Haywood County Master Gardeners attend regional conference

Haywood County was well represented at the Southern Region Master Gardener Conference held in Chattanooga, Tenn., June 8-11, 2006. The four-day event was filled with seminars, educational workshops, gardening projects and a garden expo. Local Master Gardeners attending were Pat Bailey, Joyce Moore, Sonia Outlaw-Clark and Haywood County Extension Director Walter Battle.

Outlaw-Clark, who designs the “ Eden Keeper,” the Haywood County Master Gardeners newsletter, also conducted a break-out session at the conference on newsletter design. “It was an honor to be asked,” says Outlaw-Clark, “and I really enjoyed the experience.” The Eden Keeper has been recognized as the top newsletter in the state and southeast region, and ranked as one of the top three in the nation by the National Association of County Agricultural Agents (NACAA).

Also well represented at the conference were Haywood County products. Master Gardeners were asked to bring silent auction items and Haywood County merchants and manufacturers were happy to donate. EZ Soil, Inc. donated boxes of soil, Haywood Company gave water hoses and Mid-South Farmers Co-op donated a large wheelbarrow.
First published June 21, 2006
Attending the 2006 Southern Region Master Gardener Conference are (from left) Sonia, Pat, Joyce and Walter.
Boxes of EZ Soil and Haywood Company water hoses filled several areas of the auction floor. Pat adds her special touch to the wheelbarrow donated by Mid-South Farmers Co-op.
Heads turned when we wheeled into the convention center with our wheelbarrow full of auction items.

Of course, they turned again, when we decided to take Pat for a spin, too.
Sonia won a door prizes at the banquet Friday night — a Gardeners Journal.
Our first night at the conference included a tour of the Aquarium and dinner on the deck overlooking the river. Chattanooga's Riverfest was also in full swing along the river front. The gardening plot that you see below the deck is a butterfly garden that was installed by the Master Gardeners on Friday morning.
And the trip home was filled with fun, too. (Left) Pat and Joyce enjoy the view of the valley from Monteagle. (Above) We enjoyed Pat's homemade pimento and cheese with fresh sliced tomatoes while picnicking at the Davy Crockett State Park in Lawrenceburg.