Nora Sirbaugh, Hopewell Valley, Master Gardener of Mercer County
Here in Mercer County we are fortunate to have a dynamic group of volunteers dedicated to assisting the community in making responsible environmental choices in their home landscapes. The Master Gardener program, now international in its scope, was conceived by an agricultural agent in Washington State to help meet an enormous increase in requests from home gardeners, as our country changed from a primarily rural one to more suburban.
Sixty years ago, an extension agent dealt primarily with the questions of farm families. Since then, much of this farmland has been subdivided, increasing the number of families extension must serve. In exchange for education by outstanding horticultural and university specialists, community volunteers dedicate hours of service to the community in which they live and work. Nineteen of New Jersey’s 21 counties currently train and maintain a Master Gardener program. Mercer County’s program, started by county horticulturist and WZBN gardening expert, Barbara J. Bromley, began in 1993 and has trained over 500 community volunteers and given almost 200,000 hours of service to the community since its inception, many of them Hopewell Valley residents.
Primarily an educational program, the Master Gardeners, trained and certified volunteers, seek to extend into the community the educational efforts of Rutgers Cooperative Extension. Through the county-supported telephone Helpline (609-989-6853) as well as community outreach events, Master Gardeners assist individual clients with problems, and help community groups and other county residents by disseminating horticultural, pest control, and related information.
Another one of the Master Gardeners of Mercer County goals is to establish educational programs where residents of Mercer County can obtain up-to-date recommendations from Rutgers University, the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Master Gardeners of Mercer County have undertaken to host a Symposium, “Spring into Responsible Gardening!” at the Stuart Country Day School in Princeton University on Saturday, March 21.
Our visiting speakers include internationally-recognized landscape consultant, Rick Darke, who has been featured in the New York Times and National Public Radio and is the author of “The American Woodland Garden: Capturing the Spirit of the American Deciduous Forest” and will speak on “Livable Landscapes”; Visionary entomologist, Douglas W. Tallamy, author of “Bringing Nature Home, How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens,” which was awarded the 2008 silver medal by the Garden Writer’s Association; and Perennial Diva, Stephanie Cohen, a contributing editor for “Fine Gardening” and “The HGTV Newsletter,.”who will introduce us to gorgeous native plants for the garden. In addition, Mercer County Horticulturist Barbara J. Bromley will teach us how to grow our own “Victory Gardens.” All the speakers will address the issue of having beautiful home landscapes through Responsible Gardening, which considers the environmental consequences of what we do in the garden, and results in making choices that do the most good and the least harm.
In addition to hearing this amazing array of speakers, this all day event will include free and convenient parking, both breakfast and lunch, the opportunity to purchase books and have them signed by authors, and meet and greet the speakers. Registration fee is $100 and registration by mail required. Visit the Master Gardener Web site: http://mgofmc.org/symposium/index.html for more information and a registration form. Questions? Contact Lwenquist @ aol.com or (609) 497-4589. Space is limited.
I encourage Valley residents to join me at this exciting event when gardening and spring are in the air.

