Offstage! - February 2011

Master Sgt. Julianna Arnold, a clarinetist in the Concert Band, maintains a garden year-round. Last year Sergeant Arnold grew everything from cucumbers, peppers, beans and tomatillos, to squash, blueberries and raspberries. When asked how she has become such a successful gardener, Arnold credits her musical background, saying, “I think in many respects being a musician has helped me to be a patient gardener. Just like musicians have to spend many hours practicing and rehearsing before the final product can be revealed to an audience, tending to a garden takes a lot of patience and time devoted to nurturing a plant to fruition.”

Offstage! - February 2011

Offstage!

Published Jan. 18, 2011
By Tech. Sgt. Brooke Emery
The USAF Band

JOINT BASE ANACOSTIA-BOLLING, D.C. -- It has been said that a garden is a form of autobiography. If that is true, then Master Sgt. Julianna Arnold has quite a story to tell. The cultivator of a 37' x 23' garden that boasts over thirty varieties of plants (including 16 different tomato plants!), Sergeant Arnold has been captivated by the allure of gardening since 2005, and the results of her efforts have been more abundant than she could have ever imagined.

Sergeant Arnold's interest in gardening started when her mother-in-law, a master gardener, visited the Arnold's newly purchased home over the 2005 Memorial Day weekend. "There was a sectioned-off plot of land in our back yard that used to hold a jungle gym from the previous owners. My mother-in-law suggested putting in a garden, and I've been hooked ever since," she said.

The original incarnation of the garden was quite modest--four tomato plants, two cucumber plants and a green bean plant. After a few years, Sergeant Arnold's garden dreams had outgrown her allotted space, and she enlisted the help of her husband--a trombonist in The United States Army Band--to expand the original frame of the garden to its current size.

Last year, Sergeant Arnold grew everything from cucumbers, peppers, beans and tomatillos, to squash, blueberries and raspberries. Her dazzling tomatoes have developed quite a reputation amongst her colleagues. "We are always excited when she brings in some of her extra produce to give away," said Concert Band baritone saxophonist Master Sgt. Mary Beth George. "Her tomatoes are simply amazing."

Though Sergeant Arnold gives away much of her garden crop, she and her husband also try to live off what they grow year-round. "The best thing about growing a vegetable garden is that you can just walk out into your yard and eat something off the vine. In the fall, we can our tomatoes, so we can enjoy them year-round," she said.

When asked how she became such a successful gardener, Arnold credits her musical background, saying, "I think in many respects being a musician has helped me to be a patient gardener. Just like musicians have to spend many hours practicing and rehearsing before the final product can be revealed to an audience, tending to a garden takes a lot of patience and time devoted to nurturing a plant to fruition."

She also gives her mother-in-law credit for being a constant source of wisdom. "It always helps that if I have a question about gardening I can call a master gardener!"

Although Sergeant Arnold's garden is what most would call large, she doesn't seem satisfied with last year's successes. "I'm always dreaming of what I can do next," she said. "This year I'm going to try to grow more greens and potatoes and maybe corn. I would like to expand the garden again and maybe have a smaller garden just for tomatoes. My husband may veto me, though!"

Click to read a short biography of Master Sgt. Julianna Arnold.

For biographical information about other members of The U.S. Air Force Band, please see the Ensembles section of our website.