Excuse me? Yes — you with a trowel in your hand, the wide-brimmed sun hat on your head and a bag of potting soil by your side: Here?s an opportunity to learn more about the hobby you love while beautifying your community at the same time.
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The Gregg Master Gardeners planted the beautiful flowers and shrubs you see outside the Gregg County Courthouse.
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Denise McDonald and Tom Fanning, Master Gardeners, speak with Kathy Morrison at the Ellis Pottery booth at the 2009 Gregg County Garden and Landscape Seminar in March.
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Longview resident Joanie Abbott shows off her beautiful garden full of 2,000 azaleas, 200 rose bushes, 40 camelias and several dogwoods.
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This volunteer organization provides those interested in gardening an opportunity to make their community a more beautiful place. But bear in mind, the Gregg Master Gardener Association isn't just a "garden club" — it's an important part of the community and a part of town life.
Planting the seeds
Master Gardeners are members of the local community who are interested in lawns, trees, shrubs, flowers, gardens, vegetables and the environment. Anyone can become a Master Gardener, it just takes a willingness to learn about horticulture and share its research-based information with others.
To obtain the title of "Master Gardener," you must attend a 50-hour training course about the finer points of horticulture. In return, trainees are required to volunteer 100 hours of community service (the first 50 hours as an Intern, then another 50 as a true Master Gardener) through the Gregg County Extension office.
"I'm going through the program right now, and it's fascinating," said Joanie Abbott, Longview resident and lifetime gardener. "I've gone through the training part, I've volunteered my hours and now I'm an intern. During time as a Master Gardener Intern, you learn as much as you can because you'll be responsible for helping others with their grasses and flowers and things of that nature."
The Gregg County Extension office utilizes the Master Gardeners in many ways, from answering phone calls on landscaping questions, assembling the gardeners for various community projects and even asking them to speak at events on relevant horticulture topics.
Cultivating passion
Longview resident Laura Winborn joined the program in 2002 after retirement. She and her husband, Connie, were longing to work in their own backyard, but neither thought they had much of a green thumb. When they learned about the Master Gardener program, they immediately signed up for the course, and their love for all things horticulture just bloomed.
"To be a Master Gardener, you must want to go beyond your own self interest because you're responsible for sharing the information you've received with others, be it your neighbors, family members or friends," Laura said.
The group has nearly 60 members now, and evidence of its members' handiwork is all over the city.
"We planted the main bed at the courthouse," Laura said. "Some of us have completed gardening projects at our churches, some have revamped the Shakespeare Garden at Kilgore College, and now a group is working to beautify Margaret's House in Longview."
The background of each member is as diverse as the plants they use to beautify the community.
"We have a stay-at-home mom, several nurses and educators, retired military ..." Laura said. "This group is made up of men and women, and we have a really great cross-section of people to work with."
There are even some in the bunch who may be so new to gardening they can't identify a set of pruners from a soil scoop. But that's OK ... that's what training's for.
"It doesn't matter how long you've been gardening, because things continually change," Joanie said. "I encourage anyone who has the least bit of interest and some time on their hands to join this program. It's a great way to meet new friends who share a common passion. Plus, it's good therapy to stop and smell the roses."
