Meet a Master Gardener
Welcome to our “Meet a Master Gardener Volunteer” blog series, where we spotlight the dedicated individuals who make a significant impact in our community through their passion for horticulture and education.
In this installment of our “Meet a Master Gardener Volunteer” series, we delve into Linda’s inspiring story. We explore her early influences, her dedication to projects like the UF/IFAS Sarasota County Extension Twin Lakes Demonstration Gardens and her efforts in restoring the Venice Urban Forest. Linda’s experiences highlight the profound impact that passionate individuals can have on their communities and local ecosystems.
Tell us something about yourself, and what sparked your interest in gardening
As part of a large extended family in Pennsylvania (I am 1 of 32 first cousins!), I became a reluctant Floridian in 1972 at age 15 when my family relocated to Nokomis, Florida. It felt like the end of the Earth! To say that the landscape of Sarasota County has been altered since then, is a drastic understatement.
My earliest memories are of playing in the dirt and walking in the woods: my ‘happy place’ even today. Growing up, I was surrounded by family that loved plants and gardening. Grandfather Ed had a small narrow backyard in Bethlehem. Every summer he produced a bumper crop of beefsteak tomatoes, which my family feasted on, particularly BLTs. Grandma Cora puttered with plants under her Weeping Willow tree. By myself as a child, I would often stroll through Rose Garden Park in Bethlehem.
As an adult in Venice, I was busy raising 2 sons and building a financial services career. This left little time or energy for nature and plants. We spent a lot of time at t-ball, soccer, football, Little League, and women’s softball (in my younger days.) I had a rewarding career, a proof of the adage: Do the thing you love, and you will never work a day in your life.
Tell us about your Master Gardener Volunteer projects
I have always loved roses. As I contemplated retirement, I was determined to grow them in Florida. About 5 years ago, I joined the Bradenton-Sarasota Rose Society. One of my goals had been to take classes upon retirement. I was amused when some people thought that I was going to be bored. The Master Gardener Volunteer (MGV) program was always something I had in the back of my mind. Upon graduating as an MGV in 2022, I immediately rolled up my sleeves, although I was not sure of a focus.
Hurricane Ian damaged our Twin Lakes Park (TLP) campus. I showed up for the cleanup. The more time I spent there, the more I fell in love with its beauty and potential. The Adopt-A-Garden program interested me, especially the rose containers, which were a memorial to MGV, Eve Puleo. I had not met Eve, but she had been a member of “my” rose society. It was a natural fit.
The TLP Bioswale was designed and installed by an MGV team in 2016. It captured my interest and that of my classmate, Krystyna Sznurzowski. We committed to its care and maintenance. A bioswale promotes the natural filtration of stormwater. Although wild by nature, bioswales require the ongoing pruning, weeding, and removal of
invasive plants, as well as the removal of trash, debris, and accumulated sediment, all of which impedes drainage.
As a longtime resident of Venice, volunteering in the Venice Urban Forest is a weekly labor of love. Distressed by the dwindling green space in Sarasota County, the Venice Urban Forest gives me a place to have a direct impact on the reclaiming and establishing of needed habitat for wildlife. The Venice Urban Forest, is an approximately 2-mile stretch of land, which parallels the Venetian Intracoastal Waterway. The project is restoring an abandoned railway corridor that had been an illegal dumping area for adjacent industries. Since April 2018, this area has been cleaned up and reclaimed for our natural residents. The Venice Urban Forest is a volunteer project. Each week volunteers, including MGVs, gather to frolic in the Forest. MGV knowledge is valued by the “Foresters”. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of native trees, grasses, shrubs, and plants have been installed throughout this formerly blighted area. The Venice Urban Forest will provide a beautiful and self-sustaining wildlife habitat for future generations. This is a green space, unlike any other in Sarasota County. I love volunteering here, knowing it provides a safe space for my wildlife friends and human nature lovers.
Learn More
For a closer look at Linda’s volunteer work and other Sarasota County Master Gardener Volunteers visit the UF/IFAS Sarasota County Extension YouTube page. Or meet our Master Gardener Volunteers in-person at an upcoming class or demonstration garden tour.
Linda Collins co-authored this post, supplying written answers for questions posed by UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County.
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