By FBMG
One of the ways that Fort Bend County Master Gardeners share their knowledge is through the nine demonstration gardens they maintain in Rosenberg next to the County Fairgrounds.
In May, they completed the newest, the Fruit Garden. Located on the eastern edge of the demonstration gardens, 1402 Band Road, it’s adjacent to the Herb Garden.
Planning for the garden started in August 2024 with Master Gardeners Mary Parkhouse and Linda Bair serving as co-chairs with assistance from Master Gardeners Don Parkhouse and Anita Maddox. They didn’t lack help. The new project excited both seasoned gardeners and interns recruited from the 2024 Master Gardener class.
Help also came from Master Gardener Deborah Birge who earlier developed a Backyard Orchard in the demonstration gardens.
Birge said tending to fruit trees and plants can be therapeutic and satisfying. “It’s a great way to teach kids about nature and where food comes from. It can introduce them to birds, bees and butterflies, making your garden a lively ecosystem and giving the entire family a connection with nature.”
Last October, Bair and Maddox presented plans for the garden including Mary Parkhouse’s plant layout and a detailed budget to the FBMG board of directors. The board unanimously approved a $10,000 budget.
Last fall, Master Gardeners also cleared the land, killed vegetation, took soil tests, amended the soil and developed an irrigation plan for the system that was installed late last year.
Two peach trees and three fig trees are planted along the central path that divides the garden space. Gardeners built six 4×12 raised beds, 11 smaller raised beds, three raised acidic soil beds for the blueberries, and a grape arbor with seating. The 19 fruit trees include persimmon, orange, plum, kumquat, apple, grapefruit, pear, plum, satsuma and lemon. The garden also includes three varieties of blueberry bushes and blackberry bushes as well as two grape vines.
Bair said, “We selected trees that we sell at our annual fruit tree sale and those highly recommended by Birge suited for our purposes and our site.”
Birge had organized the Backyard Orchard behind the Greenhouse in 2013 and that included a mix of 20 fruit trees, grapes, blackberries, flowers and herbs. It’s now moved to its new location and redesigned as the Fruit Garden.
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- Master Gardener Linda Bair of Richmond plants a tree in the Fruit Garden in March.
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- Master Gardeners Mary Parkhouse of Rosenberg and Nancy Schoepf of Missouri City participate in a tree-planting demonstration in March in the Fruit Garden.
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- Taking a rest break in the new Fruit Garden on a hot June day are Linda Bair of Richmond and Kumar Vakamudi of Sugar Land.
