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H.D. "Dutch" Afman was born and raised in the rich floral and tree farm area of Holland (The Netherlands). He received a business law degree in The Hague.

At an early age he became interested in the tree culture of his families nurseries and although he has been a Commercial Real Estate Broker (Certified C.R.B.) for some 30 years in Wyoming and Colorado, the arboriculture segment has been the joy in his life.

Dutch is an Advanced Colorado Master Gardener as well as "Dutch Master Gardener"

He was honored to be named "Master Gardener Educator" for Colorado State University - Extension Services

Dutch is a Professional Member of the International Society of Arboriculture (I.S.A.) and is a Forestry Board Member for the City of Grand Junction, Colorado.

Dutch is the owner of Afman Consulting- an Arboricultural Analysis firm.

Victoria Thomas moved to her historic downtown bungalow when her husband (Chris) was transferred to Grand Junction in 2001. Victoria continues her career as a technical writer for Fiserv Investment Support Services in Denver, which takes her away from home for several days each week. Victoria finds rejuvenation from her travels in her evolving garden. In what was previously river rock and hard-baked clay, she is building a garden filled year-round with fragrance, color and activity. Victoria focuses on adapting her landscaping to create outdoor living spaces and using organic growing methods whenever possible. She and her husband share their home with two well-loved dogs, Calvin and Sydney.

Cece Mac Vittie is a Master Gardener, currently enrolled in the horticulture program at the Delta-Montrose Technical College, studying landscape design, and scheduled to graduate in May 2006. She is a Certified Public Accountant with 25 years in public accounting. Previous not for profit accounting work includes support to High Country Citizens Alliance (Crested Butte), KBUT Radio (Crested Butte), Gunnison Legacy Fund (Gunnison Land Trust), and Western Slope Environmental Resource Council (Paonia).

Sylvia Sharpe retired in 1996 from US Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service, Lakewood, CO, where she was a Supervisor and Manager and taught oil and gas reporting. Being a southerner from central Mississippi, she was a member of the Vicksburg Council of Garden Clubs where her love of gardening began. Following retirement, she wanted warmer weather, so she and her husband Fred moved to the western slope to pursue their interest in playing in the dirt - gardening, dirt biking, hiking, and four-wheeling. As an Advanced Master Gardener, she says "My garden is a work in progress -- a corner of the world to enjoy my flower and vegetable gardens for horticultural therapy, and one that will never be totally finished by design." One great pleasure is exchanging plants and sharing gardening information with other garden organization members, friends, relatives and neighbors.

Shirley Skinner has lived in Germany, San Diego, Denver and San Jose before moving to Palisade. “My career has been in clinical/medical social work, and I began gardening in San Jose as an antidote to the Silicon Valley stress. When we retired to Palisade, I took the Master Gardener Program in 2001 and started working at Palisade Greenhouse, and have been transforming the nearly 2 acres of greasewood into themed garden spaces.

Community involvement includes Altrusa, Inc., PEO, Desert Vista Garden Club (President 2004/2005), Newcomers, Japanese Beetle Advisory Board, and other task forces as needed. I wrote the grants for 60 planters for Palisade, and plant the flowers in them each year. With the help of WCGF, I wrote the CTC grant for trees in Riverbend Park in Palisade. Personal interests include travel in our fifth wheel with my husband, Jim, and our Airedale. Life is good.

The exuberant Mary Watson moved to Grand Junction in 2000. Mary finds joy in gardening which has been a learning experience. She is trying to maintain a colorful xeriscape garden in addition to a summer/fall garden of delicious herbs and vegetables using organic maintenance methods. Mary is exceedingly community minded and extensively involved with several non-profit organizations here in the Grand Valley.

“Go well and keep spreading the joy!”

Beverly Duzenack became a Master Gardener in 1997. She was Chairperson of the Master Gardener Apprentice Class, President of the former TRAMGA organization for two years and is presently on the board of the Western Colorado Gardening Foundation. She was instrumental in the formation of the Grand Mesa Native Wildflower Garden from 1999 to the end of 2002. Beverly is active in the Grand Mesa Historic Scenic Byway and her present involvement is a board member of the Collbran Job Corps Community Relations Council and President of the Community Friends of the Collbran Job Corps (newly organized 501C3 committee). She also has done the flowers and maintenance of the gardens at the Job Corps for several years. This garden is now one of the demonstration gardens sponsored by Colorado State University Extension Service of Mesa County. She can be reached at duzenack@acsol.net or 970-268-5454.

Evelyn Chandler - A native of Mesa County, I grew up in Collbran. We always raised all of our own vegetables and fruits. Learning the process of planting and maintaining turned into a love of gardening. My adult life was living in several different Western Colorado towns and each had their own soil and climate personalities. When I moved to Grand Junction the summer of 1999, I decided I needed to learn more about the clay soil and the desert weather. I took the Master Gardener class in 2000 and the knowledge that I have acquired has been helpful in my business of selling Real Estate.

Bob Kline graduated from Colorado A & M (now Colorado State University) in 1958 with a degree in Range Management and Forestry. “I worked for the Bureau of Land Management for 35 years as a Range Conservationist, Area Manager and finally as an Environmental Specialist. After I retired I worked as an environmental consultant on the TransColorado Gas Pipeline and the Ute Water Pipeline replacement. I have also worked on oil and gas well rehabilitation projects. My family and I have lived in the Grand Valley since 1962. We have had vegetable gardens and more recently a xeriscape gardens. I designed and built my own drip system to maintain our gardens and look forward to learning all I can about decorative gardening.”

Scott Troy is a transplant from eastern Tennessee having moved to the Grand Valley in the spring of 2000. He is currently the Business Manager for Colorado Discover Ability, a non-profit organization specializing in outdoor recreational adventures for the disabled and at-risk youth. As an Advanced Master Gardener, Scott enjoys working with other gardeners by discussing questions and problem solving. In his own garden, Scott focuses his gardening passion on integrating xeriscape principles and native plants.

Jill Wooten says, "Raised in upstate NY, I discovered gardening here in western Colorado, and met a wonderful community of like-minded, passionate Stewards of the Soil. My own little suburban corner of Mesa County ("Stone Haven") is a special place of respite for visitors, a place for God to minister to the weary, and an experiment in self-sustaining gardening, where me and my thermometer seek the ultimate compost and learn of bio-diversity. As an advanced Master Gardener, I appreciate the opportunities the program offers in personal, relational and horticultural development. As treasurer of WCGF, it's a joy to combine my vocation (accounting & business management) with my avocation (passionate gardening) -- all in service to our fine community. Married, with two grown boys, husband (Jim) and I operate American Rental Specialties."

John Moore is a life long gardener. He grew up in the Midwest, but taught Biology for 24 years in Colorado. John retired from teaching in '92, moved to G. J. in '93 and became a Master Gardener in '94. In addition to the MG program, he is involved with the Western Colorado Botanical Garden, the Chinle Cactus and Succulent Society, the Colorado Native Plant Society, the newly formed Orchid Club and the Audubon Society. He feels that the WCGF can be a great help to all of the gardening organizations in this area.

Barbara Royce is a native Oregonian who moved to Grand Junction in 2001 to escape the wet weather (“you can never have enough moss out or slug bait when you live in the NW”). I believe that Grand Junction is so fortunate to have various garden clubs who have proven to be most supportive of the Western Colorado Garden Foundation. I have been in the director position of a non-profit in the past and I understand the, sometimes daunting, task of fund raising in order to support the various missions of the organization. It is my hope that the WCGF can move forward to provide support in the way of grants to alleviate this need to the groups in the Grand Valley. Barbara loves to garden, enjoys the wildlife and is still in awe of the Colorado National Monument. She resides in Grand Junction with her partner Dave, who is a rock climber.

Anne Norman and her husband lived on a catamaran sailboat in Dana Point Harbor, sailing the Pacific coast from San Luis Obispo to Baja and west to Hawaii. Four ducks were their pets. She retired from Los Angeles County + University of Southern California Medical Center in 1994 and relocated to the western slope. Her nursing career included education, management and administration; she authored two nursing textbooks. Bored with retirement, she joined the nursing staff at the Grand Junction Veterans Administration Medical Center as an educator and supervisor. Anne became a Master Gardner in 2002. She has an iris garden with over 100 different kinds and adds more each fall. Her pets are Klondyke & Snow (Samoyeds) and Puppy (a charming black cat).

In 1998 Phil Frisk and his wife, Judy, moved to Grand Junction from Winter Park to enjoy a warmer climate and pursue their interest in gardening. Their two acres on the Redlands allowed them to establish a small orchard of 34 fruit trees, a vineyard with 4 varieties of wine grapes, a vegetable garden and several flower beds. Phil is a retired computer consultant but continues to spend a lot of time on his PC being "webservant" of this site as well as their art website - www.friskart.com.

Kathy Kimbrough is our newly elected Secretary. She was born in Pgh, PA and lived in Houston, Dallas and Denver before moving to Grand Junction in May of 1998 with Joe, her husband of 19 years. Kathy worked as Secretary, Realtor and Mortgage Broker. She retired to pursue her hobbies of gardening, camping and genealogy. She loves to spoil their dog, Jodie.

Doug Johnson retired to Grand Junction from Denver in 2000 after having spent 15 years in Alaska. A former lawyer, Doug put together all the paperwork to get our new organization off the ground. Doug completed the Master Gardener training in 2002.

Steve Gove says, "Most of my gardening experience has been 'backyard gardening'. My wife and I both thoroughly enjoyed having one and all the fresh produce it provided us. I enrolled in the Master Gardener Program in 2002 and really enjoyed the program and the people I met through it. At this time I am planning on staying active in the Master Gardener Program. My wife and I became members of the Chinle Chapter of the Colorado Cactus & Succulent Society in 2002."

Barbara Royce is a native Oregonian who moved to Grand Junction in 2001 to escape the wet weather (“you can never have enough moss out or slug bate when you live in the NW”). I believe that Grand Junction is so fortunate to have various garden clubs who have proven to be most supportive of the Western Colorado Garden Foundation. I have been in the director position of a non-profit in the past and I understand the, sometimes daunting, task of fund raising in order to support the various missions of the organization. It is my hope that the WCGF can move forward to provide support in the way of grants to alleviate this need to the groups in the Grand Valley. Barbara loves to garden, enjoys the wildlife and is still in awe of the Colorado National Monument. She resides in Grand Junction with her partner Dave, who is a rock climber.

Candy Wagner, a native northern New Yorker, moved to Colorado in 1997 with her western-born husband John. As a gardener, she is third generation with farming grandparents and a mom who still, in her mid 70s, raises enough vegetables to keep family and friends happy. Candy is semi-retired from a physical therapy career leaving more time for gardening, piano, and tennis. She became a Master Gardener in 2001 and hopes to continue serving the gardening community through continued involvement with TRMG and WCGF.

Shirley was born in Pittsburgh, PA and has lived in Germany, San Diego, Denver and San Jose before retiring to Palisade in Oct. 2000 with her husband Jim. "My 30-year career as a clinical social worker was interesting and rewarding, and I became hooked on gardening in San Jose as a stress management tool. When I moved to Western Colorado, I knew I had to learn the special challenges of gardening here, so I became a Master Gardener in 2001 and have enjoyed the wonderful and knowledgeable people involved there. I'm also a member of the Desert Vista Garden Club, Newcomers, Altrusa of Palisade, and Palisade Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. In addition to gardening, I enjoy hiking, bicycling, tennis, skiing, snow-shoeing, camping, reading, sewing, knitting and other crafts. Gardening touches my soul, and in addition to creating beautiful outdoor living spaces on our 2-acres, I work part-time at Palisade Greenhouse. Also, I am enrolled in the Horticultural Therapy certificate program offered through CSU."

Dutch Afman

H.D. "Dutch" Afman was born and raised in the rich floral and tree farm area of Holland (The Netherlands). He received a business law degree in The Hague.

Dutch is an Advanced Colorado Master Gardener as well as "Dutch Master Gardener"

He was honored to be named "Master Gardener Educator" for Colorado State University - Extension Services

Dutch is a Professional Member of the International Society of Arboriculture (I.S.A.) and is a Forestry Board Member for the City of Grand Junction, Colorado.

Dutch is the owner of Afman Consulting- an Arboricultural Analysis firm.

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