Volume 12, Number 3, 2004
Those who have earned the designation "Master Gardeners" are, as the name implies, folks who are blessed with green thumbs. They know how to properly prune a viburnum, the perfect time to plant asparagus and the best way to coax vines to cascade across a backyard trellis.
Still, what makes Master Gardeners special isn't what they know but what they do with their knowledge.
Sponsored by Delaware Cooperative Extension, the county-based volunteer organization's mission is to bring research-based horticultural and environmental information to the public. Some ways the Master Gardeners achieve this are through gardening classes and workshops, youth programs at schools and camps, demonstration gardens, telephone diagnostic lines and community service projects. Although statistics show that volunteerism is on the decline nationwide, the 200-plus Delaware Master Gardeners buck this trend and demonstrate remarkable zeal and commitment to the group's programs and services.
Take Peg Baseden, a retired Wilmingtonian who has been a New Castle County Master Gardener for 18 years. Baseden devotes more than 100 hours a year to the organization, focusing much of her time and energy on youth education, including her special passion--creating butterfly gardens at area elementary schools. Recently, she took up insect video photography and has shot captivating images of butterflies emerging from their chrysalises. She says she loves seeing children's eyes light up as they watch this amazing metamorphosis unfold.
And, then, there's Newark resident Rob Medicus. This 47-year-old puts in long workdays with Prudential, Fox & Roach Realtors, but for the past 10 years, he's also found time to be an active New Castle County Master Gardener. He joined the group after taking one of its most popular courses, a four-part landscape design class.
"I was hooked," Medicus says. "It was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot. I decided I wanted to be a part of such a vibrant, worthwhile organization."
Each fall and spring, Medicus teaches a workshop that focuses on environmentally responsible ways to maintain a green lawn, and he regularly speaks to community groups on a range of horticultural topics. In addition, he does a bit of informal teaching during the course of his daily work.
"I encounter a lot of homeowners and prospective homeowners who readily admit that they don't know much about lawn and garden care," Medicus says. "So, I make a point of informing them of all the resources at their disposal through the Master Gardeners and Cooperative Extension."
"Delaware Master Gardeners consistently go above and beyond what's asked of them. You won't find more dedicated and professional individuals anywhere," Jo Mercer, Extension horticulture educator for New Castle County, says.
Master Gardeners come from all walks of life. Some live on large farms in Sussex County, others in Kent County subdivisions with generous lots and still others in townhouses or apartments in New Castle County. Their occupations and interests vary widely, from Medicus, the real estate broker, to Baseden, who is a retired labor-and-delivery nurse. Others work in, or are retired from, such diverse positions as police officer, corporate manager, public relations specialist, administrative professional and attorney.
Whatever their backgrounds, when they join Master Gardeners, they all become teachers.
Because teaching isn't as easy as it might look, the Master Gardener program offers a training session. This 12-week series of horticulture and education classes, offered biannually in each county, is designed to "make good educators out of good gardeners," Mercer says.
It's no accident that the course is called "basic training." Although prospective Master Gardeners don't march in formation or learn how to make up a four-corner cot, their training, like its military namesake, is thorough, intensive and rigorous. It encompasses everything from entomology and plant pathology to leadership development and program evaluation.
The training program prepares new Master Gardeners for whatever challenges they choose to take on, whether that's speaking in front of a large audience for the first time, designing new adult education workshops, developing and maintaining the organization's web site or discovering techniques for keeping young children engaged in a horticulture lesson.
A brand-new addition to the program this year is an apprenticeship, in which prospective Master Gardeners are paired with veterans before their training is complete. "The apprenticeship program gives members-in-training an opportunity to get out in the field quickly, working side by side with experienced Master Gardeners," Mercer says. "This gives them a real feel for what we do and what areas interest them most."
The training is challenging, but that doesn't mean volunteers need an advanced degree to get through it. While there are Master Gardeners with doctorates, there are plenty of others whose formal education ended with high school. Curiosity, an interest in learning and the desire to share what they've learned are the only prerequisites, Mercer says.
And, although the Master Gardeners are earnest about their mission, they say they also have plenty of fun while helping others.
"One of the reasons I'm a Master Gardener is because of the camaraderie of the group," Baseden says. "I've made some wonderful friends, and we really have a good time together."
--Margo McDonough, AS '86, '95M