News – Page 3 – The West Virginia Nursery and Landscaping Association

We congratulate Stephen Saunders of Saunders Lawn Care in Huntington on his award of WVNLA Person of the Year 2024. His award reads: “On the occasion of his leadership in the installation of a Natural Learning Environment at the Cabell-Wayne Association of the Blind, Steve Saunders has been named Outstanding Person of the Year on […]

WVNLA announces a newly created scholarship for rising college freshmen. The George W. Longenecker Memorial Scholarship is available to rising freshmen accepted into the landscape architecture or horticulture programs at West Virginia University. Recipients will receive full tuition reimbursement for four semesters while maintaining a 3.0 GPA with full credits in either the landscape architecture […]

Capitol Conservation District Loans Kilns for Biochar Production Sally Shepherd threw the last of some old branches atop a pile of other yard waste inside what appeared to be an oversized barrel. She had gathered mostly woody waste material from her farm outside of Sissonville and was preparing to use it to create biochar, a […]

Community members, patrons, West Virginia Nursery & Landscape (WVNLA) members and sixth grade students from Huntington Middle School attended a dedication and ribbon cutting October 16 for a new landscaped outdoor space at the Cabell-Wayne Association of the Blind (CWAB) in Huntington. The natural learning environment, or accessible sensory garden, is made up of several […]

Recently, West Virginia came uncomfortably close to losing its only accredited landscape architect program. As part of an effort to reduce its $45 million debt, West Virginia University (WVU) administrators announced programs and degrees that were recommended be eliminated. Both the bachelor’s and master’s landscape architecture programs landed on the “to be cut” list, while […]

Recently, West Virginia University announced program and staff cuts intended to reduce the university’s $45 million debt. One of the programs on the cutting block is the Landscape Architecture program, which currently offers both Bachelor and Masters degrees. Cuts to the Plant and Soil Science Department include slashing the staff members from 21 to ten. […]

It would be difficult to find an enterprise that better embodies the concept of “family business” than Smoot’s LLC in Martinsburg. Patriarch Marty Smoot and his son Thomas Smoot started the landscaping business in 2020. Shortly after, Thomas’ wife Jessica took over the office management. Although Smoot’s hasn’t been in business long, the name was […]

By Adam Champ, WVDA, Plant Regulatory Officer II Hollyhocks are favored by many gardeners for their cheerful summer blossoms. Unfortunately, these graceful perennials are afflicted with a common and destructive disease called hollyhock rust. The fungi, Puccinia malvacearum, is the pathogen responsible for hollyhock rust. Many plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae, are susceptible to […]

By Chris Chanlett Every town needs a garden center. I know because I had one for 17 years. We closed it in 2015, and have been hearing about it ever since. It just meant so much to people that we offered a good selection of plants, shared our knowledge such as it was, and gave […]

Two applicants for the 2023 Marcus W. Rennix Memorial Scholarship so impressed the board of directors that they awarded them both full $5,000 scholarships. Garrett Balog of Charleston is a junior studying horticulture at West Virginia University. He graduated from Mooresville Senior High School in North Carolina. Seth Glazer of Huntington attends Columbus State Community College […]