Focus on Ellen Johnson, Master Gardener in Training

by Ed Barnett

Ellen first caught the gardening fever when, as a young child, she observed and helped her parents with the family garden in Staunton, Virginia. When living in an apartment building in Huntington, West Virginia, she grew tomatoes, a vegetable she loves to eat, in containers. She enjoys growing indoor plants, and is especially fond of pansies, because of their beauty, and snapdragons, because of their odd and interesting appearance. Ellen particularly likes growing vegetables, as it gives her a sense of accomplishment. Ellen would like to know as much as possible about the art of composting and organic gardening in general. Now that she and her husband have a house, she has become more interested in landscape design. Gardening, in general, is a great stress reliever, it makes her calmer and the finished product is beautiful. She thought it would be informative to organize a field trip with a landscape architect to visit a number of houses, estates, or businesses, in order to learn more about the aspects of good design.

Ellen said that she learned about the Master Gardener program from a coworker at Lavalette Nursery, where she used to work. She has been extremely impressed with the Master Gardener classes she has attended, and also with the presenters. Dr. Swoboda’s presentation on insects was especially appealing to her. She stated that she looked forward to the volunteer and community work associated with the program. She has plans of installing and maintaining a garden at her school, where she teaches science to sixth and seventh graders. This garden would be dedicated to the tragedy of September Eleventh.