow MGs serves as fuel to try new things.  And of course, the friendships and acquaintances that would never have developed without the Master Gardener experience.

What is your favorite memory during your time as a master gardener?

I am from the Class of 2023 and we had more fun in class - it was Amy's first year as well and it seemed so special.  I really missed the classes once they were over.  

What is your favorite season as a gardener?

Spring

How many years have you been gardening?

Since I was 7 years old and my father had an acre of vegetables that seemed to need weeding way too often.  

Have you always gardened in TN or did you start somewhere else? What is the same/different?

I started gardening in Western Michigan where it could frost as late as the end of May.  Memorial Day weekend seemed to be when everyone planted without fear of it freezing.  Also, it could snow in October so we picked ALL the tomatoes early, whatever color they were to avoid the freezing temperatures.

If you were moving and could only take one plant with you, what would it be?

If it were a tree, it would be my ginkgo.  My orchids would be my plant choice (indoor) and peonies (outdoor).

What are some staples that you will always grow in your garden?

Iris, peonies, echinacea, hydrangeas, asters, pentas, ferns, allium, lilies, lantana, daffodils, hibiscus, hollies, kniphofia, coreopsis, azaleas, and lots of herbs.  I love trying new things and try to have something new every year.  They don't always cooperate and we have lots of deer in and around our neighborhood so I must go with deer resistant plants.  They just started eating my hydrangeas this year, among other things!!

What is the most important lesson you have learned about gardening?

Each year is different depending on the weather and climate.  You can't always predict what will work and won't, but that is part of the fun, right?  So you start each season very hopeful and go from there.