My Quest to Becoming a Master Gardener is...

Complete.

So, I started this crazy journey last December. I type “crazy” because there are about a zillion things I want to do at any given time/day/year. My problem has always been time and focus…not enough time to do my zillion things and not enough focus because I have so many things I want to do. However, after a second attempt (again, focus ran out in 2006), I set out to become a Master Gardener in 2014. Classes began in September 2013; completed in December 2013.

For those who haven’t heard of the master gardener program before, it is an internally recognized volunteer program focusing on horticulture. It exists in all 50 states and is typically based out of a state university; in Iowa, the program is housed at the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and is supported by the Department of Horticulture.

The goal of the program is to trade “…specialized training in horticulture for a commitment to spend a specified number of hours doing volunteer outreach work for extension.” In Iowa, “there are Master Gardeners in more than 90 counties, and more than 10,000 Iowans have been trained in the Master Gardener program,”equating to approximately, “90,000 hours of volunteer service…”

The mission of the Iowa State University Extension Master Gardener Program is to provide current, research-based, home horticulture information and education to the citizens of Iowa through programs and projects. Through their participation in educational activities, Master Gardeners also increase their own personal knowledge in horticulture. Master Gardeners extend Iowa State University Extension’s consumer horticulture education programs through volunteer activity.

So, with that background, I signed up.

Starting in September, I sat with approximately 30 other people, every Tuesday night, for 3 hours, for approximately 12 weeks learning about wildlife management, trees, landscaping, diseases, houseplants…you get the gist. The set-up is pretty easy…come to a Tuesday night in a designated county, then (typically) a professor will instruct from a satellite office. While there may only be 30 people physically in the class, you are connected to other counties at the same time, equating to a few hundred “classmates.” Some nights were spent watching an ISU professor from a satellite location; while others were spent with a live person visiting to discuss houseplants or greenhouses or produce. We students always brought our manuals and reading material, oh, and questions, lots of questions.

I had several favorite moments while taking the MG course. I enjoyed listening to other students’ experiences. For example, a retired couple recently purchased an apple orchard and they were interested in revitalizing it, but had absolutely no idea how; a mother of five, who recently purchased a home with seven acres of land; a retired teacher who saw the Discovery Garden at the Iowa State Fair and wanted to be a part of its growth. I probably fall in this category too—one of my absolute favorite things to do at the Iowa State Fair, i.e., go in the early morning to visit the Discovery Garden; if you haven’t been yet, I highly recommend it. If interested in seeing pictures from previous years at the DG, see to the right; I’ve uploaded some photos. Another favorite of taking the MG course is the amount of learning, at a very easy pace. There was no pressure to learn but I was surrounded by the desire to learn; everyone was there because they wanted to be (admittedly, this was a departure from some college courses I had to slog through.) The MG course also provides the opportunity to be a student for a day at Iowa State University. With your classmates, you get to go from class to class learning about various gardening topics, including identifying diseases, insects, and plant/flower identification. We conducted experiments, including clay compaction and flower dissection (yep, there are such things).

With all this training, there are two requirements – 40 hours of volunteering (in the first year; the second year, 40 hours of volunteering plus 10 CEUs are required). The volunteering can come from a variety of sources, i.e., botanical gardens, booths set-up at a community event, working in a community garden, writing articles/blogs, greenhouse help. For me, I volunteered at the Dallas County Fair in July 2014, where we spoke with fair-goers about the MG program and helped little ones make dragonflies out of laundry clips and Popsicle sticks. Also, I began volunteering at The Des Moines Botanical Gardens. And, last, I write. I love sharing my pictures and experiences with nature, flowers, gardening (which I hope you have enjoyed, anyway…)

This blog post marks my accomplishment of completing the Master Gardener program and the required 40 hours of volunteering!

Hooray for me, my improved time management skills (and, if you know what a year I’ve had, you’ll know this was almost an insurmountable feat), and fabulous focus!

To find out about the Iowa State University Master Gardener Program, click here.

More to come; until then, thanks for reading!