Acknowledgments

Thank you to contributors and editors of this handbook including:

• Kathleen Reed (2022 project advisor, editor, and contributor)
• Devon Johnson (2022 project manager and image author)
• Kindred Grey (2022 image author and Pressbooks formatting)
• Stacey  Morgan Smith (2022 handbook editor)
• Emma Freeborn (2022 alt text and editorial assistance)
• Anita Walz and the Virginia Tech Publishing team (2022)
• The 2021/22 Handbook Review Team: Barb Wilson, Beth Kirby, Carol King, Courtney Soria, Doug Levin, Elaine Mills, Elizabeth Brown, Fern Campbell, JC Gardner , Jim Revell, Khosro Aminpour, Maraea Harris, Margaret Brown, Meagan Shelley, Melanie Thompson, Michael Cole, Mimi Rosenthal, Nancy Brooks, Nancy Butler, Patricia Lust, Ralph Morini, Sabrina Morelli, Shawn Jadrnicek, Sherry Kern, Stacey Morgan Smith, Susan Dudley, Susan Perry, Wendy Silverman and all other volunteers who contributed

Previous versions:

• Dave Close, State Coordinator, VCE Master Gardener Program & Consumer Horticulture Specialist (2015 project advisor)
• John Freeborn, Assistant State Coordinator, VCE-MG Program (2015 editor)
• Sue Edwards (2015 editorial assistant)
• Diane Relf, Retired Extension Specialist, Environmental Horticulture (original compilation, revision, and editing)
• Judith Schwab (original compilation, revision, and editing)
• Elissa Steeves (original compilation, revision, and editing)
• R. Peter Madsen (original compilation, revision, and editing)
• Virginia Nathan (original compilation, revision, and editing)

Thank you to the many Extension Master Gardener volunteers and agents who contributed feedback or made suggestions for this handbook over the years.

Thank you to the following Virginia Tech, Virginia State University faculty and Extension agents: 

Susan Day, Associate Professor, Department of Horticulture; Laurie J. Fox, Horticulture Associate, Hampton Roads AREC;  J. Roger Harris, Retired Professor, Department of Horticulture; Stephanie Huckestein, Education & Outreach Coordinator, Hahn Horticulture Garden; Alex X. Niemiera, Professor, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences; Jim Owen, Assistant Professor, Hampton Roads AREC; Jayesh B. Samtani, Extension Specialist, Small Fruit Production, Hampton Roads AREC; Holly Scoggins, Former Associate Professor, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences; Tony K. Wolf, Professor, Viticulture, Alson H. Smith Jr. AREC; Mike Goatley, Jr., Extension Specialist, Turfgrass, Department of Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences; Michael Weaver, Professor & Program Director, Virginia Tech Pesticide Programs; Stephanie Blevins, Consumer Education Project Coordinator, Virginia Tech Pesticide Programs; Eric Day, Insect Identification Lab Manager, Department of Entomology; Theresa Dellinger, Collections Manager, Department of Entomology; Thomas P. Kuhar, Professor, Department of Entomology; Mary Ann Hansen, Plant Diagnostician & Instructor, Department of Plant Pathology, Physiology, and Weed Science; David M. Orcutt, Professor Emeritus, Department of Plant Pathology, Physiology, and Weed Science; Eric Beers, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences; Keith S. Yoder, Extension Specialist, Tree Fruit Pathology, Alson H. Smith Jr. AREC, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences; Pattie Bland, Urban Conservationist, Hanover-Caroline Soil & Water Conservation District; Thomas Bolles, Environmental Educator, VCE-Prince William; Adria Bordas, Extension Agent, VCE-Fairfax; Leonard Githinji, Assistant Professor, Virginia State University & Extension Specialist Sustainable and Urban Agriculture; Carol A. Heiser, Education Section Manager & Habitat Education Coordinator, VA Department of Wildlife Resources; Cathryn Kloetzli, Extension Agent, VCE-Albemarle; J. Christopher Ludwig, Chief Biologist, Virginia Department of Conservation & Recreation; Dan Nortman, Extension Agent, VCE-York/Poquoson; Tim Ohlwiler, Extension Agent, VCE-Fauquier; Reza Rafie, Extension; Specialist, Horticulture, Virginia State Cooperative Extension; Lisa Sanderson, Former Extension Agent, VCE-Henrico; Pamela H. Smith, EMG; Coordinator, VCE-Fairfax; Stuart Sutphin, Extension Agent, VCE-Danville City; Paige Thacker, Extension Agent, VCE-Prince William; Megan Tierney, Extension Agent, VCE-York/Poquoson; Meredith Hoggatt, Extension Agent,  Montgomery.

Thank you to original contributors to past versions of the handbook, including the Northern Virginia Master Gardeners, the Utah Cooperative Extension Service, and the Georgia Cooperative Service for use of their handbook material and the Texas Agricultural Extension Service and N.C. State for the use of their revised and expanded versions of this handbook (circa 2009). According to the 2009 version of this handbook, “material was taken from many Extension publications written in Virginia and other states.” We have worked to identify, rewrite, and attribute this content.

The original edition of the Virginia Master Gardener Handbook was printed January 1985. The handbook was revised January 1986, January 1987, July 1990, November 1994, December 1999, July 2009, and December 2015.

Original content of this handbook was compiled from many sources. We have made every effort to identify and attribute original sources of material. 

Virginia Cooperative Extension Gardener Handbook by Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. Please see the image attributions at the end of each chapter for copyright information for specific images.