Voice of the Mid-Columbia | Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, Wash. |
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closeSaturday, Jan. 10, 2009
WSU Master Gardeners till Tri-City soil
By Marianne C. Ophardt, Special to the Herald
KENNEWICK -- This winter has been particularly difficult for gardeners used to puttering about outside in the yard and garden pretty much all year.
Many gardeners have the proverbial "cabin fever" that comes from being stuck inside for so long. I'm anxious, wanting to see if my "babies" transplanted late in the fall have survived or if our fearsome winds have uprooted any plants.
We're not alone. The Washington State University Master Gardener volunteers have this same winter induced anxiety, but their uneasy feelings will be partially relieved Jan. 20 when the new WSU Extension Master Gardener program starts for the year.
Until early May, they'll be meeting every Tuesday for the annual training program for new and returning volunteers.
In addition, many of these volunteers will be meeting with other Master Gardeners to gear up for the coming months in the Master Gardener Demonstration Garden.
The WSU Master Gardeners have the awesome responsibility of maintaining this almost 3-acre garden in Kennewick. (It's adjacent to Grange Park and the Mid-Columbia Library at 1620 S. Union.) It may be several more months before the Master Gardeners are actually out there getting their hands dirty, but now is when they can plan what needs to be done this year in this enormous outdoor gardening classroom.
Have you ever been to the Master Gardener Demonstration Garden?
It's amazing with 22 different theme gardens, including an enormous rose garden, a children's garden, a bird and butterfly garden, a vegetable garden, an herb garden, a water garden, a Japanese garden, an ornamental grass garden and so many more.
Even in the winter it's a wonderful place to walk through, but it's truly in its glory from spring through fall. Before long the witch hazel and winter jasmine will be blooming and the hundreds of spring flowering bulbs will start to emerge from the soil.
In late May and early June, the rose garden will be in its full glory with over 400 roses in bloom. In summer, the dahlias in the formal garden will dazzle you and in the fall the mums in the Japanese garden will simply glow.
The Master Gardeners are responsible for the Demonstration Garden that has been built with their caring and hard work along with the generous donations of local service clubs, individuals and businesses.
Ground was first turned (with a pick axe) for the garden in August of 1999.
Since then, the Master Gardener volunteers have worked hard, building the garden in phases.
As any gardener knows, a garden is never finished. It's always a work in progress. Now that all the individual theme gardens have been completed, the Master Gardeners still have work to do maintaining and renovating different areas of the Demonstration Garden.
Some of the goals for 2009 are to build new arbors for the rose garden, renovate the children's garden and utilize the garden more as an outdoor classroom for the public.
WSU Extension is currently recruiting new volunteers who are interested in becoming WSU Master Gardeners.
Volunteers don't have to be gardening experts, but they do need to be interested in learning about gardening and willing to share what they learn with others.
Not every volunteer is able to do physical work in the garden, so there are many other ways to serve as a WSU Master Gardener volunteer.
If you're interested in becoming a Master Gardener volunteer, call the WSU Extension Office at 509-735-3551. Applications are due Jan. 16.
If you aren't interested in becoming a Master Gardener, you can still enjoy their Master Gardener Demonstration Garden. Just drop by anytime and a take a stroll. The wide walkways are perfect for strollers, wagons and wheelchairs.
* Marianne C. Ophardt is a horticulturist for the Washington State University Extension Office in Benton County.
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