2025 BVGC TV Program

The January 2025 Program - No program was produced due to the Holidays.

The February 2025 Program is hosted by Geri Hoerner, member of the Bella Vista Garden Club and Benton County Master Gardener, and the guest was Butch Tetzlaff, owner of The Bluebird Shed.  The topic of the show is Feeding Bella Vista Birds and Butch talks about the various types of birdseed and suet that are appropriate for different seasons and when to put out and take in hummingbird feeders.  An electric heating element shaped like a rock can provide water to the birds when the temperature drops to freezing.  He monitors bird counts that are taken each month locally and the national counts that are taken twice yearly.  The top 5 most common birds in Bella Vista are American Goldfinch, Cardinals, House Finch, Carolina Chickadee and the Eastern Bluebird.  Banding birds to monitor their flight locations is done at various locations.

The March 2025 Program is hosted by JB Portillo, member of the Bella Vista Garden Club and a Benton County Master Gardener, and the guest was Katherine Gilman, also a member of the Bella Vista Garden Club and a Benton County Master Gardener.  The topic of the show is All About Dahlias and Katherine talks about how to propagate dahlias from seed, from tubers or propagate from tubers.  Katherine has over 500 pots of dahlias she is growing from seed.  The best time to plant them is after the last frost and they will bloom continually from June to the first frost.  Also discussed is how to overwinter the tubers with various mediums or leave them in the ground with a heavy layer of mulch or cardboard to protect them from freezing.   She is hoping to start selling tubers in the future and blooms.  Pictures are show of the many varieties of dahlias she has in her garden. 

The April 2025 Program is hosted by Joanne York, President of the Benton County Master Gardeners, and the guests are Janet Conboy, member of the Bella Vista Garden Club, and Jan Hodges, member of the Benton County Master Gardeners.  The topic of the show is Buy Your Plants Here and Janet Conboy talked about the two sales the Bella Vista Garden Club will be holding, one on April 12th selling tomato plants, coleus and zinnias and the other on May 17th selling perennials, trees, shrubs, herbs and houseplants.  She showed some succulents that will be in the sale.  Jan Hodges spoke about the Master Gardeners plant sale being held May 2nd and 3rd at a new location behind Helping Hands in Bentonville.  Photos are shown of some of the plants being prepared and of past sales.  Other plant sales in the are are also mentioned.  These are great places to get great plants at great prices.

The May 2025 Program is hosted by Geri Hoerner and the guest is Ginny Vance, both members of the Bella Vista Garden Club and Benton County Master Gardeners.  The topic of the show is Exciting New Plants for 2025 and the process to bring new plant varieties to the market is long and takes years of trials, testing and propagation to have them available to nurseries and box stores worldwide.  Pictures of some interesting new varieties for 2025 are shown along with the "Arkansas Diamonds" plants that are chosen by the Arkansas Green Industry Association. 

The June 2025 Program is hosted by JB Portillo and the guest is Dory Hammeke, both members of the Bella Vista Garden Club and Benton County Master Gardeners.  The topic of the show is "Be Our Guest" Garden Walk & Bella Vista Community Garden Update and photos of some of the gardens on the garden walk are shown.  The Garden Walk is open to the public at no charge as a gift to the community and there are 4 beautiful home gardens to visit along with the Native Garden at Village Wastewater along with the Bella Vista Community Garden that has been renovated with new beds.

The July 2025 Program is hosted by Joanne York, President of the Benton County Master Gardeners and the guests are Marla Johnson-Ozbun, a fellow member of the Benton County Master Gardeners along with Susan Randolph, a River Valley Master Gardener.  The topic of the show is The Fig Leaf Files and Susan is the Project Chair of the Fig Trial that started in Ft. Smith 10 years ago that inspired the Fig Study in Bentonville.  The varieties of figs that will grow well in NW Arkansas and Fort Smith are discussed.