From the Ground Up: From onlooker to insider

Shortly after I moved to Iowa, I attended the Linn County Master Gardener Winter Gardening Fair in February, 2012. You may not know it, but the LCMG Winter Gardening Fair is the largest event of its kind in the state of Iowa. It's an opportunity to learn about lots of different gardening topics, all taught by local Master Gardeners and by professionals in the horticultural industry. And you also may not know that the Winter Gardening Fair is planned and presented by volunteers from the Iowa State University Extension Linn County Master Gardening program.

I had no idea what to expect at that first WGF, but I was surprised by several things: how smoothly the entire day was organized, how useful the information was, and how many people attended the event. Hundreds of garden enthusiasts were there, in the middle of winter, gathering ideas and looking forward to the new gardening season.

I found out about the Master Gardener program while I was at the Winter Gardening Fair, and that Fall decided to apply for the program. I was too late for 2012, but was accepted into the Fall training for the 2013 program.

Training consists of weekly evening classes with lectures and webinars about different horticultural subjects (trees, landscaping, insects and pest management, etc.). I attended class for several weeks, and at the end of the training period, I and my classmates were considered Linn County Master Gardener Interns. Part of the requirements for becoming a fully qualified Master Gardener is to complete 40 hours of volunteer work, serving on one or several of the LCMG projects in the community, which is performed during your intern year.

I found a wide range of projects I liked for my volunteer hours, including helping at NewBo Market/LCMG teaching gardens, as well as helping with several seminars and classes. I also volunteered to be on the planning committee for this year's Winter Gardening Fair, which will be held on Saturday, February 21st, 2015. And guess what? I'm even teaching a gardening presentation at the WGF (Poisonous Plants Lurking in Your Garden).

So there you have it; my progression from 'onlooker” to 'insider” in four years I attended my first LCMG Winter Gardening Fair as a guest interested in gardening and four years later I am a presenter at the event.

You never know what you'll discover at the Winter Garden Fair - so plan to attend in February, and see what you can find. Registration opens Jan. 5. For information on the event and for registration visit www.extension.iastate.edu and as always, for answers to your gardening questions, call the Linn County Extension MG Hortline at (319) 447-0647.

' Jean Wilson is a Linn County Master Gardener.