Eileen Novak is a Vance/Warren County Master Gardener who grows vegetables, flowers, herbs and occasionally sourdough starter.    

Growing up, Eileen had a garden 2 feet wide by about 10 feet long.  She doesn't remember growing vegetables but does remember that she had a mock orange bush at one end and a Japanese flowering quince at the other. 

She got married after college to a newly commissioned second lieutenant in the Army, and learned about moving.  Twelve different houses in the first 13 years taught her how to start gardens.  She left quinault strawberry plants everywhere she could.  Living in the same place for the next 13 years taught her how to keep a garden going. 

She retired in 2011 and moved to a place where her also retired husband could walk out his back door and go hunting.  After so many moves, she knew the best way to meet people and make friends was to volunteer, so she signed up for the master gardener program.  She was secretary, VP then president of the local association and edited the local newsletter called the Garden Path,  She also took on compiling and editing the GAONC (formerly NCEMGVA) state level newsletter.  She handed  off the local newsletter when editing both it and the state level newsletter was too much.  Now she has scaled back and works with the county program, compiles and edits the GAONC newsletter, and serves on the GAONC board. 

Eileen's articles and Editor's Notes give us a glimpse into her gardening skill and sense of humor.  She also shares her four-legged writing helpers with us.

Eileen's GAONC Articles and Editor's Notes:

What's Bugging You?  Cicadas!, May 2024

What's Bugging You?  Colorado Potato Beetle, August 2024

Editor's Note, May 2024

Editor's Note, August 2024