Hill City Master Gardeners Speakers Bureau Topics for 2026
General Gardening
Vegetable Gardening
Container Gardening
Composting
No-Till Gardening
Growing and Using Herbs
Ornamental Gardening
Annuals vs. Perennials
Flowers that Attract Pollinators: Butterflies, Bees, and Hummingbirds
Planning for Six Months of Blooms
Trees and Shrubs
Landscape Planning and Design
Urban Fruit Trees and Shrubs
Pruning Techniques
Special Lectures
Get the jump on Spring with Winter Sowing
Winter sowing is an easy, low-cost seed-starting methos where seeds are sown in containers outdoors during late autumn or winter. This technique uses the natural winter cycle to stratify seeds, and the containers act as min-greenhouses, promoting germination when the time is right. NOTE: There may be an associated cost for thsi Hands-on lecture.
Compost: Your Garden’s Best Friend, or From Kitchen Waste to Black Gold
Discussion will include proper food waste composting, making compost tea, vermicomposting (making compost with worms), and other methods for creating safe, natural fertilizer.
The Hill CIty Master Gardeners: Using Science to Create Art
The famous impressionist painter Claude Monet said, “My garde is my most beautiful masterpiece.” HCMGA volunteers strive to use modern horticulture techniques to create masterpieces in Lynchburg, Amherst, and Campbell Counties. Sit back and let us show you our involvement in the community, including 3 school systems, 3 youth programs, 6 demonstration gardens, and several other projects.
Hogweed, Ticks, and Heat Stroke… Oh My!
Tips on how to be a safe gardener. Lecture focuses on being prepared and aware about accident prevention and dangers from weather, plants, and animals.
Indoor Gardening and Its Benefits
There’s really no mystery to growing plants indoors, and keeping them healthy. Let’s learn how to grow foliage and flowering plants, bulbs, succulents, and cacti with ease. Indoor plants add beauty, improve air quality, and boost your mental health.
The Lazy Gardener, or NO Till Gardening.
No-till gardening is a method of cultivating plants without disturbing the soil, which protects soil health and reduces physical labor.
Mystery Solved … With Plants!
From criminal who-done-its to family history questions and archaeology secrets, plants can help unravle these mysteries.
Native Plants
Growing native plants in the garden or your landscape makes it easier on you, the gardener. These plants can thrive in our climate and soil without much assistance. Less maintenance is required once plants are established, which gives you more time to enjoy the garden, rather than work at it. Let’s Grow Native!
Planning for Transitions in Your Vegetable Garden
Plan your garden so you can have an early spring harvest, followed by warm weather vegetables and then a fall crop.
Tree Care, or How Not to Kill as Tree.
Based on a Virginia Tech University poster developed by Dr. Bonnie Appleton entitled “How to Kill a Tree.”