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Photo by Gary Shaver

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About Master Gardeners of Greene County...

The Master Gardeners of Greene County volunteers are trained individu-

als who enjoy learning and sharing their

expertise with others. Our gardening

backgrounds range from hobbyist to pro-

fessional, from beginner to experienced.

The common bond is a love of garden-

ing, learning and sharing.

After training, Master Gardeners serve

as a resource with University of Missouri Extension to give county resi-

dents research-based answers to their gardening questions. The primary

purpose of a Master Gardener is to volunteer, but members rate camara-

derie and learning opportunities as important reasons for participating.

Members of our organization are nurtured in their development as indi-

viduals in the sense of learning, growing, progressing, acquiring

knowledge and skills, and we know the benefits of allowing them to be

creative and innovative. We depend on each individual’s blends of skills,

energies, experience, attitudes and motivation.

Our

Mission To provide horticultural information and training to the gardening

public based on proven research specific to the local climate, soils

and plants, consistent with the Policies and Procedures for the

Missouri Master Gardener Program.

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Additions to staff…..

Kelly McGowan was added as the MU Extension Horticulture Educator

on a part time basis. This was a much needed addition and help to our

chapter. We are happy to have Kelly, who is also a Master Gardener.

Patrick Byers , MU Horticulture Specialist and

Kelly McGowan, MU Horticulture Educator

The budget in 2014:

We had income of $22.285.08 expenses of $28,322.14

We donated $3,000 to the Friends of Greene County Extension

And $1,500 to the Ray Rothenberg Scholarship Fund

We spent $8,999.59 in the Gardens

We raised $11,965.48 with the Plant Sale

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Reaching the community

Master Gardeners were seen by around 20,000 members of the

public through our Fairs and Shows including:

Ozark Empire Lawn and Garden Show

Naturescaping Symposium and Native Plant Sale

Butterfly Festival

Japanese Fall Festival

Bass Pro Shops Outdoor Days

Gray Campbell Homestead 1860s Lifestyle Expo

800 Likes on Facebook on January 1st of 2014

1400 Likes on Facebook on December 31st of 2014

Our Ask a Master Gardener column reaches Springfield and the region 26 times a year!

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Our website: www.mggreene.org

10,900 Hits on our Website for 2014

2,370 Hits on our Website in August of 2014

During the first three quarters of 2014, our main focus was becoming familiar

with the WordPress software and creating an online version of the Member’s

Handbook. We tried to keep the homepage content fresh and dynamic by up-

dating it with new content as often as possible. Working with the old theme, we

were able to add new plugins and widgets so that users could easily connect to

our Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest pages. Website editing and design was

new to us during these early months; RJ Jacobs, Cathy Staats, Missy Sanford, and

Kathy Rapp were invaluable sources of information and support in helping us be-

come more proficient with the software, understand organizational protocol,

and create interesting content.

We updated the WordPress theme during the last quarter of 2014. With the new

theme, we were able to create an events calendar and more user-friendly

homepage. Navigation throughout the site is now easier and more intuitive. We

are able to add blog posts, new events, and projects into their respective con-

tent areas and achieve a dynamic homepage that reflects the changes immedi-

ately. We also added custom forms to some of the pages, including the Speaker’s

Bureau page and Ask a Master Gardener page; these forms allow users to submit

their gardening questions and requests online and will, hopefully, make it easier

to manage the needs of our users.

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30 Years of Cultivating Soils, Souls and Minds: An Anthology Tendered by Mas-ter Gardeners of Greene County

In 2014 Master Gardeners of Greene County celebrated 30

years as a chapter. This year was me-

morialized by a celebration event in

the Fall and the printing of an Anthol-

ogy book 30 Years of Cultivating Soils,

Souls & Minds: an Anthology Ten-

dered by Master Gardeners of Greene

County, ably coordinated and written

in part by Lola Fry. We were fortunate

to be able to interview the three hor-

ticultural specialists who were involved in the development

of the Master Gardeners of Greene County volunteer or-

ganization. The book was available for Christmas.

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Year end numbers:

2,377 Hours spent in the Master Gardener Demonstration

Gardeners at the Botanical Gardens

Value: $53,601.35

1,176 Hours spent in the Xeriscape Garden

Value: $26,518.80

1,897

10,112

4,179

1,015

Hours spent on the Hotline

Value: $42,777.35

Hours spent on other Master Gardener activities

Value: $228,025,60

Hours spent in other Springfield Botanical Gardens

Value: $94,236.45

Hours spent in other community based areas

Value: $22,888.25

20,755 Total volunteer hours for Master Gardeners of Greene County

Value: $468,025.30

To encourage members to report hours on a timely basis, a gift card was

bought and a drawing at the last meeting for all who got their hours

reported by December 31.

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Fundraising

Master Gardener Plant Sale

The 17th annual plant sale was held on Saturday, April 26th at the

Springfield Botanical Center.

Members of the Master Gardeners of Greene

County gathered plants to sell from their own gar-

dens — and from the two city gardens that Master

Gardeners maintain in Nathanael Greene/Close

Memorial Park and at the Xeriscape on South Na-

tional – at this sale.

“The quality is excellent and the prices are real bar-

gains. Those factors have made this annual event

very popular among area gardeners,” said Patrick

Byers, a horticulture specialist with University of

Missouri Extension. The fundraiser helps the Mas-

ter Gardeners of Greene County maintain the pub-

lic demonstration gardens and serve the public by

providing quality lawn and garden programs as volunteers of Uni-

versity of Missouri Extension.

Master Gardeners were on site to assist with purchases and answer

questions. Cash, checks and credit or debit cards were accepted.

$12,000 was raised after expenses.

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Fundraising

Spring and Fall Garden Tours

In the true tradition of the Master Gardener program, our

chapter offered two unique tours of local gardens. This year

we offered a Fall as well as a Spring Tour. Each garden was a

beautiful showcase of flowers, plants and hard work. The

Tours were a collaboration with the Springfield Watergarden

Society and included both Master Gardener gardens as well

as Watergarden Society gardens.

$600 was raised in the Spring Tour and $300 was raised in

the Fall Tour (which was donated to Friends of Greene

County Extension).

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Membership

New Membership Committee in 2014

This was the first year for a membership chair to be identified. Serving with this

group are sectional chairs which were part of the membership team for our Mas-

ter Gardeners.

Identified as part of the Membership team for our Chapter were:

Mentoring/Orientation

Continuing Education

Chapter News

Historian

Hours Reporting

Member Care

General Meetings

Social

Emeritus Care

Volunteer Coordinator

Each of these volunteer teams conduct activities and coordinates with the mem-

bership chair, who then prepared reports for the Board and general meetings.

A new Volunteer Handbook was written this year and is an invaluable tool in

training our volunteers on our chapter.

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Membership

Spring Banquet

This year 54 new trainees took

part in education for Master Gar-

deners and were presented at the

Spring Banquet, where those who

have gained emeritus status are al-

so recognized. Approximately 75

members took part in this ban-

quet, where the social committee

arranges for each table to be decorated by

different members and providing a beautiful

and creative backdrop for our event. Unfortu-

nately we lost one of the class members to

death in early summer. This left 53 trainees,

and from this group 49 turned in hours for

the year by December 31. They have till April

2015 to complete their required

30 hours.

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Membership

New Hours Reporting in 2014

Another first for 2014 was the implementation of hours reporting

to be done electronically. This was presented to the membership

and has been well received. With this implementation we have

also been able to identify where any weaknesses might be with

opportunities to volunteer and also keep our data current for

contact information.

PLEASE REPORT YOUR VOLUNTEER HOURS NOW!

Thank you for your service to Master Gardeners of Greene County. According to chapter by-

laws, your volunteer hours should be reported monthly. Active members are required to volun-

teer 20 hours plus an additional 6 hours of continuing education. Emeritus members have no

minimum service requirements but all volunteer hours should be reported using this reporting

system. Trainees have additional requirements to reach their 30 hours per year, including 15

hours in Core projects, which is in the Demonstration Gardens, Xeriscape or the Hotline.

Please see the Volunteer Handbook or check the Reporting Hours page for more detailed hours

reporting requirements: Here is the link to the hours reporting form:

Form link: 2014 Hours Reporting Form Master Gardeners of Greene County

In order to reduce the number of e-mails being sent, our Chapter news

is sent only once per week, and all are encouraged to prepare their re-

ports and send them to the Chair on a timely manner. Several changes

have made the news more ‘user friendly’ such as a directory for the arti-

cles so members will be able to identify all the news with interesting pic-

tures and weekly ‘Did you know?’ articles.

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Membership

New Emeritus Brunch and more

In October we held the first Annual Brunch for Emeritus. Approx-

imately 40 Emeritus / Emeritus eligible members attended and

by the comments this will surely be continued. So many attend-

ed that had not been to a function with Master Gardeners for

some time and enjoyed renewing their garden friendships.

Our Chapter enjoys monthly meetings with opportunity at each

meeting to earn continuing education hours from interesting

programs and speakers. For the 2015 year, our Chapter has ap-

proved Advanced Training for members. This will allow all

members in good standing to work toward their advanced

master gardener certification.

The classes will be approved by

our chapter advisor

and presented by ap-

proved speakers.

Our Chapter also bought and sold T-shirts

to create awareness of membership and

help identify members when working in

the Gardens or at events where we are

featured as an organization.

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Our members:

46 Emeritus

6 Inactive or on leave

53

Active in good standing

272 Master Gardeners

167

Trainees

For those who have chosen to become permanently in-

active or requested to be closed, they retain the title of

Master Gardener if they were formerly in good standing

and remain on the archived list of those who have been

trained in Greene County.

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Membership

Trip to Linneaus Gardens

Great day with Master Gardeners, Friends of the Garden, Hosta Society

members and others on a great Master Gardeners of Greene County

sponsored trip to Linneaus Gardens in Tulsa OK. Linneaus Gardens is a

teaching garden staffed by trained volunteers who share their

knowledge and love of gardening with the public and it was a great

learning opportunity for our members.

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Hotline

Hotline Inquiries for 2014

932 Total inquiries to the Hotline

Phone 638

4

134

46

Lawn and Garden Show and other

Fairs and Shows

Walk-In

Emails

Voice Mail 107

Other 3

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Hotline

Hotline Calls by County 2014

Barry 8

Barton 2

Bates

Benton 2

Berry 3

Boone 5

Camden 2

Carroll

Cedar 3

Christian 72

Clark

Cole

Crawford

Dade 14

Dallas 6

Dent

Douglas 17

Greene 624

Hickory 1

Howell 4

Jackson 1

Jasper 6

Johnson 1

Laclede 4

Lawrence 28

Macon

McDonald 4

Monett

Newton 1

Osage

Other

Other County 2

Out-of-State 12

Ozark

Pike

Polk 6

Pulaski 3

Ray

Shannon 2

St Louis

St. Clair

Stone 21

Taney 7

Texas 5

Vernon

Webster 31

Wright 3

(blank) 32

Grand Total 932

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The Gardens

The summer of 2014 was a fairly easy one for Southwest Missouri gar-

dens, since it included relatively normal temperatures and rainfall, with-

out prolonged periods of drought or many days of 100 degree weather.

The late cold snap that dropped to five degrees below zero meant the

death of the oldest lavenders, rosemary and a few other Zone 7 plants,

but most of the gardens’ specimens survived unscathed. The two Mas-

ter Gardener demonstration

gardens were, I think, impres-

sively colorful and well-kept,

thanks to a core of 21 dedicat-

ed Bedheads who worked

steadily from spring to winter

and over 100 volunteers who

attended one or more work

days.

We had some high points during the past year:

Improvements in the irrigation system at Nathanael Greene, thanks

particularly to the efforts of Glenn Blake, now provide regular water

to all parts of the garden

Barbara St.Clair conducted an annual pruning workshop at the Xeri-

scape Garden for almost thirty gardeners, including Master Garden-

ers from neighboring chapters.

The new garden bed to the north of Nathanael Greene was an out-

standing display of texture and color, thanks to excellent selections

by Gail Wright

Continued on next page

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Gardens

Margo Shull’s berm bed and ornamental grass area thrived for its second year

A timely workshop on how to prune wisteria, led by Glenn Blake and attended

by ten Master Gardeners, resulted in an excellent bloom period

Alice Greenfield assumed responsibility as kitchen

garden chair and led a team of vegetable garden-

ers throughout the growing season

Blueberries and brambles were removed from the

vegetable garden area to provide more space for

trial plants

Patrick Byers led a workshop on garlic and planted

an array of garlic varieties where the brambles had been

The Herb Society continued its partnership with Master Gardeners of Greene

County and “remodeled” several of the herb beds, including an especially suc-

cessful new thyme bed

Cindy Arrowood stepped down after ten years as a Bedhead in the Mixed Bor-

ders, but new Master Gardeners Lucinda Sinco and Heidi Gertz stepped up to

replace her

Jeanette Rouse transferred to Greene County and became a new Bedhead at

the Xeriscape Garden

The birthday celebration for Master Gardeners of Greene County was held in

the Nathanael Greene garden on October 3rd, amid impressive fall blooms,

decorations and grilling.

We do not have a method for estimating the number of visitors we have to either of the gardens, but

Bedheads and volunteer crew consistently recount that visitors are numerous, appreciative and very

complimentary. The verbal praise we receive as we work continues to be one of the greatest motiva-

tors for volunteering!

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Public Education

Hickory Hills School

Greenhouse and Natives

Hickory Hills School Greenhouse and Natives was started in 2012 and has cele-

brated three years of touching the lives of children and their parents through

plants. The Master Gardeners of Greene County partner with the school PTA, led

by Master Gardener Kay Johnson, to teach the students the joys of planting and

harvesting in the school’s rooftop greenhouse.

Here are some facts for 2014

There were 2000 contacts with students.

17 volunteers were involved.

LED grow lights were ordered to be installed.

For the first time, student were able to eat some of the produce grown in the

garden in the cafeteria.

There was a good crop of sweet potatoes and onions.

50 pounds of produce were donated to Ozarks Food harvest.

The greenhouse was invited to attend an open house in the fall.

2500 plants were grown for a total of 7900 plants in the last three years.

In 2012 there were two Redwing Blackbird nests near the pond, now there are

seven.

There were six Bufflehead Ducks.

There were several butterfly hatches this year.

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Public Education

Potting Shed University

The Potting Shed University Series has quickly become a favorite in the Public Education of our chapter. Now in its third year, Potting Shed University is a casual, hour-long series that begins in February and con-tinues through April. Held on Monday evenings from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm, it covers a diverse range of gardening topics. Potting Shed Univer-sity classes are a wonderful way to get ready for spring, learn gardening tips and techniques, and get the most out of your garden. We began Potting Shed classes not only to educate in an informal atmosphere, but to give the community a chance to get to know a Master Gardener. Res-idents from all over are encouraged to “stop by on the way home from work!” Potting Shed sessions are taught by our own Master Gardeners and are a wonderful way for members to share knowledge in an area they have found to be especially inter-esting and rewarding. Members of the community come to the clas-ses to learn something about a gardening practice they themselves have never attempted. We encour-age all members to step up and volunteer to share what they know at a Potting Shed class or volunteer to host a class, visit with attendees, and to be available to answer gardening questions.

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Public Education

Potting Shed University Classes 2014

February 24, 2014 – Winter Seed Sowing Missy Sanford, Master Gardeners of Greene County President March 3, 2014 – Companion Planting Joe and Cathy Wolven, Master Gardeners of the Ozarks March 10, 2014 – Missouri Native Plants for Home and Display Linda Ellis, Master Naturalist Gardener of Greene County March 17, 2014 – Basics of Organic Gardening Paul Robertson, Master Naturalist and botanical and natural science illustrator March 24, 2014 – Easy-care Lawns and Groundcovers Patrick Byers, Horticulture Specialist, SWMO Region March 31, 2014 – 20 Shrubs I would not be without in my Garden Gail Wright and Barbara St.Clair, Master Gardeners of Greene County April 7, 2014 – Intro to Herbs Barb Emge, Master Gardener of Greene County April 14, 2014 – Worm Composting Bins Kelly McGowan, Horticulture Educator, University of Missouri Extension Southwest Region April 21, 2014 – Butterfly Gardens–Inviting Winged Beauties to Your Yard Kathryn Kufahl, Master Gardener of the Ozarks April 28, 2014 – Creating Combos-Mixing Annuals and Perennials in your Garden Kathryn Kufahl, Master Gardener of the Ozarks Approximately 30 people attended each class.

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Public Education

Speakers Bureau

We are chapter members that speak to garden clubs, civic organizations, schools, church-es, or other venues on a wide variety of topics within the world of gardening, horticulture, landscaping and the environment. You do not have to be a polished speaker to be a part of Speakers Bureau. We have many opportunities for you to share your knowledge and love of gardening as you develop more and more confidence in your speaking abilities As Speakers Bureau grows, there will be many more speaking requests than we have speak-ers, so we are also in the continual process of reminding Master Gardeners of our commit-ment to education and our purpose of providing volunteer assistance to the MU Extension. By training volunteers to be a part of Speakers Bureau, we are fulfilling our specific mis-sion of providing horticultural information and training to the gardening public.

15 Speakers requests from June 2014 until Decem-

ber 2014: Including Plants of the Bible, Raised

Bed Gardening, Selecting Plants, Planning Gar-

dens. Requests came from a cross section of

community organizations including: Bass Pro

Corporate, Cherokee Middle School, Peapod

Preschool, Baptist churches and a variety of gar-

den clubs.

24

Public Education

Speakers Bureau continued Filled Requests: This leaves a total of 10 requests that were filled by speakers for this

time period. These include:

Cherry Court Garden Club – Plants of the Bible – June 13, 2014

Nancy Wiser – 40 attending

Bass Pro Corporate - Container Gardening – June 26, 2014

Nancy Wiser – 25 attending

Cherokee Middle School – Growing Native Plants – June 25, 2014

Nancy Wiser – 55 attending

Peapod Outdoor Classroom – Planning Meeting – August, 2014

Cathy Staats – 15 attending

Bass Pro Corporate – Fall Planting – September 12, 2014

Lucinda Sinco – 25 attending

First Baptist Church Brookline – Plants of the Bible – September 6, 2014

Darlene Heikkila – 40 attending

First Baptist Walnut Grove – Raised Bed Gardening – September 13, 2014 Nancy Wis-er – 30 attending

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Public Education

Learn to Grow in the Garden Series

Started in August of 2014, the Learn to Grow in the Garden Series classes represent what Master Gardeners do best: share research-based horticulture education in a garden setting. This series of classes was introduced to "put our Master Gardener Demonstration Gardens to work" by fulfilling our mission of education which is top priority. Master Gar-deners of Greene County volunteers teach about herbs, vegetables, flowers, cold frames, hot houses, composting and many other gardening topics to area Master Gardeners, Park Partners, and interested gardening enthusiasts in our community and surrounding commu-nities. Classes this year were:

Learn to Grow in the Garden: Loving Lavender: Barb Emge and Cathy Staats introduced about 50 attendees to the beauty of this herb as it fills the garden with sensory delight from its soothing and refreshing fragrance to its multitude of uses. We saw how it grows, talked about varieties, demonstrated oil, bottle and wand making, and answered

Learn to Grow in the Garden: Grow-ing Garlic: Bob Kipfer taught attendees about planting and caring for garlic. About 50 visitors joined us for the class.

Learn to Grow in the Garden: From Garden to Pantry: Alice Greenfield, vegetable gar-den sectionhead, gave tips and ideas to make the most of our garden harvest to about 40 visitors.

26

Public Education

Young Sprouts

Where else can you find a zip line, archery, geocaching, worm hunting and seed planting in

the same place? Grind corn, visit a Plant Zoo and make your own hummingbird feeder at

one of Springfield’s most popular children’s events, Young Sprouts in the Garden!

Master Gardeners of Greene County sponsored their signature children’s event, “Young

Sprouts in the Garden,” from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 17, 2015, at Nathanael-

Greene Close Memorial Park, 2400 S. Scenic Ave.

20 area organizations and volunteers, about 100 total, teamed up to host dozens of free

hands-on activities that educated children, ages 2-9, on gardening and nature, such as corn

grinding, ladybug land, worm digging, butterfly exhibit, herb planting and more.

“It’s an exciting time for adults to watch their children and friends’ children have one of the

special times of their lives,” said Master Gardener Susie Joplin. “They bond with nature and

learn how nature is very important to everyone’s lives. Young Sprouts impacts and makes a

difference in a child’s life.”

Last year All About Trees hosted the zipline: “Each child came to the traverse line with a

different attitude,” said Sandy Harrel. “Some were thrill seekers and they couldn’t wait to get

on the helmet and harness and go. Some were a

little nervous and weren’t quite sure whether to

do it or not. But all who went had huge smiles on

their faces at the end and a story to tell their

friends.”

About 700 visitors attended the event, including

parents and children. Children received a punch

card to try activities at each booth and then were

given a prize when the punch card was turned

into event staff.

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Public Education

Lawn and Garden Show

The 2014 Ozark Empire Fair Lawn and Garden Show was

held Feb 14-16. Master Gardeners provided a booth for

the general public as well as classes taught by Master Gar-

deners.

Topics and Presenters were:

Worm Composting Bins by Kelly McGowan

Easy Butterfly Gardening by Linda Bower

Planting a Water Garden by Pat Ware

Create an Inspired Kitchen Garden by Christine Chiu

Add spice to your Life: Grow your Own Herbs by Barb Emge and Jana Belk

A Guide to Growing Roses by Dan Faflak

Container Gardening by Mark & Renae Bernskoetter

Year Round Color by Renae Bernskoetter

Shade Gardening by Tom Lakowske

Finding Your Masterpiece by Katie Steinhoff

America’s Great Public Gardens by Katie Steinhoff

All About Hostas by Tom Lakowske

All About Tomatoes by Patrick Byers

Backyard Berries by Patrick Byers

Succulents for Indoors and Out by Paul Roberson

28

Our Future

Where Do We Go From Here?

Any well-tended garden doesn’t just happen. Gardens increase in health and

beauty proportionate to the love and care that is given to them. Behind each

garden is a gardener. The same is true of Master Gardeners of Greene Coun-

ty. It takes a team of volunteers with a common bond, a love of gardening,

learning, and sharing behind the scenes. As we move toward a volunteer

centered chapter, members of our organization are nurtured in their devel-

opment as individuals in the sense of learning, growing, progressing, acquir-

ing knowledge and skills, and we recognize

the benefits of allowing them to be crea-

tive and innovative. We depend on each

individual’s blend of skills, energies, experi-

ences, attitudes, and motivation.

As we move forward as a chapter, our

members will be at the heart of our organi-

zation. Our first priority should be an

awareness that the wellness and wellbeing

of our volunteers is important to our chap-

ter. Healthy and happy members make a healthy and happy chapter. We will

continue to seek out strong leadership to assist volunteers and support them

as they create and build our strong programs and projects. As a firm believer

in what Extension stands for, we also have a strong belief in equality of indi-

viduals and openness to new and differing ideas and methods. An openness

to changes and the ability to adjust to new research findings as they become

available will continually keep us on our toes and we will continue to stand

firm in the reliability of our research based evidence to support our teaching

and goals. Our members will need a firm understanding of the power of edu-

cating by the “repeat teaching” method from our beginning days.

29

Our Future continued

Where Do We Go From Here?

As we provide our services to the community, we focus on improving the

quality of life for Greene County and surrounding Southwest Missouri. By

providing affordable access to research based information and quality horti-

cultural information, we wish to be known for providing practical information

and demonstrations that are interactive and enjoyed by all, from the very

young, to the very old, and everyone in between. Springfield, Missouri

spends more horticultural dollars than almost any other city in America. As

the demand for horticultural in-

formation specific to our area in-

creases, we hope to promote lo-

cally sourced food and plant ma-

terials as well as caring for our lo-

cal resources.

Just like a garden counts on the

sun, rain and soil, so do we as

master gardeners. We must care

for the world we live in so future

generations can enjoy it, too. We

can teach about renewable ener-

gy, increasing energy independ-

ence, improving water quality, teaching water wise strategies, educating on

invasive species and reducing the use of fertilizers and pesticide usage. While

these ideas are popular, they are not fads. We can lead the charge by demon-

strating how to build rain gardens, use of rain barrels, using trees to reduce

utility costs and planting natives to cut down on water usage.

30

Our Future continued

Where Do We Go From Here?

Wellness and health are important factors in why our community chooses to

garden. As we move forward, we must look at the stunning statistics of obesi-

ty, including childhood obesity, mental health issues, aging gracefully, and

special needs of the disabled. A new study reports that children in schools

with vegetable gardens get more exercise and have higher test scores. With

nearly one in three children overweight in this country, school gardens could

be a simple, low-cost way to get kids moving. Stress relief, exercise, brain

health, nutrition, healing and immunity all are benefits of gardening. We can

share with others a connection with nature and provide a source for healing

for the mind, body and spirit through the love of gardening.

As Master Gardeners grows, we will need to partner and share our expertise

in other areas of the Botanical Gardens. While keeping our mission of educa-

tion at the forefront, we will be an integral part of the Botanical Gardens as it

transforms into a very popular destination. We will continue to provide hor-

ticultural information and training to the gardening public based on proven

research for our area while at the same time partnering with the Botanical

Gardens to offer wonderful programming in conjunction with the Botanical

Gardens.

We will continue to make a

difference in the lives of Master

Gardeners and the gardening

public by tending our garden of

education and “helping others

learn to grow”.