Master Gardener Trainee Diary: Week 8 — Books, Bees, Plant Fest, and the Big Reveal!

After a lovely field trip hiatus, it was time to crack open the textbooks again. We tackled two heavy-hitter chapters for our quiz prep: Propagation and Herbaceous Landscape Plants. Thankfully, any brain-scrambling questions were quickly cleared up by our fabulous presenters. Heather Warner-Finley dropped her usual pearls of wisdom and real-life examples, while Dr. Damon Abdi provided the perfect amount of comic relief. His funny anecdotes and nice photos brought the pages to life! As an extra treat, our very own Dr. MaryAnn Armbruster deep-dived into Organic Gardening, leaving us all completely fascinated by her wealth of knowledge.

Meanwhile, the presentation countdown is officially on, and project partners everywhere are buzzing. My partner and I are tackling Honeybees, and wow—who knew there was so much to learn about these little guys? The real challenge isn't finding information; it’s figuring out how to cram a mountain of bee facts into a single, 15-minute segment! Wish us luck.

The Propagation Team also shifted into overdrive to prep for Plant Fest. The crew spent Friday organizing plants and setting up shop, then woke up with the birds on Saturday for the big day. Mother Nature cooperated beautifully, the crowds turned out, and the energy was fantastic—complete with a kids’ booth and hourly presentation tents. Seeing almost our entire class show up to help made for some serious Master Gardener camaraderie.

Finally, the secret might be out! I think a few of my classmates have officially cracked the code on who is writing these diaries. It’s been an absolute blast playing secret agent, and I fully plan to keep recording my thoughts as the weeks roll on.

Until next time!

Author

Cara Olivier
Author (and officially unmasked diary writer)