What Exactly is a Master Gardener?

Blogging is not for the faint-hearted. The comments can range from nice to not-so-nice to downright nasty. Recently one of the less than complimentary comments questioned my credentials. It's really the Star-Trib that wanted to use "Master Gardener" to describe me for "Your Voices". They thought it sounded fancier than just garden writer.

I am technically a "University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardener". Although I've gardened since I could walk, I have been an Extension Master Gardener for over a decade, starting with the Kansas State University Extension. However I don't write this blog as a master gardener, but as a writer who happens to volunteer for that program.

Simply put Master Gardeners agree to volunteer a certain minimum amount of hours to the community after going through basic and ongoing advanced horticultural training. All this after being selected from a large candidate pool and going through an intitial university core course. It's not like you just show up and say, "Hey, here I am".

Last year the 298 active Master Gardeners in Hennepin County volunteered over 14,000 hours. Most MGs go way over their minimum of 25 hours; through my decade I've averaged 100 hours per year. Last year we provided the work equivalent of 7 full-time employees. This year proves to be just as big. It's no wonder the Twin Cities are #1 in volunteerism!

Master Gardeners work with community gardens to improve access to fresh food, teach classes to both youth and adults, staff plant clinics and horticultural hotlines, host garden tours and plant sales, write gardening articles for local newspapers, set-up horticultural displays, and communicate the latest research-based information to the public at sites like the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and the State Fair.

We will be the first to admit we don't know all the answers. But we'll keep looking until we have the answer to your particular gardening question.

If you'd like to see Master Gardeners in action and actually visit their gardens, don't miss our 2010 Learning Garden Tour on July 10 from 9AM to 4PM. This year the gardens center around the Plymouth and Wayzata area; featuring kitchen gardens, native plant gardens, waterfront gardens, perennial gardens and many more. For more info and to buy tickets, visit the Hennepin County Master Gardener website.

What are my credentials for this blog? Well, I am an enthusiastic observer of nature, mostly the everyday backyard kind, who happens to enjoy sharing that passion with others. Granted my backyard is a bit more "crittery" than most. Occasionally I might jump into the fray if an environmental issue stirs me. Beyond that, I like to think of myself as a better than average writer and photographer (the photos are mine BTW, not cadged from google).