Extension agent combines dual loves of working with plants, teaching people
The recent return of warmer temperatures has brought with it not only rain and humidity but also early spring blooms. Certain trees, flowers and weeds have begun to open up in search of the warmth, causing plant- and lawn-owners to take notice and make plans to care for said flora. To better understand how to take care of home grounds, gardens and home pests, Franklin County citizens can turn to Regional Extension Agent Taylor Reeder.
Reeder graduated from Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in horticulture with a focus in landscape design as well as a master’s degree in horticulture. She said she chose horticulture because of her love for plants; she originally wanted to be a landscape designer.
“I come from a farming family, and I always loved helping my mom garden and landscape. I learned in college that landscape design was not my calling, though,” Reeder said.
It was actually a professor she had in college who suggested she look into working with Alabama Cooperative Extension System.
“I didn’t know much about Extension, but teaching was always in the back of my mind,” she said.
Reeder said she always figured she would work with college students or adults. While she does a lot of work with those age groups, she also gets to work with children at different schools across the five counties she covers.
Topics like seeds – how to grow them and how to calculate germination percentage – are among the lessons she teaches. Hands-on activities are the best way Reeder has found to get her youngest students engaged in a less-familiar topic.
“It’s kind of a trial and error thing because I’m not used to teaching kids, but they keep me active,” Reeder said.
Seeing their progress and how they remember things she has taught them from year to year is what makes it rewarding, Reeder said. “I enjoy the Extension’s mission and feeling like I’ve helped and educated people,” she said.
With the upcoming spring season, her schedule has become increasingly busier. She said she is getting to see more and more plants sprouting and growing, and she’s helping scores of people maintain them. Reeder said she has gotten numerous calls recently from people who are just now seeing damage or problems with their lawn or plants because they are just now able to be outside in the warmer weather to inspect everything.
To help people with their problems – and also just to educate the public – Reeder holds classes like Master Gardener courses as well as classes about soils and entomology. She works with late winter/early spring ornamental pruning and plants like forsythia and magnolia and shares instruction on using pre-emergent herbicides.
During the winter months, she said work slows down a little bit, but it gives her time to plan and work with different types of plants and activities. Vegetables that can be grown all year long – like kale, onions and garlic – are among her winter focuses, along with house plants, frost protection and tool cleaning and sharpening. When the holidays arrive, she teaches about Christmas trees and making natural wreaths and ornaments.
Her job is a combination of two things she loves: working with plants and working with people. “I love the subject. It’s incredible seeing God’s creation grow and learning the intricacies of plants.”
