BCMG partnership produces award winning garden
On May 28, the Blount County Master Gardeners (BCMGs) were presented with the 2026 Search for Excellence Award in the Youth Category at the annual Tennessee Extension Master Gardener conference. Congratulations to the team of eight BCMGs and the staff and student members of the Clayton Bradley Academy Lower School’s Garden Club for reimagining a raised vegetable garden into a space that now includes native plants, a pollinator habitat and aquatic gardens.
Since September, 2024, Pre-K - 5th grade Garden Club students at the Academy have been working with the BCMGs to create what has become an outdoor classroom for the entire Lower School, where students enjoy learning about the ecosystem that exists in the garden. The aquatic gardens provide even the youngest students the opportunity to see how fish, water and plants support each other and are a benefit to the environment. Butterfly releases and “recycling” pumpkins into wildlife food are fun lessons in the garden teaching the importance of interacting with nature in a responsible manner. The students’ nature-themed paintings on the wooden fence and concrete stone handprints add a welcoming entry into the garden.
Partnering with BCMG, members of the Clayton Bradley Academy Lower School community:
- Established a garden where student can learn in an outdoor environment;
- Improved the esthetics of the current garden space;
- Introduced and taught children the benefits of gardening;
- Demonstrated the health benefits of plants, soil and being outside; and
- Sparked lifelong interest in nature and gardening.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Come Visit the Extension Office's Demonstration Gardens
Award Winning Firewise Garden: In August, 2022, a Firewise garden was installed at the Blount County Extension Office. Wildland fires can occur in residential development areas with disastrous loss of life, property and resources. But, recognizing the problem and knowing how to protect your family, home, property and your neighborhood before a fire happens. click on the link.
Slope Garden: While working in the gardens, the BCMG noticed a grassy slope that was too steep to be easily maintained. An easily replicated plan was implemented, replacing the grass with a garden. Using plants well-suited to a slope and our local environment, we created a beautiful space while eliminating the need to mow, hand trim, or use herbicides to control weeds. click on the link.
Self-Watering Raised Beds: Recognizing that a garden may need more watering than Mother Nature provides, the BCMG designed, built and installed self-watering raised beds at the Blount County Recycling Center. Integrating a rain barrel concept with TN native plants that are well adapted to local growing conditions, the raised beds offer low maintenance beauty. The design considered the uneven terrain as well as the possible need to access underground utilities.
Attraction Gardens: The BCMG sought to bring pollinators and human attention to key spaces in the Extension Office's "front yard". Careful selection and placement of trees, shrubs and perennials provides garden spaces at the front entryways and the mailboxes that wow both the area's pollinators and visitors to the Extension Office.
Soil and Mulch: Just as important as plant and placement is the selection of soil amendments and mulch to match the area and goal. Well beyond providing a healthy growing environment, proper soil preparation and mulch selection will affect the aesthetic and maintenance requirements for a garden.
Master Gardeners are working in and for the community
Since 2020, Master Gardeners have been working with other community volunteers at the Liles Farm to provide fresh vegetables for area food banks. The 2025 harvest was a great success, with produce being donated to the Welcome Table and The Community Food Connection of Blount County. In 2025, 1,705.475 pounds of produce has been donated to the community organizations. Harvesting garlic, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, potatoes, squash, okra and kale brought sweat and smiles to the work team. | |
Get Inspired by the Shakespeare Garden
Spring is in full bloom at the Shakespeare Garden. Stop by the Blount County Public library and visit the Shakespeare Garden. Mediterranean plants and herbs are used to maximize survival in a hot summer environment. Come see some of the plants mentioned in William Shakespeare's works in full bloom. Visitors to the garden include local pollinators.
It was a lover and his lass,
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino,
That o’er the green corn-field did pass,
In the spring time, the only pretty ring time,
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding;
Sweet lovers love the spring.
Become a Blount County Master GardenerCertified Extension Master Gardeners are trained by University of Tennessee (UT) Extension Service professionals to provide sound, practical, research based information in the areas of residential and consumer horticulture. We strive to promote environmental stewardship and share the joys of gardening by:
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