Master Gardeners 101
Lora Parsons
The Ashland Beacon
If you search for synonyms for the word “master,” you’ll see things like expert, authority, prodigy and genius. Spend time with any of Boyd County’s estimated 35 Master Gardeners, and you’ll learn that these descriptors all perfectly fit the folks who have earned that title. This group not only seeks to better their own knowledge of horticulture, but has at the heart of all they do the betterment of the community at large.
Boyd County’s Master Gardener program is focused on improving the horticulture in our area and is open to anyone who has an interest in gardening and volunteering. Classes begin at the end of Jan. each year, meeting once a week for 16-18 weeks total. They are taught by Lori Bowling, the Extension Agent for Horticulture and Master Gardener Program Coordinator. Participants learn about such things as botany, entomology, soils, fertilizer and plant pathology, to name a few. Passing a test upon completion of the course leads participants into their volunteer year, where they are required to complete 40 hours of volunteer service to the extension horticulture programs. When the course, test and volunteer hours are completed, participants will earn their Kentucky Master Gardener certificate. Maintaining the certificate requires 20 volunteer hours and 10 educational hours annually. With this level of knowledge and experience behind the certificate, it’s no small wonder that our Boyd County Master Gardeners are authorities in the field…quite literally.
The Master Gardeners are vital to the success of horticulture in Boyd County. Many of the programs offered simply would not be possible without their involvement. The Christmas wreath-making program, for example, is successful every year as a result of the volunteers who staff it. On a regular year, they carry the workload, advising wreath-makers, stocking tables and providing the general manpower needed to pull off an event of that size. Chat with anyone who has served for a few years in this capacity, though, and it won’t take long to hear about how impactful the Master Gardeners were during 2020 when COVID transformed life for all of us. That year, the Master Gardeners found a way to still host their wreath-making event despite the fact that businesses were shut down, schools were virtual, and the whole world was on lockdown. Bowling said, “This took some strategic planning but we took orders, worked at the distance required, and pre-made wreaths” for the kits that would be assembled. Those who purchased a kit received the wreath, bow ornaments to decorate them, and instructions for final assembly through a Facebook video she created. Under these extenuating conditions, the community benefited from the work of the Master Gardeners who provided a remarkable 500 kits ready for the usual participants to pick up and finish at home.
While most of the programs offered by the Master Gardeners specifically benefit our local area, Bowling also teaches a course at the federal prison in Summit each year, spreading the knowledge she has to inmates who can carry that back to their own homes when they are released. Upon completion of the same requirements as other Master Gardeners, they also receive a certificate, though their volunteer hours must, by nature of their environment, look a little different. Inside the walls of the prison sits a six-acre garden cultivated to benefit River Cities Harvest. Inmates earn their volunteer hours by working this garden, simultaneously benefiting themselves and our local community, instilling a sense of pride and accomplishment into their time served. Bowling began teaching this program in 2001 and has watched it increase in all its types of productivity for more than 20 years now. She reports, “This past year was the largest year the garden has had with a total of 135,540 pounds of produce.” Some 500 inmates have walked away from their incarceration with a certificate and a story of giving back.
The good that the Master Gardeners give to our area doesn’t stop there. While their wreath-making event is perhaps their most well-known, there are other programs spearheaded by the Master Gardeners that occur throughout the year. One of those is their annual Garden Shed Herb Day that is held the third Saturday of May, featuring the various uses of the Herb of the Year as designated by the International Herb Association. Participants of Herb Day, which is open to the public, learn about the herb (yarrow this year), eat a meal with multiple foods containing that year’s herb and create a product with the herb as the main ingredient to take home. Many artisans and vendors with horticultural products also set up to sell items to the community such as garden-grown spices, dried floral arrangements and local sorghum. Participants also receive an herb plant and a cookbook with recipes from every item served at the luncheon. The 200 available tickets for the event go on sale at the beginning of April each year, cost $25 per person, and are in limited supply.
The group also funds a scholarship for college students going into a horticultural or agricultural field, not only investing in an individual young adult but also strengthening the future success of horticulture and agriculture in our community. To raise money for the scholarship, they make their own apple butter to sell each Sept. .
Regardless of the details, the methods or the time of year, the Boyd County Master Gardeners are a special group of people focused on making this corner of the world a greener, healthier place for all of us fortunate enough to call it “Home.” Those who have already achieved this certification eagerly await this year’s new round of future Master Gardeners. And, all of us who benefit from the work of the Master Gardeners give all of you two GREEN thumbs-up!
To learn more about all the Master Gardeners have to offer, or to enroll in this year’s class, follow them on Facebook at “Boyd County Master Gardeners,” call the office at 606.739.5184, or email Lori Bowling at
