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We enjoyed gathering for the Master Gardener Holiday Pot Luck in Riverhead. When Hort Lab colleagues Alice Raimondo and Sandra Vultaggio sampled our goodies, they reminded me that the Master Gardeners always throw a good party. And the paw paw pie and figgy pudding were special treats.

Thanks to MG Doreen Monteleone's fabulous presentation, we learned about the best fig varieties and how to grow them in our area. Doreen also picked the lucky MG winner MG Kris Liem for the Black Sicilian fig she donated. Others went home with vegetative cuttings from other figs. Thanks again, Doreen.

We also took a moment to honor one of our Master Gardeners who is heading to another state. MG Greg Lowenthal, who some of you may know from his leadership at LINPI (Long Island Native Plant Initiative), will be moving to the San Francisco Bay area. As you might imagine, Greg is already researching the ecotypic natives in his new neighborhood. We thank you, Greg, for all that you've done for promoting native plants on Long Island.

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Friends of Caroline Kiang

Thanks for your personal notes on the December passing of Caroline Kiang,who led Suffolk Master Gardeners for over 35 years.

A Master Gardener from the Class of 1990 wrote how Caroline encouraged him to teach a class on vegetable growing. "For 25 plus years I taught food growing at garden clubs, libraries and adult ed programs. If it wasn't for Caroline, none of it would have happened."

Caroline got you hooked on Spring Gardening School, the very popular annual gardening event of her creation. Long before Landcraft was open to the public, you spoke of the memorable field trip to that one of a kind garden. You described how Caroline supported you in a community project in Islip, Smithtown and Northport. She encouraged you to learn more about an area of interest such as the Herb Society. You called her wonderful, generous, helpful, special, a dear friend with a place in your heart, and a treasure. I was on the phone with a Nassau County Master Gardener who echoed what Suffolk Master Gardeners are saying. Caroline's reach was considerable. As many of us experienced, once you connected with Caroline, she was forever guiding you in the best of directions.

A Master Gardener from a recent class offered a key insight.

"Unfortunately, I didn't know Caroline. But from what I've read, the Master Gardener and other programs would not be what they are today if not for Caroline."

That's the simple truth. The Master Gardener program, Community Horticulture and the Horticulture Diagnostic Lab are successful today because Caroline was a tireless advocate building our credibility and spreading our good name for generations.

For those who may have missed my tribute to Caroline, you can find it here.

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2026: the 49th year of the

Suffolk Master Gardener Program!

Here's a snapshot of MG activities in the New Year.

Details about upcoming events are found in this issue.

Jan. 31 Coastal Gardening begins

Feb. 1 Native Plant Pre-order Sale opens

Feb. 7 Suffolk Alliance for Pollinators Annual Meeting

Feb. 11 MG Field trip, Camellia House, Planting Fields, Oyster Bay

March 3 Master Gardener Training begins

March 13 MG Field Trip, Nissequogue Greenhouses, Kings Park

March 28 Spring Gardening School.

May 2 Mayfest: MG Plant Sale & Native Plant pickup

June-September SAP garden tours and programs, county-wide

June/July MG Field Trip: North Fork Flower Farm

July-August Green Thumbs Summer Camp

September 9 MG Field Trip, Kubecka Gardens, Huntington

September 14 Joy of Gardening begins online

December 2 MG Holiday Gathering

SPRING GARDENING SCHOOL

Saturday, March 28

423 Griffing Avenue

Riverhead

Breakfast and lunch return to Spring Gardening School!

We're listening. There are also 8 new programs in the mix.

Register NOW for the best selection.

EARLY BIRD registration until FEBRUARY 1st.

Here's a pdf of Spring Gardening School sessions.

OR

Here's a link to Spring Gardening School.

Here's the SGS registration form.

Don't forget to circle your LUNCH choice when you register.



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The 2025 numbers are in...

over 15,000 volunteer hours

provided by Suffolk Master Gardeners.

When valued at $35 an hour by federal agencies,

that's over half a million dollars.

Well done, Suffolk Master Gardeners!

Thanks to those Master Gardeners who submitted 2025 volunteer hours. I'm especially grateful to those who contributed their totals for the "December Refresh."

As fewer Master Gardeners reported hours this year than last, I revisited all 270 reporting surveys back to January 1 of last year to make sure I didn't miss anyone's hours. The chart below represents the total number of volunteer hours by category of activity: adult and youth education, gardening, Cornell Extension support and continuing education.

You may know that I'm asked to report what is achieved by Suffolk Master Gardeners to local, county, state and federal agencies who fund and support Cornell Extension. For better or worse, numbers are a benchmark used to "measure" success. Although I've never been much of a numbers counter, those to whom I report rely on numbers as indicators of success.

How about this? Make a Master Gardener New Year's Resolution to submit your volunteer hours twice a year, in June and early December.

As the 2025 pie chart reveals, GARDENING remains the volunteer activity which engages many Master Gardeners much of the time. Adult Education and Continuing Education are tied for second place for your volunteer hours.

A very special thanks to MG Volunteer of the Year Linda Carlson who retrieved the collective 2025 data for Master Gardeners as a whole, "cleaned" the files, and captured the details of your activities in this graph. Who knew we would benefit from the skills of a former NASA computer programmer.

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 MG "APPROVED" SITE

APPLICATION REQUESTS OPEN

As the 2025 volunteer hours pie chart above clearly indicates, the greatest majority of Master Gardeners volunteer hours (60%) are found in the "Gardening" category. This means many Suffolk Master Gardeners are maintaining gardens for 8 months a year from March-October at our demonstration sites or food security gardens.

Why must gardens be "Approved" for Master Gardeners?

We have a finite number of Master Gardeners. Yes, we are the LARGEST group of MGs in New York State. But we also have the GREATEST NUMBER of gardens. Although I train new Master Gardeners every year, we regrettably lose Master Gardeners when they move out of state, become less physically active or pass. In recent years, we lost participating Master Gardeners Mary Jo Re, Bruce Brownawell, John Lutterbie and Jay Hunt to name just a few.

Put another way, "Approved MG" gardens are envisioned to be active and well maintained demonstration sites for 10, 20 or more years. For a host of obvious reasons, Master Gardeners may not have the luxury of a very lengthy commitment at their favorite "Approved MG" garden.

How to build more sustainability into the maintenance responsibilities of an MG APPROVED garden?

SUSTAINABILITY

To build more sustainability in a garden's success, the Master Gardener Advisory Committee has been discussing a variety of ways to support MG approved gardens over time. The three key features we've been addressing for months are summarized here. Additional details are found in the application, including the role, responsibilities and liability provisions of the land owner/manager.

1). The 2026 applicants who gain "provisional" status will participate in a

3 YEAR REVIEW PROCESS. A member of the MG Advisory will provide site visits and guidelines during this process. Annual reports must be provided.

2). EDUCATION and PUBLIC OUTREACH at the site are key to serving the Cornell Extension mission. Applicants must demonstrate these components.

3). The 2026 applicants must also identify a number of Master Gardeners in relation to the SIZE and NATURE of the proposed garden's square footage. Three (3) are required at a minimum for a small garden. These gardeners pledge their support to this garden over a few years.

As has been the practice for a few years, there will be a 3 year moratorium in effect on any other sites after the MARCH 15, 2026 Application deadline. During this time period the Master Gardener Advisory Committee will be actively engaging with Provisional garden site applicants.

The 2026 MG Site Approval request applications and instructions can be found here.

Please follow instructions for submissions in 2 formats.

Send completed applications VIA EMAIL to Master Gardener Advisory Committee member Kathy Readinger, kathy.readinger@gmail.com

Send hard copies to Roxanne Zimmer, 423 Griffing Ave, Riverhead, NY 11901

Based on a number of features, including Master Gardener leadership, Master Gardener Advisory has been updating our Approved list found here.

We owe a debt of thanks to Master Gardener Advisory members for their work on this effort throughout the year. My thanks as well for their supportive interactions with the Master Gardeners at provisional sites.

Master Gardener

FIELD TRIPS 2026

The MG Advisory Committee has taken the lead in bringing more of us together more frequently with 4 field trips planned for 2026. Since Master Gardeners live all over Suffolk County, we tried to offer at least one field trip closer to where you live. Remember: Field trips can be counted as Continuing Education hours.

Here's our first field trip. Save the dates for the others.

FEBRUARY 11, Camellia House Planting Fields Arboretum

1395 Planting Fields Road Oyster Bay

Visit one of the largest collections of camellias in the area. The Camellia House at the Planting Fields Arboretum is a welcome paradise of colorful bloom in winter.

Time: 10:30 AM, meet in the visitors parking lot. (Snow date, February 12th) 

FREE Admission.

Email an RSVP by February 6 to MG Advisory member Christine DeSantis: mrtwo1@optonline.net

FUTURE 2026 MG FIELD TRIPS



MARCH 13 Nissequogue Greenhouses, Kings Park

June/July North Fork Flower Farm, Southold

SEPTEMBER 9 Kubecka Gardens, Huntington

Continuing Education

Thanks to suggestions from those in the pilot offering of COASTAL GARDENING in 2025, we've tweaked a few dimensions of the course.

This year Coastal Gardening meets three Saturdays in winter: January 31, February 28 and March 21. The in-person sessions (9-noon) in the Peconic Community Center (Peconic) will also be available via a Zoom link.

Course content is accessible online on your schedule. Speakers from the DEC, EPA,NY State and CCE address rain gardens, storm water, native plants, soil health and fresh water use. More details found here.

Although course content may be covered wholly online,we're hopeful participants can attend an in-person session or two for discussion of matters in lectures, field trips and community stewardship.

Best of all. This iteration of the course, co-sponsored with the Town of Southold, is free and open to all Suffolk residents.

Note a 10 hour volunteer stewardship role once the course is over.

Anyone interested in the course should send me an email address, home address and cell phone number. rz378@cornell.edu

MG Volunteer Hours

Remember you’re responsible for keeping track of your hours: 1) the number of hours per this calendar year and 2) the number of hours since you became a Master Gardener.

Those working on the first 125 volunteer hours need to contact me directly via email when 125 hours are satisfied.

The Master Gardener reporting volunteers hours survey is linked here. https://cornell.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aiagRHzCO3z8smO

SUFFOLK ALLIANCE for POLLINATORS (SAP)

ANNUAL MEETING

Saturday, Feb.7st, 9:30-noon

423 Griffing Ave, Riverhead

Baked goods, fruit, coffee and tea provided

(SNOW DATE: Sat. Feb. 14)

Master Gardeners have become active with the Suffolk Alliance for Pollinators (SAP) as this coalition is informed by the same guidelines practiced by Master Gardeners: advocating for native plant choices, removal of aggressive exotic invasives, and no pesticide use. SAP collaborates with regional organizations building pollinator pathways in our communities.

Our guest this year is Middle Country Librarian Amber Gagliardi who has played a key role organizing 72 Long Island libraries as SEED LIBRARIES-- sources of free seed to their communities. Amber will explain what works when engaging the public to grow from seed. She has also assisted the network of libraries with outreach to youth and adults in programming about native plants.

All Master Gardeners are welcome to attend to earn CONTINUING EDUCATION hours. Learn more about what SAP may be doing in your area of Suffolk County in the discussion that follows our speaker.

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MASTER GARDENER TRAINING

We need MORE NEW Master Gardeners to support the number of approved sites as well as to increase adult and youth educational outreach.

We're accepting applications for the 2026 Master Gardener program that begins in March. These days MG Training is a mix of in-person and online learning. Five of the classes meet on Wednesdays in Riverhead. Field trips are added in May and June.

If a neighbor or friend or someone you know where you volunteer is a good candidate for our program, please encourage them to apply to our program. The MG Training description and the application are found here.  Full scholarships are available to those likely to be volunteering in under-served communities.

Bayard Cutting Arboretum Symposium:

MAKING THE COASTAL CONNECTION

Monday, February 23

Bayway Arts Center

265 East Main Street, East Islip, NY

NOTE THE LOCATION.

Salt Marsh Habitat Restoration

Christopher Pickerell, Cornell Cooperative Extension

Salt in the Soil: Challenges and Solutions

Glynn Percival, Ph.D., Bartlett Tree Research

Native Plants for Living Shorelines

Heather Coste, Sisters of St. Joseph, Brentwood

Improving Resilience for Birds and People

Victoria O’Neill, Director of Coastal Resilience, Audubon CT/NY, National Audubon Society

A Coastal Case Study: Tour at Bayard Cutting Arboretum – OUTDOOR ACTIVITY

Joy Arden, Landscape Curator, Bayard Cutting Arboretum

General Admission: $125, Members $100

https://bayardcuttingarboretum.com/symposium/

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WILDFLOWER SEED STRATIFICATION

January 2 12pm

Cornell University's IPM "What's Bugging You" series is offering a session on stratifying perennial wildflower seeds. You must preregister to get the link for the program. Start here.

This newsletter is posted on our MG webpage linked here.

If you have photos or news to share in the newsletter, you can email me at rz378@cornell.edu

Or...

Post photos, events and news on our Master Gardener facebook page.

Here's the facebook link. https://www.facebook.com/groups/106946829922350/

Happy Gardening!

Roxanne Zimmer

 423 Griffing Avenue, Suite 100, Riverhead, NY 11901-3071

631-727-7850

Cornell Cooperative Extension is an employer and educator recognized for valuing AA/EEO, Protected Veterans, and Individuals with Disabilities and provides equal program and employment opportunities.

Cornell Cooperative Extension is funded in part by Suffolk County through the office of the County Executive, and the County Legislature.