From January 2024
As our chapter begins a new year, it seems like an appropriate time to get to know our new president, Jennifer Harty. Jennifer has been involved in CGMGA since 2006, and she values the connections she’s made as a Master Gardener. CGMGA is the perfect place for a person who describes herself as a lifelong learner.
Jennifer is a lifelong gardener as well. Her parents had two acres of fruit trees and vegetables in rural Wisconsin, and she and her brother were expected to help with garden chores. Her mother instilled a strong work ethic in her offspring, insisting that they weed a row before she would drive them to the local swimming pool on summer afternoons. Jennifer carried her love of gardening to Florida where she had her first home as an adult. The warmer climate presented a challenge, so she set out researching what to plant and when. Success in the garden led to the desire to learn more and plant more.
When Jennifer and her husband moved to the Pacific Northwest, she had to learn how to garden in yet another new climate, so she decided to join the Master Gardener program. In its early days as a chapter, CGMGA was focused primarily on logistics and how to best support the needs and interests of the Hood River community. Jennifer quickly became involved in several large projects: a community garden at the Hood River Care Center, the building of the bioswale on the Extension grounds, the establishment of the Native Garden, and the gradual development of the Learning Garden. She also served as co-leader of the first garden tour which featured gardens on both sides of the river. Today, in addition to serving as our chapter president, she is heading up the Educational Outreach Committee and is an active participant in the development of the newly-planted pollinator garden.
Although she was an active member from the start, it was several years before Jennifer made the connection that the Master Gardener program is an “extension of the OSU extension” program. Today she recognizes that Master Gardeners are the fortunate recipients of training opportunities offered by OSU experts and educators.
Jennifer describes her own garden as being neither messy nor immaculate and formal. Some areas are neatly weeded, while others are left deliberately woodsy and natural to help the pollinators. A beekeeper and member of the Bumblebee Watch Program, she enjoys experimenting with plants to determine which will be most visited by bees and other pollinators. She has a “massive” vegetable garden with 10 raised beds, berries, fruit trees, and lots of native shrubs.
When she’s not beekeeping, photographing bees, or gardening, Jennifer teaches preschool music classes and piano and ukulele lessons, and she substitutes in the local public schools. She earned a BA in classical voice and performed professionally for 15 years and today still finds time to perform in local community theater productions. She also co-chairs ArtSmart, an organization that fosters arts education in the Trout Lake area. In her free time, Jennifer enjoys xc skiing and spending time in Long Beach with her husband and two (almost) grown children.
Jennifer describes herself as a good listener and a diplomatic person who, as president, will listen to others’ points of view and suggestions and will try to figure out how all the different pieces can come together. Her advice to new Master Gardeners and trainees is not to get too bogged down by all the information that comes that first year. “No one expects miracles. It’s okay to learn things in small bites.” Wise words from a lifetime Master Gardener.
By Anne Gehrig
Leave a Reply