April Reese

University of Georgia

For people who love gardening and enjoy
helping others, the
chance to glean from the best gardening minds’ knowledge should
be intensely appealing.

For those who want to be Master Gardeners or for current
Master
Gardeners who want to brush up on their skills, the State
Botanical Garden will offer training in Athens, Ga., Jan. 8
through Mar. 25.

Check with the University of Georgia Extension Service
office in
your county to see if a Master Gardener training is offered
closer to you.

Applications for the Athens training must be in by Nov. 1.
Space
is limited. Classes will meet Tuesday and Thursday mornings from
8:45 to 11:15 a.m. The cost is $130. Certified Master Gardeners
can attend sessions for $5 each.

Now in its 13th year, the 22-session Master Gardener program
provides intensive classes in horticulture principles and
practices and pest management.

Topics include soils and plant nutrition, insects, plant
diseases, landscape design, vegetables, woody ornamentals, turf
grasses, weeds, organic gardening, wildflowers, trees, small
fruits, composting, mulching and more.

Master Gardeners must pass a final exam and agree to return
50
hours of volunteer service in the first year. The service may be
answering questions in the extension office, helping conduct
gardening clinics, working on community beautification projects
or helping at the State Botanical Garden.

Nearly 2,500 active Georgia Master Gardeners gave more than
103,000 hours of service in 2000.

To learn more about the program or get an application, call
Andrea Fischer at (706) 542-6195, or email her at
(sbgvol@uga.edu). Or visit the
Master Gardener Web site (www.gamastergardener.org).

The Georgia Master Gardener Volunteer Program is run by the
UGA
Extension Service and the UGA College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences. The Athens-Clarke County program is
sponsored by the State Botanical Garden of Georgia and the
county
extension office.

(April Reese is a news writer with the University of
Georgia
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)