Biweekly Update for July 28, 2026
- Brenda Bye
- 12 minutes ago
- 5 min read
President’s Message
from Jill Lodwig, BCMGA President
It’s nearly August, and BCMGA is in full summer swing. Vice Presidents Laura Horsey and Christine Welsch have been putting together fabulous garden tours for the summer membership gatherings—Dancing Oaks was a real treat in June, and tomorrow we’ll visit the historic Lord and Schryver Gaiety Hollow Gardens in Salem. I dropped by a bustling BCMGA booth at the Corvallis Farmer’s Market last Saturday. Demo Garden volunteers are prepping for the crowds that begin arriving for the Benton County Fair tomorrow. And the school garden committees are making improvements to the gardens in preparation for the arrival of students in the fall.
Your BCMGA board is working hard for the association over the summer, too. President-Elect John Bertani is in the process of forming a nominating committee and gauging open board member positions for 2027. And our two greenhouse committees, the Greenhouse Strategy committee and the PHS Feasibility committee, have been meeting through the summer to re-assess BCMGA’s longstanding goal of building its own greenhouse (Greenhouse Strategy) and determine the cost of longer-range improvements to the greenhouse space at Philomath High School (PHS Feasibility). They’ll provide committee recommendations to the board in the next few months, and the board will update association members hopefully later in the fall.
The board has also been preoccupied with navigating its relationship with OSU Extension. Earlier this year Extension presented the BCMGA board with a draft Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) proposal that the board declined to sign. The board has sought legal counsel to clarify jurisdictional boundaries between BCMGA and Extension and to help us navigate our way through an MOA, should that be necessary.
We hope to update association members about the status of the MOA and the attorney findings later in the fall. In the meantime, we are working to increase communication and collaboration with Extension, and at the same time continue doing what we all joined the association to do—educate the public on the joys of gardening.
Rescheduled Evening Garden Tour
July 29, 2026
If you missed out on the earlier sign up to see the historic Lord & Schryver Gaiety Hollow Garden in Salem, the rescheduled tour will be tomorrow evening, Wednesday July 29th. The home, private garden, and studio belonged to celebrated landscape architects Elizabeth Lord and Edith Schryver, who designed more than 200 gardens throughout the Pacific Northwest between 1929 and 1969.
This event is open to BCMGA members and invited guests only. Please see your email from Co-Vice President Christine Welsch for more details.
Volunteer Opportunities
These activities are approved by OSU Extension for volunteer hours
🐞Plant Question Tables is one of BCMGAs most rewarding and popular outreach opportunities. We need both Certified MGs and trainees to make these tabling events a success. Questions? Reach out to Signe Danler at Signe.danler@gmail.com.
Corvallis Saturday Farmers Market has one event per month. This is a fun outreach opportunity that is also important in answering questions and referring questions to the plant clinic. See the Corvallis Farmers Market Signup Genius
August 22, 2026 - 1 Certified MG spot available
September 26, 2026 - 1 Trainee spot available
Philomath Farmers Market has one final date this summer.. This is a good opportunity to spread our service into other areas of Benton County. See the Philomath Farmers Market Signup Genius
September 13, 2026 - 2 Trainee spots still available
🐞Helpers Needed at Garfield School Garden - Each week from June through September, we invite both trainees and veteran MGs to "adopt" the school garden. You can go any days that work best for you. Volunteers are asked to visit the garden twice during their week. Duties include watering, harvesting and donating produce. We’ll provide instructions, tools, and contact info for support!
If you are interested in volunteering please reach out to veronica.hennessey@gmail.com
🐞 Benton County Fair Starts Tomorrow! For more information members can check the emailed BCMGA newsletter.
🐞 Adams School Garden Needs More Volunteers
The crew at Adams has done a great job revamping their space over the last couple of years with a core group of regular volunteers. In the summer the class moves to Tuesday mornings around 9:00 AM. The Adams School Garden was also approved for a special allocations project, that will help them make a sensory garden over the summer
If you are interested in joining the fun at Adams, please reach out to Nellie Oehler at oehlershrops@gmail.com.
🐞 Plant Desk - Shifts are available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays in both the mornings and afternoons. Answering questions at the Plant Desk is at the heart of our work as Master Gardeners and an invaluable resource for our community. Both trainees and veteran MGs wishing to retrain are welcome to volunteer. Check out the 2026 Plant Desk Signup Genius
🐞 Oregon State Fair Volunteering is available. Please check the emailed BCMGA newsletter for more details.
Continuing Education Opportunities
These activities are approved for CE by OSU Extension
🐞 Growing Oregon Gardeners OSU Level Up Series - These free online webinars are the 2nd Tuesday of the month at noon. The series runs from June through September 2026. Details and registration are available on the Extension website.
OMGA News
Shared by Catherine Whiting, OMGA Representative for Benton County
Oregon Master Gardener Associations hosted 21 plant sales around the state this spring! And some were two-day sales! That represents thousands of hours throughout the year, planting and propagating by dedicated volunteers. Yeah Oregon!!
OMGA also wants to remind volunteers to count the pounds of produce donated on VRS! Anyone can count donated produce from personal gardens, too, as long as it isn't double counted anywhere else. The state goal is 50 tons of food for 2026!
OMGA gathered a list of gardening question resources for your own inquiries or for helping the public:
Databases
-USDA Plant Database https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/
-Oregon Landscape Plants — https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/
-Trees — https://www.arborday.org/tree-guide
Information
-OSU Extension Catalog — https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog
-Extension Foundation Search Catalogue — access to other state’s catalogues
-Pacific Northwest Handbooks — https://pnwhandbooks.org/
-Gardening, lawn and landscape — https://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/
-SolvePestProblems — https://solvepestproblems.oregonstate.edu/
-UC IPM Home, garden, turf, and landscape pests — information on pests by
-UCIPM – Pest Notes Library — alphabetical listing of pests by name
-WSU Hortsense — fact sheets by category https://hortsense.cahnrs.wsu.edu/
-WSU Pest Leaflet Series — https://puyallup.wsu.edu/plantclinic/pls/
Extension News
🐞 OSU Master Gardener Extension has Merchandise! If you are looking for OSU Master Gardener apparel, hats or accessories you can find it on the new online store. New items will be added throughout the year.
Community News Items
These items are not sponsored by BCGMA but are of interest to our members
🐞 Oak Creek Center for Urban Horticulture Open House - Come learn more about OSU Department of Horticulture projects including organic vegetables, landscape management, pollinator and honeybee research and demonstration, small farms program, and dry farming vegetables.
Date: Thursday, July 30, 2026 11am - 1pm
Location: 843 SW 35th St, Corvallis, OR
Parking available onsite.
Info: Free event, all garden lovers are welcome. Lunch and ice cream provided.
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