Extension Matters
Volume 11 Number 2
Planting the Town
Doyce Deas, Lee County Master Gardener
Master Gardener initiates planting project to enhance city beautification
Story by Susan Collins-Smith | Photos by Kevin Hudson
Growing up, Doyce Deas didn’t really like to be in the garden.
“I learned to cook because I didn’t want to have to pick vegetables in the garden,” she recalls, pointing out the sweltering heat of Mississippi summers.
But no one would ever guess that about her if they visited her Tupelo home today. Her landscape is a manicured display of her love for gardening with ornamental plants. It’s a love she inherited from her mother and grandmother, she says.
“Both my mom and my grandmother were gardeners. My grandmother was an ardent gardener, and my mom loved to grow flowers. She made floral displays for her church for over 50 years. My dad liked to jokingly say, ‘We’re going to have to sell the garden and give the house away,’” she laughs. “I think I got that gene.”
In 2008, Deas fulfilled a longtime dream of becoming a Master Gardener in Lee County. Offered through the Mississippi State University Extension Service, the annual Master Gardener class trains and certifies participants in consumer horticulture. Individuals who complete the course keep their certification active by doing projects through the Extension Service that benefit their communities.
“I had always wanted to go through the class just for the knowledge,” she says. “I’ve always appreciated their [Master Gardeners’] work.
“I could make a career touring gardens and do so when I travel. When someone finds out you are a Master Gardener, it changes the conversation. The title of Master Gardener carries a lot of respect from people interested in gardening,” Deas emphasizes.
The same year she earned her certification, she started The Daffodil Project, which has resulted in more than 350,000 daffodils being planted by volunteers all around Tupelo. It’s an idea she got from Lynden Miller, a garden designer who Deas first learned about as an avid reader of gardening magazines.
Over the years, Deas had repeatedly seen Miller’s name in those magazines, which included articles about Miller’s dedication to revitalizing numerous gardens in New York City, including the Conservatory Garden in Central Park in the early 1980s. After 9/11, she spearheaded the original Daffodil Project, organizing thousands of volunteers to plant daffodil bulbs around all the boroughs of New York City.
“This is where I got the idea for our project,” Deas explains. “I saw what she’d done, and I said, ‘We can do that here.’ And we did.”
Deas and Miller even had an opportunity to get to know one another.
“And as it turned out, our son became friends with her son in college, and they arranged for me to meet Lynden when we were visiting New York,” Deas shares. “From there, we became good friends, and I arranged for her to visit Tupelo to make several presentations about the importance of civic beautification.”
Deas’ work to organize and bring the Daffodil Project to life has not gone unnoticed. In February, she was awarded the Lady Bird Johnson Award for outstanding volunteerism related to her work with the initiative during the 2025 Keep America Beautiful National Conference in Washington, D.C. Keep Tupelo Beautiful also earned recognition for its work with the project, bringing home the Innovation Award for a Local Program.
“It was quite an honor to get this recognition,” Deas says. “I believe only two people from Mississippi have ever been recognized with this award. The other person was Louise Godwin, also from Tupelo, who started the Avenues of Magnolias planting project. I feel very honored to be recognized.”
She is proud of the impact the Daffodil Project has had on the city and its citizens.
“From a city standpoint, it has made a big impact to beautification,” Deas points out. “It’s grown to be a very popular event every year. People look forward to participating, often bringing their children and grandchildren. It’s become a community activity that people anticipate. I think that is great, and I love that people enjoy it.”
Deas also has put in many hours over the years revitalizing the landscape at her church, First Presbyterian Church, in downtown Tupelo. Her projects there range from working with Dr. Sam Pace to renew the landscape around the church to planting thousands of spring bulbs. The Flower Guild initiated a project that funds the purchase of the bulbs through Easter donations from church members in honor of their family and friends. Those bulbs are a welcome sign of spring every year for church members and Tupelo residents alike.
“It is more than just a landscape at a church,” explains Susan McGukin, MSU Extension program associate and Lee County Master Gardener Program coordinator. “It has become a very public space. A lot of photographs are taken there. Photographers know the grounds, and they often use them.”
The church landscape is a busy place during prom and wedding season in the northeast Mississippi town.
“Every year, you’ll see students ready for proms taking pictures,” Deas says. “Many wedding parties take photos there. It’s become very popular. I just love that it has become a public space, and everyone can enjoy it.”
Helping her friends create their own gardens is one of Deas’ favorite things.
“One of my friends asked me to help her redesign her yard, and we’ve done a lot. But she is just on fire now to do more, and I love it that she now enjoys gardening,” Deas says.
Master Gardeners like Deas are what make the program a success, McGukin says.
“Our Master Gardeners are a critical part of not only community beautification, but the horticultural education offered through the Extension Service,” McGukin points out. “They help beautify our community through hands-on projects, and they support Extension by helping to educate the community about horticulture through educational events, demonstration gardens, and even answering their neighbors’ gardening questions.”
As the largest Master Gardener group in the state, Lee County’s group has varied skillsets among its members, making them valued assets to the community.
“We have such a diverse group of Master Gardeners, who all complement one another. We all have different strengths and know how to do different things,” Deas says.
