Masters of the garden

When Liberty Lake’s Louise Quirk moved to the Inland Northwest from California, she found that her green thumb had paled. In the Golden State, she could plant a seed or bulb, and it usually would grow. Cultivating plants here was tougher. “I wanted to accelerate the learning curve for this new climate, so I took a job at a nursery,” she says. A co-worker encouraged her become a master gardener, which she did. “Plant the right plant in the right place and you’ve got a 75 percent chance of success. Add the right amount of water and you’ve got an 89 percent chance of success,” she says of what she learned. But being a master gardener is more than knowing how to grow a kumquat well. Those with this title earned it in a training program where they deepened their horticultural roots, learned the science behind their knack for growing things and mastered environmental stewardship. Master gardeners volunteer to educate the community on topics like water conservation and quality, invasive plant species, and nutrition. They lecture, write articles, help set up or manage gardens for the elderly or poor, and even work with the courts to rehabilitate troubled youth. In the Inland Northwest, master gardener training is offered through Washington State University and the University of Idaho extension programs. WSU launched its program in 1973, after two of its “extension agents” in western Washington began receiving more questions than they could handle from citizens about home gardening. The program became a model for the rest of the nation. “Spokane County trained its first class of WSU Master Gardeners in 1974,” says Penny Simonson, the program’s Spokane-based coordinator. “This grassroots effort by local extension personnel is now a highly-respected program that is a part of any state in our nation with a land grant university extension program. If you live in New York, for example, you are a Cornell University Master Gardener; if you live in Oregon, you are an Oregon State University Master Gardener.” In Spokane County, there are about 125 master gardeners, and each must receive 10 hours of additional training and volunteer at least 40 hours per year, Simonson says. Noted graduates include Phyllis Stephens, seen on KXLY-TV; and Pat Munts and Susan Mulvihill, who both write garden articles for The Spokesman-Review. “I love gardening and wanted to learn more, but a conventional gardening club didn’t appeal to me,” says Spokane’s Susan Malm. The structure of WSU’s program and volunteer opportunities appealed to her. “I learned that a lot of gardening practices I had been using for years (such as planting trees, pruning trees and shrubs, fertilizing perennials, etc.) were wrong. It was very satisfying learning the right way.” The Idaho Master Gardeners began in 1976, and two years ago graduated nearly 500 new Master Gardeners in its Idaho and Idaho-Utah program. Kootenai County currently has 47 “veteran” master gardeners who have been certified for three or more years, and 24 more are being trained, says Dorothy Kienke, who has coordinated the county’s program for 20 years. Kootenai County’s gardeners are teaching a series of classes at libraries in Rathdrum, Spirit Lake, and Athol. “A recent project is a garden at the St. Vincent De Paul Clubhouse,” Kienke says. “One of our master gardeners is currently teaching gardening classes at five local grade schools, and they are in high demand for speaking engagements. They are also responsible for the beautiful plantings at the fairgrounds. Once completing a training program, master gardeners must volunteer their time and are prohibited from accepting money or commercially advertising their titles. Volunteer duties might include operating plant-diagnostic clinics, answering questions about pests and environmentally sound gardening practices, installing landscapes at public sites, beautifying hospitals and senior centers, organizing community gardens, instructing others, or leading garden-related clubs. Last year, Bonner County’s 56 master gardeners logged 3,800 volunteer hours, says Mike Bauer, Sandpoint-based Extension educator, horticulture and small farms. “A lot of them say a lot of the learning doesn’t take place in the classroom but as a volunteer,” he says. “It’s a group that’s constantly learning. Some master gardeners in our program have been involved for 10 to 12 years. If you want to get serious about gardening this is the way to do it.” Says Spokane’s Malm, “When I answer gardening questions, I also give clients the references that enable them to do their own research in the future. As a result, they become more self-reliant and confident that they can solve a lot of their gardening problems themselves. This makes for more informed gardeners who will enjoy more success.” Quirk also enjoys assisting others. “I like to help folks learn about new plants that would work well in their garden and take less maintenance. I especially like helping children learn how to grow their own food.” Recently, there has been an increased interest in home gardening and people wanting to grow their own food, WSU’s Simonson says. The Bonner County Extension has seen a 30 percent increase in such requests, and Bauer has added classes to meet demand. “I am seeing a great increase in interest in growing vegetable gardens, partly due to the current economy, but also in the interest of growing healthy food,” Kienke says. “There is also a great rise in the interest of home canning.” Its recent “Preserving the Bounty” canning class was filled plus a waiting list, so another class will be offered in July. “We really feel that if we can get a person started growing a garden in the right way—teach them successful methods, what works best in our climate, how to prepare the soil, best watering techniques, all that—that, with those successes, they will be encouraged to try more things,” Simonson says. “A good gardener is one that always continues to learn, and the more you learn the better you’ll do. If someone is disheartened by their efforts, they are less likely to keep gardening.” From March to October, the WSU Master Gardeners operate a plant clinic and resource center at 222 N. Havana, in Spokane. It is open from Monday through Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday. The Idaho Master Gardeners’ plant clinic in Sandpoint is open Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., year-round. The resource center contains publications and videos on plant identification, pests and diseases, weeds, landscape trees and shrubs, perennials, grasses and groundcovers, native plants, greenhouses, plant propagation, and other horticultural topics. “Anyone can come in for pest identification, answers to gardening problems, plant identification, appropriate tree selection, information on pruning techniques, growing home fruit and berries, all that,” Simonson says. To become a master gardener, one must fill out an application and be accepted. The process at WSU is somewhat selective. “Because we are limited to how many volunteers we can accept, we look for experienced gardeners,” Simonson says. “But when we cull through our applications, we are also looking for what each person can bring to the program from other parts of their lives, such as public speaking, teaching, working with children, etc.” WSU currently is training 33 people, less than half of the 75 who applied. The cost of the training program is $200. Sandpoint’s trainees include two Montana residents. Some students are overwhelmed by the amount of information they receive in the training classes, Bauer says, but they discover why some of their gardening methods had failed. The cost of Sandpoint’s training is $175. A 2006 graduate of the WSU program, Malm spends most of her volunteer time with youths. “Teaching a child to sow seeds and care for plants is a real joy. The enthusiasm that children have is energizing for me, and I find the unbridled delight and wonder that they display when they see how their plants have grown to be very inspiring,” she says.