PUBLICATIONS Inside Illinois Vol. 25, No. 23, June 15, 2006

Master gardeners help others learn to grow

By Sharita Forrest, Assistant Editor
217-244-1072; slforres@uiuc.edu

Click photo to enlarge Photo by L. Brian Stauffer Business is blooming Monica David, Illinois master gardener coordinator, is shown in the Idea Garden of the UI Arboretum with a topiary nicknamed “Harry Dood,” a face composed of purple fountain grass, coral bells and other low-growing plants. Local master gardeners help tend the 14,264-square-foot garden on south Lincoln Avenue, which is used to demonstrate environmentally responsible gardening practices and to encourage gardeners to experiment with plants and techniques.

Shelley Siuts said she always has loved gardening, but for some unknown reason all her houseplants seemed to wither away. At the urging of some friends, Siuts joined the UI Master Gardeners program. Siuts, an information technology specialist in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, began the online training course in January and soon solved the mystery about why her houseplants were withering: the water-softener salt in her tap water was toxic to them and she needed to rotate the pots around the house to vary their exposure to sunlight.

Begun in 1972, the Illinois Master Gardener program now has more than 3,475 active master gardeners around the state, and more than 600 people go through the training annually.

To achieve the designation master gardener, participants undergo 60 hours of training by UI Extension staff or university faculty and staff members, a noncredit course that covers all facets of horticulture – such as botany, soils, diseases and landscape design. The training is offered January – May each year and rotates to sites around the state. The online program, begun in 2002, covers the same material, but enables students to complete the course from home. The Junior Master Gardener program offers horticulture and environmental science education activities for youth as well. Both programs require that the gardeners share their expertise through community service activities.

Monica David, Illinois master gardener coordinator and an Extension specialist in the department of natural resources and environmental sciences, administers the state program by overseeing 78 local program coordinators, teaches the online curriculum and assists with plant pathology education.

“I think the real importance of the program is what the master gardeners give back to the community,” David said. “A common misconception is that they’re just people who know a lot about gardening, and they have beautiful gardens in their homes. That really isn’t the case. Their greatest love is sharing their knowledge. Our motto is: ‘Helping Others Learn to Grow.’ ”

Once they graduate from the course, participants serve 60-hour internships performing community service, and they share their expertise in myriad ways, including writing newsletters and speaking on radio and television programs or giving talks to clubs and scout troops. They also answer consumers’ questions at Extension offices or at community events. Last year, the master gardeners fielded nearly 50,000 consumer questions, David said.

A familiar face to Central Illinois television viewers is that of Extension educator Sandra Mason, who heads the Champaign County Master Gardeners chapter.

Program participants share the palliative powers of gardening by coordinating therapy gardens or horticultural activities in nursing homes and correctional facilities. They also lead after-school programs, judge 4-H exhibits and tend a number of demonstration gardens around the state, such as the Idea Garden at the southeast corner of Lincoln and Florida avenues on the Urbana campus, and the Chicago Botanical Garden in Glencoe.

Click photo to enlarge Photo by L. Brian Stauffer Learning to grow A gazebo is the focal point of the Idea Garden, which also contains the Children’s Garden, the Rose Garden and the Berry Patch, a sampling of fruit-bearing plants that furnish attractive and edible landscaping.

But, more important, the master gardeners’ green thumbs help feed the hungry by growing produce to donate to food banks, either in their own gardens, in collective plots or in gardens sponsored by churches and other charitable organizations. During 2005, Illinois’ master gardeners donated more than 200,000 pounds of produce.

Many of the Illinois master gardeners have been actively involved in the master gardeners’ program for years, some for as long 20 or 25 years, David said.

In Illinois, master gardeners who have distinguished themselves through sustained excellence and teamwork are honored at a three-day annual conference. Master gardeners around the U.S. and Canada also convene for a biennial conference, which was held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, during 2005. Two Illinois chapters won honors at the conference:  the Champaign County chapter, for its rose garden program, and the Vermilion County chapter, for its First Tuesday gardening classes.

David and Ken McPheeters, who is an instructional support team leader in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences and a horticulture instructional materials specialist with the master gardeners program, are coordinating an 11-day trip to the Pacific Northwest, where participants will tour 14 public and private gardens in Portland, Ore., Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia. Coordinator David hopes to organize future trips to Europe and Costa Rica, which is a leading exporter of orchids and other agricultural products.

Siuts, who hopes to complete her service work and obtain her certification this summer, said she was pleased with the program, which has spared the lives of her houseplants and helped her improve her gardening skills all around. Now if Siuts can find a way to make the family dog quit sleeping on – and crushing – her outdoor plants. 

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