Boston Flora

Tag: Massachusetts Master Gardener Association

  • Tuesdays, January 9 – April 30, 8:45 am – 12:00 noon – 2024 Massachusetts Master Gardener Certification Program

    Beginning October 1, 2023, the Massachusetts Master Gardener Association will be accepting applications for the 2024 Massachusetts Master Gardener Certification Program.The Master Gardener program grew out of extension education services offered through land grant universities in the United States. The first Master Gardener program was established in 1973, and today there are master gardener programs in all 50 states and in 8 provinces in Canada. The mission of the Master Gardener program is focused on urban and suburban gardens with emphasis on unbiased scientific horticultural practices. The Massachusetts Master Gardener organization (MMGA) became an independent organization in 2008 and has grown to have more than 500 active volunteers that work in more than 46 gardens throughout eastern and central Massachusetts. Our mission is to act as a resource for our communities through direct service in historic and food pantry gardens, by giving lectures, and supporting outreach projects in schools and non-profit organizations. To support this mission we train our volunteers in best practices horticultural methods through a lecture series, and an internship program that is supported by Certified Master Gardeners.If you are interested in becoming a Certified Master Gardener, please read below and apply on October 1st. Class size is limited.
    STEP 1: Submit Application 
    STEP 2: Attend Lecture Series. Successfully complete the Master Gardener course, a comprehensive 16-week lecture series held on Tuesdays, January 9 – April 30, 2024, 8:45 am-Noon ET. Lectures consist of 12 virtual and 4 in-person sessions covering 11 gardening/horticultural topics.
    STEP 3: Complete Internship. Volunteer 60 hours as an intern, applying the concepts you learned in class in a variety of supervised roles from May 1 – November 30, 2024.
    To learn more about the program requirements, please visit our website. If you have questions, contact mgcleader@massmastergardeners.org

  • Tuesday, January 25, 6:30 pm – Genetically Modified Plants: Friend or Foe? Online

    The Gardening Consultants Council, in conjunction with the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts. will sponsor a free January 25 Zoom lecture on Genetically Modified Plants: Friend or Foe? at 6:30 pm. The speaker is Gretel Anspach. Register HERE.

    Gretel is a Lifetime Master Gardener with the Massachusetts Master Gardener Association, a Trustee of Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and a recently-retired systems engineer for Raytheon. Gretel helped to establish and maintain two food production gardens that have provided fresh produce to the Marlboro Food Pantry for the last ten years.

  • Tuesdays, March 17 – May 19 – Home Horticulture Lecture Series

    For home-gardeners looking to take their knowledge and skills to the next level, the Massachusetts Master Gardener Association (MMGA) has announced a new spring session of its popular Home Horticulture Evening Lecture Series. Classes will be held on ten consecutive Tuesday evenings, 6:30-8:00 PM, March 17 through May 19 at the Museum of American Bird Art at Mass Audubon, 963 Washington Street in Canton. Topics include key fundamentals such as building great soil and how plants work…as well as practical how-to’s like basic landscape design, perennial selection and care, and combating weeds, diseases and pests.

    The cost is $250.00 per person for all ten lectures. Instructors are senior Master Gardeners with in-depth experience in their respective topics. For additional information — including a course syllabus — or to sign up, visit http://massmastergardeners.org/home-horticulture-series/ or email HomeHort@massmastergardeners.org . 

  • Thursday, April 10 – Thursday, October 25 – 2018 Master Gardener Training Course

    Love gardening? Looking to upgrade your skills? Committed to giving back to the community in the form of gardening advice and hands-on support? Then join the network of over 600 certified Massachusetts Master Gardener Association (MMGA) volunteers in Central and Eastern Massachusetts.

    The 2018 Master Gardener Training course (MGT) begins April 10th/12th in two locations: Wellesley and Boylston. The course consists of 14 weeks of classroom education as well as 60 hours of approved volunteering.

    Topics include soil science, botany, plant selection and care, pest/disease/weed management, pruning, propagation, and more  all taught by university professors, Extension Department specialists, industry-leading horticulturists, and landscape management professionals. Upon graduation and as an active MMGA member, you will enjoy a number of ongoing benefits including opportunities to…

    ~ Network with other members of the like-minded MMGA community who are always willing to share their knowledge and experience
    ~ Participate annually in dozens of MMGA-sponsored Continuing Education classes, workshops, field trips and visits to members gardens
    ~ Audit future Master Gardener Training classes, to refresh your knowledge of specific topics
    ~ Support your community by nominating public or non-profit organizations to host an official MMGA Gardening Site, where Master Gardeners volunteer to provide free hands-on support
    ~ Recommend community fairs, plant sales and other events for a free Ask-a-Master-Gardener or Soil pH Testing table staffed by MGs
    ~ Learn how to be a compelling and informative speaker by joining our Speakers Bureau and presenting lectures on favorite topics to garden clubs and other organizations

    Space is filling up fast. Register today at http://massmastergardeners.org/become-a-master-gardener/

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  • Thursdays, March 22 – May 24, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Spring 2018 Home Horticulture Series

    Registration is now open for ten information-packed evenings classes designed to help home gardeners be more effective at their favorite pastime. The Massachusetts Master Gardener Association is sponsoring Thursday evening classes, March 22 – May 24 from 6:30 – 8:30. The Home Hort Series covers all of the topics studied by certified Master Gardeners, but in a streamlined format suited to busy lifestyles: the program does not require outside reading, homework, volunteering, or testing. Topics include:

    • Perennials • Landscape Design Basics • Woody Plants & Pruning • Lawn Care & Alternatives • Vegetable Culture • Soil • Weed Ecology • Botany • Diseases & Pests • Nomenclature

    Classes are conveniently held at the historic Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate, a Trustees of Reservations property, 2468 Washington Street, Canton, just minutes off Rt. 128, south of Boston. The cost of the 10-lecture series is $250.00 per person, payable in advance by credit card, Pay Pal or personal check. Click here to register online. If you plan to pay by check, you may also register by email/postal mail: for instructions, email us at HomeHort@massmastergardeners.org. Refunds are not available after 3/22/18 or for any missed classes.

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  • Saturday, March 17, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – Urban Gardening

    On Saturday, March 17 from 1 – 2:30, Tower Hill Botanic Garden will sponsor a lecture on Urban Gardening in the education building at 11 French Drive in Boylston.

    Urban gardening is about growing food and ornamentals in small spaces. Whether you have a huge yard without the time or desire to tend it all, or an apartment with no outdoor space at all, this comprehensive talk will give you tips and techniques to start and maintain a garden you can call your own.

    Gretel Anspach is a Lifetime Master Gardener with the Massachusetts Master Gardener Association, a Trustee of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and a recently-retired systems engineer for Raytheon. Gretel helped to establish and maintain two food production gardens that have provided fresh produce to the Marlboro Food Pantry for the last eight years.

    Tower Hill members – $10, nonmembers – $20. Register online at www.towerhillbg.org.

  • Saturday, September 23, 8:30 am – 3:30 pm – Inspiration for Next Year’s Garden

    The Massachusetts Master Gardener Association announces Inspiration for Next Year’s Garden, the 2017 Massachusetts Gardening Symposium to be held Saturday, September 23 from 8:30 – 3:30 at Westford Academy in Westford, Massachusetts.  This year’s Symposium speakers come from diverse backgrounds and have different fields of gardening concentration, but all share one passion: teaching others.

    Thomas Rainer, author of Planting in a Post-Wild World, will speak on The Garden of the Future: Reimagining the American Yard. Learn how plants fit together in nature and how to use this knowledge to create gardens that are more satisfying, more resilient, and less work.

    David L. Culp, Vice President of Sunny Border Nurseries, will present Perennials: The Best Plants of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.  How do tried and true favorites compare with new introductions? What are the current trends? And what horticultural advances might the future hold?

    Kathleen Gagan, owner of Peony’s Envy, discusses Designing Gardens with Peonies.  Learn how to create your own “peony plan” including cultivar and site selection, mixing types of peonies, structuring mixed gardens, and companion planting.

    Janet Macunovich, garden designer, author and educator, will follow with The Art of Fall Garden Clean Up.  Every hour you spend in the fall can save you 2+ hours in the spring, yield months of winter pleasure, and give your plants a valuable head start for the new season.

    Early bird pricing through August 6 – $75 per person.  August 7 – September 16 (registration deadline) $90 per person.  Price includes lectures, Garden Marketplace, and lunch.  No walk-ins.  To register online, visit http://massmastergardeners.org/2017-gardening-symposium/

  • Tuesdays, September 9 – November 18, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm – MMGA Home Horticulture Series

    The Massachusetts Master Gardener Association announces the MMGA Home Horticulture Series: The More You Know, The More You Can Grow!  This program is a ten-week evening class taught by Master Gardeners that will provide a comprehensive introduction to horticulture, giving home gardeners a foundation for enhancing their skills.  Topics to be covered include Nomenclature, Propagation, Turf & Alternatives, Soil, Botany, Weed Ecology, Vegetable Culture, Diseases & Pests, Perennial Culture, Woody Plants, and Pruning.  The Fall Session will take place Tuesday evenings, September 9 – November 18, from 6:30 – 8 at Elm Bank Reservation, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley.  The cost for the program is $250, due upon registration.  For more information, visit www.massmastergardeners.org.

  • Thursday, May 10, 7:00 pm – The Dirt on Dirt

    Kathi Gariepy of the Massachusetts Master Gardener Association will speak at Elm Bank in Wellesley on Thursday, May 10, beginning at 7 pm, as part of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s ongoing Thursday night series.  Her topic?  The Dirt on Dirt.  Enough said.  Register for this free event on line at www.masshort.org.  Image from River of Love Urban Farmstead.

  • Saturday, March 26, 10:00 am – Start Sharp

    Before you head out this spring to cut off those broken branches or prune your shrubs back into shape, you need the right tools – saws and clippers with sharp edges free of sap and resin. Dull cutting surfaces can do serious damage to the plants you’ve nurtured through years of patient care. There’s no reason why you can’t sharpen your own tools and, at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 26, members of the Massachusetts Master Gardener Association will show you how.

    Start Sharp, the first educational program of the new year at Elm Bank, is presented jointly by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and MMGA. And, it’s free. It’s Mass Hort’s way of kicking off ‘Saturday Mornings at Elm Bank’ and introducing the 2011 educational series to old and new gardeners alike.

    Bring a reasonable number of clean (dirt-free) tools you’d like to have sharpened to the Education Building at Elm Bank. If you have a sharpening tool, bring that, too. Master Gardeners will show you how to clean and sharpen blades. By the end of the morning, you’ll know what tools you’ll need to maintain your gardening implements at home and to use them properly. You’ll also learn the difference between bypass and anvil pruners and what type of job each tool is best for, and when you need to use a saw rather than clippers.  For more information, and directions to Elm Bank, log on to www.masshort.org.