As I complete and celebrate a milestone  – my 25th year with Tallapoosa County Extension – I look back and reflect on all the gardening-related questions I have been asked and answered. I was hired in July 2000 to serve as the local horticulturist to provide home horticulture education and university research-based information. Over these years, my title and responsibilities have changed somewhat, but as an Extension agent, my basic duties remain as a teacher, communicator, writer, problem solver and student. I hope I have earned credibility as a local and trustworthy source for lawn and garden-related information.

Over the years, gardening questions and issues vary greatly but predictably repeat and are often very seasonal. The types of phone calls, interests, problems and educational workshops have evolved over time. In the early days, some of the hot topics were: