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Learn more about WMMGA by reading the October 2024 issue of The Grapevine, our monthly newsletter for members.

What Does Being a Master Gardener Mean?

 

 

What does being a Master Gardener mean?

Proud for sure! Master Gardeners have learned a lot and passed a rigorous course in horticultural fundamentals that consumed a big part of our lives while 
we were doing it, then followed it with an extensive period volunteering on an array of projects.


Challenged! There’s always something new to learn or some new problem on the horizon. Keeping up or feeling pressed to “know” the answer can be daunting. Just remember, even the experts don’t know the answer to everything. The answer is often, “I don’t know but I’ll find out.”


Empowered! As Master Gardeners we’ve learned how to research and investigate, and each of us have developed a network of others we can draw on to find answers. Every new class taken or problem figured out builds on the foundation of the fundamentals we learned in the training course.


Connected! Master Gardeners are an incredibly talented and knowledgeable bunch with a wide range of interests & life experiences. We enjoy working with each other on ongoing WMMGA projects & events that help educate home gardeners as well as maintain local green spaces and support food security.


What Master Gardeners Do

 

Like the plants we love, Master Gardeners continue to grow and learn. Being a Master Gardener isn’t a static, one-and done accomplishment. It’s an active commitment to being involved by helping people with their gardening problems in a sustainable way. This takes many forms such as holding the spring symposiums, being at a community garden, or talking at a local library, among many others

 

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Gardening Questions? Ask A Master Gardener!

 

 

PHONE HOTLINE: Call the Hotline with your gardening questions at any time: 413-298-5355. WMMGA Master Gardeners will answer your questions and call you back! Please leave your name, your question, your phone number (or email address), and the best time to reach you on the answering machine any day of the week. We will call you back when we have an answer to your question.


EMAIL HOTLINE: Send an email to askwmmga@yahoo.com. What we need to know to answer your question.


The Springfield Museums Thank the Master Gardeners



In this video, the Springfield Museums highlight the wonderful work by our volunteer Master Gardeners. Interviews with Master Gardeners Janet Dolder, Carol Hegeman, and Beate Bolan.


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The Pollinators Garden at Grow Food Northampton

 

The Pollinators Garden at Grow Food Northampton (GFN) was launched in 2017 when the Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Association (WMMGA) was invited to take responsibility for one 20’ x 20’ plot, directly adjacent to a healthy stand of sumac and Japanese knotweed. An initial gift of mostly unlabeled pollinator seeds and plants from Nasami Farm (Native Plant Trust) and the Northampton Community Garden got the project off the ground (or in the ground). Since that time, the Garden has grown fourfold to 1600 square feet. More than 60 species of pollinator-friendly plants have emerged or been installed over the past five years. We continue to work to contain the more exuberant, fast-spreading species, to protect light and space for more delicate plants, and to ensure that the Garden will attract a range of native pollinators. We hope that this guide will be helpful to other gardeners in western Massachusetts who wish to install pollinator-friendly spaces in their yards and gardens.


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©2024 Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Association