Projects

2024 Project Committee Director: Mike Wilson

2024 Projects and Community Service

New Greenhouse Project - February 2024

21 Master Gardener members participated in the Cleanup and organization of the Greenhouse located at Hope Haven school.  Due to a partnership between the Shoals Master Gardeners and the Arc of the Shoals, this wonderful opportunity has become available.  The Greenhouse will play a integral part in help the Master Gardeners overwinter plants that will be available for their annual plant sale in April.  

2023 Projects and Community Service


Shoals Habitat for Humanity, June 2023

A troop of Shoals Master Gardeners woke up early on June 23 to beat the summer heat and work on one of our largest projects of the year so far: the landscaping at a Shoals Habitat for Humanity house. The group prepared the ground for lawn and landscaping, including planting shrubs and trees, seeding grass, and installing landscaping beds. And as always, we had fun!

Lauderdale County EMA Building, July 2023

As part of their Master Gardener coursework, our spring 2023 intern class designed new landscaping for the Lauderdale County EMA building, next door to the Extension Office. On July 10, this project was off and running, with 14 Master Gardeners and two EMA representatives pitching in.

The local newspaper, Times Daily, came out to report on our project and learn about the Shoals Master Gardeners.

Calvary Learning Center, June-July 2023

Every Thursday in June and July, Shoals Master Gardeners work with children at the Calvary Learning Center to show them how to grow flowers and vegetables. These rewarding hours are filled with energy and enthusiasm from the kids, who are always ready to pick vegetables they've helped grow!

Take a look at our online calendar for the SMG schedule at Calvary this summer.

Helen Keller Public Library Workday, June 2023

With a two-hour window of good weather on June 14 before thunderstorms rolled in, Shoals Master Gardeners hustled to spruce up the landscaping at the Helen Keller Public Library in Tuscumbia, Alabama. This industrious group pruned shrubs, removed dead and damaged foliage, weeded, and mulched.

The Healing Place, June 2023

Every week in June and July, a great group of SMG volunteers are at The Healing Place in Muscle Shoals to show the kids there about the healing power of plants and gardening.

Thanks to Candy Parkhurst, Judi Williams, Paula Kelley, Martha Berryhill, Lisa Maples, Linda Brewer and Kaye Hillis for volunteering at the start of June.

Ivy Green Landscaping, June 2023

Shoals Master Gardeners took on another round of garden maintenance and landscaping work at Ivy Green, the birthplace of Helen Keller. 

Thanks to Tommy Flurry, Lisa Maples, Dwight James, Paula Kelley, Mark Parris, Viva Vaden, Michael Wilson, Sally McGuire, & Penny Townsend for all their hard work trimming shrubs and cleaning flower beds. Left over plants from the SMG plant sale in April were used to sprucing up beds by the gift shop.

Rogersville Public Library, June 2023

Shoals Master Gardeners held a work day at the Rogersville Public Library refreshing several beds around the building. A group of gardeners spent the morning trimming shrubs, weeding, and adding mulch.

Ivy Green Landscaping, May 2023

Shoals Master Gardeners maintains planting beds and landscaping around the stage area at the Ivy Green, Helen Keller's birthplace. This year, we spruced up the beds and plants around the stage and trimmed plants across the grounds in preparation for the June 2 start of The Miracle Worker play, written by William Gibson and based on Helen Keller's 1903 autobiography The Story of My Life.

Tuscumbia Landscape Beds at 6th St. and Commons

Paula Kelly and Dwight James accumulated some ongoing volunteer hours in early May sprucing up the raised beds on 6th Street in Tuscumbia. They also planted some Miscanthus grass plugs in various areas. The Tuscumbia City Council recognized the Shoals Master Gardeners for their work on this landscaping project, which had been cared for by the former Helen Keller Garden Club.

Mother's Day Plants for the Boys and Girls Club

In May, Shoals Master Gardeners donated a variety of flowering houseplants to the Boys and Girls Club, for the children to give as Mother's Day gifts.

Raised Beds at Hatton Elementary School, April 2023

Master Gardener Alan Nix, along with Extension Agents Jennifer Palmer and Jayne Luetzow, assisted the children at Hatton Elementary School plant their raised bed gardens. They planted tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, squash, beets, and watermelons.

Our 2023 Plant Sale Was a Success!

Thank you to our community who came out on April 28 and 29 to support our sale this year, and to all the Master Gardeners who contributed their time, plants, and expertise.

Despite the deep freeze this past winter, the Shoals Master Gardeners put together a standout selection of plants for our annual plant sale this April. This is our primary fundraiser of the year, and the proceeds go toward our many community gardening projects and scholarships.

We had a fantastic selection of trees, shrubs, ferns, bulbs, flowers, perennials, houseplants, succulents, herbs, and vegetables—as well as extras for the garden like driftwood, wreaths, fairy gardens, and more. And our tool sharpeners were busy this year getting your gear ready for the summer growing season.

THANK YOU! We are grateful to everyone from the community who came to buy plants and support us. Thank you to Pam Arias, Plant Sale Chairwoman, and to Linda Brewer and Wray Dillard, Vice Chairs, for their hard work organizing the sale this year! And of course, thank you to all the Master Gardeners who spent countless hours growing plants and volunteering their time

Master Gardeners Making a Difference in Their Communities: March 2023

Current Master Gardener intern Penny Townsend along with Master Gardener Dennis Sell took advantage of some sunny weather in March to spread mulch and freshen up some plants in the prayer garden area of their church.

Calvary Learning Center Raised Beds, March 2023

Shoals Master Gardeners Tommy Flurry and Dwight James, along with current intern Mark Parris, refurbished 8 raised beds and 16 containers with a truckload of compost. After some intense shoveling, the beds are ready for the spring planting season.

Seed Sorting, January 2023

At the beginning of the year, Shoals Master Gardeners helped sort through mountains of seed packet donations at the Colbert County Extension office.

Susan Huntley

Mark Parris