On Being a Master Gardener
Last night, Taylor and I attended the Utah State University Master Gardener dinner and I finally received my “official” certificate for being a Master Gardener.
What is a Master Gardener? A Master Gardener is an individual with a green thumb. People who love gardening, digging in the dirt, and don’t even mind the occasional weed. They are community-minded who volunteer to share their gardening knowledge, plant, and maintain public gardens. To become a Master Gardener I completed a college-level horticulture class and completed 40 plus hours of community service. Going through the program and being a member of the association is something that I throughly enjoy. It was great to get out of the house and rub shoulders with those individuals who have the same interests. I personally love being outside on a warm day (if it’s cold, forget it, I’m a wimp!) and digging in the dirt. I love taking something, changing it, and making it better. I love to watch things grow and to beautify the space around me.
In honor of receiving my certificate, I’d thought I’d list my favorite gardening books:
American Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants by Christopher Brickell . The Bible of Gardening. A must have.
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Ortho’s Home Gardener’s Problem Solver by Ortho Books. Any title in the Ortho’s series is great! This one solves all your problems, thus the name of the title.
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All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. These are some great ideas that I have incorporated into my own garden. Square foot gardening is a great way to go.
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Sunset Western Garden Book by Kathleen Norris Brenzel. A must have for the western garden.
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Better Homes and Gardens New Garden Book by Better Homes and Gardens. A great comprehensive reference book.
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These are just a very, very, very small sampling of the many wonderful gardening books available, but give a good comprensive introduction to gardening. Check out my website for the American Horticultural Society’s Book Awards. They have chosen the best of the best. Although, it’s winter now, gardening books make the best Christmas gift for the gardener in your life. It will beat the winter blues!
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Category: Book Lists, Home & Garden
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Congratulations Natasha on completing the Master Gardener course. That’s a great accomplishment.
Leisa
on December 6th, 2007 at 7:49 amI’m not that great at gardening, but if we lived closer I’d plumb the depths of your knowledge on gardening…it’s not a serious hobby of mine, but something that I’ve always found fascinating. You should post pictures of your own garden!
I’m getting married in a garden by the way! It’s just beautiful…
on April 16th, 2008 at 11:41 pmThis is inspiring! I don’t have much of a green thumb, but I always dream that someday I will.
on April 18th, 2008 at 10:31 amI wonder if there is a similar program in Chicago? My goal is to begin a garden, primarily a food garden once we move from our condo to a house. I hope I’m not terrible at it. I’m pretty terrible at remembering to water plants inside, but hopefully if I was trying to grow my own squash and tomatoes I would remember.
on April 22nd, 2008 at 7:29 amCongratulations again. I would love to do this program but do not have time now. I have a flower garden but no vegetables. We do not get much sun in our yard so I am very limited on what I can plant. I have a nice variety of hostas!
on April 26th, 2008 at 6:26 pmTrish – It’s really fun. I’ve started to teach monthly gardening classes to my women’s group at church. Keeps me on my toes and helps me not to forgot what I taught in class. When is the big day?
Sherry – It all starts with a dream!
Devourer of Books – Every state has a Master Gardener program. It’s actually done at the county level through the college in your state that has been chosen to handle the program. I lived in New Lenox (south of Chicago, near Juliet) in high school. At that time, my Mom went through the program (I guess it’s in our blood). So they should.
Erin – Everything has it’s time and place. I managed to do my certification while I was pregnant and had a 18 month old. If I could do it, anybody could it!
on April 26th, 2008 at 10:43 pmHi – one of the reasons I read readingblogs is to find books to ordere for the library. (I’m a librarian..) This is a good, basic list, and I’ll make sure the library owns these !
Thank you for introducing me to so many books for myself and for the library.
on May 5th, 2008 at 6:20 am