What is a Master Gardener?

To gain the title of Master Gardener Intern, a Trainee

·       Will receive a minimum of 50 hours of instruction

·       Will attend all classes

·       Will complete weekly quiz

·       Will complete a final examination

To be certified as a Dallas County Master Gardener, an Intern

·       Must complete a minimum of 50 hours of volunteer service in AgriLife-initiated projects in Dallas County

·       Interns will have to volunteer at a minimum of three separate projects: one R&D, one School, and one Community projects.

Recertification as a Master Gardener is an annual process that requires:

·       A minimum of 30 volunteer service hours

·       A minimum of 6 continuing education credits

The Dallas Arboretum is a 66-acre color display garden on the shores of White Rock Lake.  The mission of the Arboretum is to build and maintain a public venue that promotes the art, enjoyment and knowledge of horticulture, while providing opportunities for education and research.

Dallas County Master Gardeners may volunteer throughout the gardens to share their horticultural knowledge with Arboretum guest in the following capacities: Garden Guides/Tour Guides, Tram drivers, Guides in A Tasteful Place, docents and instructors in The Children’s Garden Galleries, and as instructors for the Learn To Grow series of classes in a A Tasteful Place.

Training for new volunteers is available for all of these assignments on a regular basis.

Located on land donated by Chapel Hill United Methodist Church, this four-way partnership also includes the city of Farmers Branch, Master Gardeners and the local community.  The goal of this project is to bring the community together in a shared educational experience and to establish a hands-on charity project.
To that end, 25% of the garden produce is donated to needy families through Metroplex Social Services.

Master Gardeners are available on most Saturday mornings to answer questions and provide hands-on guidance.  Additionally, they lead informational meetings at the Recreation Center focused on best horticultural practices.

Juliette Fowler Homes is a 16-acre community of 375 residents. The Juliette Fowler Garden program is known as Inspiring Gardeners through New Interactions, Time and Education (IGNITE) and seeks to “IGNITE” a cooperative interactive gardening community among residents, employees and volunteers. DCMGA provides leadership and coaches residents, community volunteers and employees in best horticultural practices through hands-on gardening, related activities and education.  Through the leadership of the DCMGA team, participants are encouraged to explore and establish a positive perspective of gardening, environmental stewardship and to identify choices for a healthy lifestyle.

In our Oak Cliff Parks project, Master Gardeners partner with Friends of Oak Cliff Parks in their mission to maintain and restore horticulture in the five historic parks of Oak Cliff, those being Lake Cliff Park, the Japanese Garden at Kidd Springs, Kiest Memorial Garden, Founders Park, and Kiest Conservation Area. These parks are graced with beautiful formal rose and crape myrtle gardens, perennial beds, an iris demonstration garden, butterfly/pollinator gardens and the remarkable work of the WPA in the water rill and pergola at Kiest Memorial Garden and the pavilions at Lake Cliff Park.

During 2018, MG and FOCP are installing a crape myrtle demonstration garden in a section of Lake Cliff Park where roses were lost to rosette disease.  This garden is expected to showcase 24 varieties of crape myrtles, mostly miniature and dwarf varieties.

The City of Dallas 2017 bond package included $600,000 for improvements to the Japanese Garden at Kidd Springs.  We will be working hand-in-hand with the City in the restoration and beautification of the hardscape features of the park, while continuing our work to reestablish the softscape.

Away from the dirt, together we also provide educational and social activities that promote the love of gardening.

This preschool garden, founded in 2012 in an economically challenged neighborhood, is supported by the church’s Creative Outreach Group and Master Gardener volunteers.  Thanks to a group of enthusiastic and hard working volunteers, the Academy Kids now benefit from an enriched outdoor environment and the magic of foods fresh from the garden.  Butterfly plants and vegetables grow in raised beds.  The children are engaged in discovering where their food comes from and how they can grow it themselves.  While designed to encourage very young children in an exploration of nature, the garden is also a model of sustainable horticultural practices, including appropriate plant selection, soil amendment, composting and water conservation.  Volunteers generally gather on Friday mornings and new recruits are welcome.

Located across from Parkland Hospital, the Salvation Army Carr P. Collins Center is the largest multi-use facility in The Salvation Army world. Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the Shelter Care Programs provide safe shelter and hot meals for individuals or families experiencing homelessness. Additional programming and support services are available to assist in a successful transition from homelessness to stability.

The garden project was launched in 2012 to provide a place of serenity for the residents of the facility and the dedicated staff. Master Gardener volunteers provide ongoing monthly maintenance, supplementary plantings and watering when needed. Residents are encouraged to participate, and horticultural best practices are shared by example in this WaterWise/Earth-Kind® garden.

Contributing Partners to this project include the Home Depot, Central Market and the Salvation Army.

The members of Temple Emanu-El, through the establishment of a community garden, have become a valued resource for the Vickery Meadow Food Pantry.  Guided by Dallas County Master Gardeners, volunteers of all ages donate their time and energy to growing fresh, healthy produce for people in need. In addition to providing a helping hand to others in our community, garden workers at Temple Emanu-El learn the best horticultural practice techniques in soil and water conservation, plant selection and integrated pest management.

This garden project offers an opportunity for personal learning and reflection on environmental responsibility.

Texas Discovery Gardens is a collection of gardens designed to teach effective ways to restore, conserve and preserve nature in an urban setting.  Included are a butterfly house, a water garden, a greenhouse and the EarthKeepers Educators program for children.

Master Gardeners can learn greenhouse propagation and management, become a Butterfly House docent or be an EarthKeepers Tour Guide.

The entrances to the Bath House Cultural Center and Winfrey Point provided Master Gardeners with an opportunity to create small demonstration gardens in a widely used public space.  Visitors to the park, along with the butterflies and bees, enjoy the artfully planted collection of native and adapted plants.  Master Gardeners maintain the gardens and answer visitor questions about using Earth-Kind® and WaterWise® practices

The Anne Frank Peace Garden encompasses a courtyard surrounded by three walls of the school building and a secure iron fence on the northwest side of the garden. This charming garden boasts a fishpond with aquatic plants, a redwood gazebo, raised vegetable beds, well designed pollinating gardens and a storage shed.

For the last couple of years, Master Gardener Sheila Spotswood has coordinated an impressive revival of this once weed ridden garden, transforming it into an oasis for learning and reflection. The garden now engages a group of MG volunteers meeting 2 or more days a week to assist with teaching students horticultural practices and garden maintenance. Teachers also use the garden to augment the school’s academic curricula. The garden has proven to be an important feature of this culturally diverse and largest elementary school in Dallas

Armstrong School, the first school in the Highland Park Independent School District, opened its doors in October 1914 after the incorporation of the Town of Highland Park in 1913. Mrs. John Scarborough Armstrong (Alice) donated the land upon which the school was built in memory of her late husband, the purchaser and developer of the area that became Highland Park.” Armstrong.hpisd.org website

Principal Skip Moran is the driving force behind the outdoor learning center on the Armstrong campus. A large tree and shrubs were removed to make room for and allow sunlight to the garden area on the south side of the building. The Junior Master Gardener Program has been implemented into Armstrong’s curricula and was registered with AgriLife Extension in May 2013. The Vegetable Garden utilizes raised beds with drip irrigation, compost bins, a 150-gallon rainwater collection cistern and an outdoor learning center under a pergola. Wrought-iron fencing, perennials, ornamental and fruit trees surround the garden. On the north side of the campus, there is a small butterfly garden

Twelve elementary schools in the Coppell ISD

The goal of this Title One School project is to educate both the students and the surrounding neighborhood on how to grow nutritional food using Earth Kind® and WaterWise® techniques. The gardens act as an outdoor classroom for both science and math lessons. Master Gardeners assist the faculty in preparing lessons for the children and planning for special events relating to the garden. Additional volunteer activities include maintaining the area by weeding, watering, and planting; harvesting rainwater; and making compost. Started in 2004, this award winning garden has inspired other school garden projects around the county

As a neighborhood school in DISD, Lakewood nurtures a strong level of parental and community support and involvement.   Teachers especially appreciate the alignment of the lessons in the Learn, Grow, Eat & Go curriculum with mathematics, science, writing, art, and literature teaching guidelines (TEKS). As the school continues its massive expansion over the next year, students will maximize their limited garden space while beautifying the Lakewood Outdoor Learning Area (known affectionately as LOLA) by planting wildflowers and native plants. Lakewood Elementary will also benefit from the Target 360 Wellness grant, which provides for an interdisciplinary Extension program for health and wellness. The Dallas County Extension faculty will facilitate three programs to engage students in powerful activities to inspire them to practice healthy behaviors, particularly related to growing food, preparing and consuming healthy food, and engaging in meaningful exercise.

Started in the fall of 2012, the focus of this school garden is to educate
young children about the cycle of food production from farm to table.
Using Earth-Kind/WaterWise® practices, along with curriculum support from
the Junior Master Gardener Program, volunteers work as mentors and as
hands-on helpers in the maintenance of the project.  This certified wildlife
habitat includes native plantings, vegetable beds and compost piles.
Additional volunteer opportunities are available after school with the Farm
Club.

Northwood Hills Elementary School, in the Richardson Independent School District, is located in Far North Dallas. Northwood Hills has a very active PTA and a dedicated group of volunteers, including past school families and community members. These volunteers come together for service days and funding as needed.

The garden consists of 24 raised beds, two keyhole gardens, a harvesting tank, drip irrigation, and a storage shed. The goal for this year is to plant a butterfly garden, and host an after-school garden club as well as farm-to-table club. Chickens will be added in the spring. This teaching garden hosts a variety of activities including Saturday programs, Service Days, Plant Days and Harvest Days, which help the students develop a connection to nature and a love of outdoor learning.

A dedicated group of Master Gardeners is teaching classes at all grade levels (Kindergarten through Sixth) this year, following the curriculum from Learn, Grow, Eat & Go!, a Texas A&M AgriLife Junior Master Gardener program. The hands-on curriculum enhances learning across all subject areas. DCMG has been involved with the school for three years.

Most of our classes occur on Mondays and Tuesdays. “Plant Days” are an all-school event in the early fall and spring and include a number of activities. “Harvest Days” also happen throughout the growing season, with a big harvest in May.

This Desoto school garden is a dynamic JMG project. The garden teacher is Patty Wallace who also coordinates our weekly DCMGA Volunteer Opportunities listings. The garden includes a fishpond and several raised beds where students are taught gardening principals using the JMG program. A recent visit revealed an enthusiastic group of students planting seeds to produce a spring harvest.

Because this project is in southern Dallas, it is an optimal location for Master Gardeners living in the area to serve their community while acquiring volunteer hours.