By LYN DESMARAIS
Many times in this column I refer to people as master gardeners. Who are these folks and what does this mean? Jan Sherman is an active member of the Rutland Chapter of UVM Extension Master Gardeners. I have been lucky enough to visit with her in her gardens. I’ve now met 5 or 6 master gardeners. Their gardens are different from mine. Their gardens have blooms across the seasons with a harmony that is hard to describe but readily identifiable when you see it. The colors don’t clash, the plants look incredibly healthy. The garden doesn’t, like mine, have tall aggressive plants in all the wrong places, killing and obscuring other plants. Even the master’s tools are different. Jan’s favorite tools are the pickaxe, the cobra-head weeder and the spear-head spade. I have none of these tools.
Jan came to Vermont in 1984 for a job at the Brandon Training School. She has her degree in Elementary/Special Ed. She wanted to work with adults, helping them forge better lives. She and her husband bought a camp on Fern Lake Road, surrounded by trees. She has a picture of herself pregnant in 1985 planting flowers in a planter in front of the house.
“That was my very first garden. I didn’t grow up gardening. My gardening started when we decided to cut down some trees and I thought ‘may as well plant something around these rocks and stumps as we aren’t going to be able to mow this.’ I put a lot of plants in that I later took out because they became invasive or they died. I didn’t know any better. But I kept at it. In 1991, the Brandon Training School was transitioning to close. I continued to work for the State of Vermont as a Public Guardian for adults with disabilities. These were folks over the age of 18 who had no family or other interested individuals to advocate for them when they needed to make major life decisions. Many individuals formerly lived at BTS. We had caseloads of 30-40 people. I was on call 24/7. I ultimately became a regional supervisor responsible for staff and clients in up to five counties. It was a very rewarding job but also very challenging and required a great deal of traveling. I found myself gardening. It became my therapy…as you can see.
I started with this little bit of creeping phlox here. I didn’t even know what it was at first; I just liked it. I didn’t know about improving the soil. I’d plant something and if it survived that was great. Then I realized I needed to remove rocks from around the plants and so I pickaxed the rocks out of this entire garden. We also removed stumps and roots.
I started with this area off my kitchen because I could see it. Then I just started to add flowers. I’d go to a nursery and see what they had and what I liked. Slowly as things grew, I’d notice the unruly ones and either take them out or throw them over the bank, so I can enjoy them but they aren’t taking over my flower beds. Over time I became interested in daylilies. I just love them. I have a long list of the daylily varieties I grow in my gardens. Currently I have 375 different ones! The daylilies bloom from June through September, adding so much color throughout the growing season. I intermingle them with the multitudes of perennials and shrubs in my gardens, getting as much beauty as I can from our short growing season. I am always happy to share my plants—especially daylilies—with new or established gardeners to spread the word about their versatility in the garden!
In 2006, I took the UVM Extension Master Gardener course. I wanted to become more knowledgeable about the fundamentals of gardening in hopes of improving my skills. The course covered a new topic each week. I became a volunteer/educator in the Rutland Chapter of Master Gardeners when I completed the course. The program requires active members to volunteer 20 hours per year. I am currently the project leader for the planting and maintenance of 10 display gardens at the Rutland Fairgrounds. The next UVM Extension Master Gardener course in 2024 begins on January 25 the runs for 16 weeks. Classes are held virtually once a week. For more information about the course visit the website: www.uvm.edu/extension/mastergardener.”
