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About BCMG | Becoming a Master Gardener | By-laws | BCMG Projects & Events | BCMG History | Meeting Schedule | Member Status | Horticulture Table | Awards |
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About BCMG
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The Master Gardener Program is a
volunteer program in which individuals are trained
specifically to represent the Extension Service to help
with providing approved information
on gardening and to
develop community programs related to horticulture.
Master Gardener training includes 40 hours of
classroom instruction an d
many hours of ongoing education in botany, soil science,
plant propagation, pest management, pesticide and
herbicide usage, vegetable and ornamental plant
gardening, plant and weed identification, pruning, and
other horticulture related subjects. Once trained,
Master Gardeners aid the Extension Service and give back
to their local communities by doing work related to
horticulture,
such as designing and implementing
community improvement projects, working with special
groups in the community, disseminating approved
horticultural information, answering questions,
researching
specific problems, planting educational and
therapeutic gardens, providing public speakers and much
more.
Find out how the Master
Gardener program began by clicking on the
"History"
page. Explore our many community projects on the
"Projects"
page, and be sure to visit the
"Awards"
page where we get a chance to brag about the kudos we’ve received from
the
results of our labors and calloused green thumbs!
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Our
Group
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Baxter County Master Gardeners are affiliated with
the
University of
Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.
The
Arkansas State Master Gardener Program
is offered by the U of A Cooperative Extension Service and is designed
to increase the availability of horticultural information and improve
quality of life with horticultural projects.
During their monthly meetings, they have an interesting and educational program
related to some aspect of horticulture or gardening. Some
time is spent examining and discussing horticultural specimens brought in by
members and frequently share gardening problems and solutions. A short
business meeting is also conducted and, of course, refreshments are
served!
In addition to monthly meetings,
Special Interest
Groups (SIGs)
meet from time to time.
SIGs are an
educational program designed for BCMG
members with common interest to expand their
knowledge in various topics as garden
plants, wildflowers, herbs, vegetables,
composting, pruning, propagation,
pest
control, irrigation systems etc. Members
will be notified when a SIG
Project involvement is a very important part of
the group. All
members contribute a minimum or 10 hours annually (20 hrs
for first year
new MG’s) to
“sanctioned
projects”. A
complete description of each project,
along with photos, contact
information, and locations can be found on the
Projects/Photos
page.
Most of these involve gardening projects in the community around
public buildings or parks. Members select which projects they wish
to work on, but are welcome to work on any project on a scheduled work
day. Project work can involve planting, weeding, garden layout and
design, pruning, mulching, propagation, etc,
Other sanctioned projects include propagation of plants for the
annual plant sale, working
in the Horticulture room at the Baxter County
Fair, answering questions and providing information to the public at the
KTLO Home and Garden Show,
and being a
mentor
to new Master Gardeners.
The largest and perhaps most notable sanctioned
project is our
annual Gardening Seminar.
While other groups may put on partial day seminars, our group puts on an
all day seminar for the public which includes knowledgeable speakers on
various gardening topics. Extensive gardening information is
provided, and members provide horticultural specimens from their gardens
for display. Specimens are identified where possible.
Gardening crafts and books
are provided by members for drawings, and of
course, copious refreshments are served!
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