The Master Gardeners of Bell County

are volunteers who work with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service to improve gardening skills throughout the community. Program objectives are implemented through the training of local volunteers known as Master Gardeners. We collaborate with Extension to conduct youth and community education; establish and maintain demonstration gardens; and provide a speakers bureau. We work with special audiences in the community (4-H horticultural clubs, Junior Master Gardener groups, schools, and others) for youth and community outreach of a horticultural nature. We recruit and educate new Master Gardener candidates for effective volunteering.  Master Gardeners are local volunteers in your community who work with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service to increase the availability of horticultural information and improve your communities quality of life through various horticultural projects.

Monthly Meetings

Bell County Master Gardeners hold monthly meetings on the second Wednesday of each month at 11:00am at the Bell County Agrilife Extension Classroom at 1605 N. Main St., Belton. A social gathering time before the meeting begins at 10:30 am. Monthly meetings include a business meeting followed by an educational session. These educational sessions qualify for one hour of continuing education for Master Gardeners. All Master Gardeners and the public are invited to attend.

The Bell County Master Gardeners would like to thank everyone who came to our plant sale.  It was a hugh success.  The day was perfect and the Master Gardeners appreciate the support of the community.  Thanks again and watch for our fall sale.                               

 

 

 

 

 

Bell County Master Gardeners will hold their annual Spring Plant Sale on March 24 to raise funds to support our programs throughout the year.  This helps us purchase materials for our training and educational efforts, demonstration garden plants and materials, and other miscellaneous items.  No funds are used to pay volunteers nor are these funds used for anything not related to our mission.  We would like to invite you to visit our sales and help support horticultural education efforts in Bell County.

 

Read our newsletter “The Blooming Bell” for news and monthly activity calendar.

 
 



Who are Texas Master Gardeners?

Texas Master Gardeners is a volunteer program designed to grow horticultural information throughout the state, town by town. To become a Texas Master Gardener, a participant attends 50 hours of instruction, conducted by the local Extension county agent, then shares this knowledge by donating 50 hours of volunteer service back to the community.

The touch of Texas Master Gardeners’ green thumbs can be found across the state -- in school garden projects, horticultural therapy projects, community gardens and demonstration gardens; by volunteers who also conduct gardening programs and answer gardening questions. Anything anyone wants to know about gardening, a Master Gardener can help. That includes young wannabe gardeners too – Master Gardeners help set up 4-H gardening clubs and Junior Master Gardener groups.

In fact, when it comes to green and growing things, Master Gardeners dig into their service in all kinds of ways: teaching, giving presentations, writing newsletters and articles, providing clerical help, and designing and maintaining Web pages.

Want to Know More?

In 2008, more than 6,400 volunteers were Texas Master Gardeners, according to the organization’s annual report.

That year Texas Master Gardeners gave 2,200 presentations for a combined audience of 68,087 of their neighbors, and provided research-based horticulture information to 18,000 others.

Volunteers contributed 454,036 hours to horticulture-based educational projects in 2008, a benefit to the state that was worth $9 million.