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2024 Master Gardener Training Class Registration Open

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The Bluebonnet Master Gardener Association announces opening registration for it 2024 Master Gardener Certification Training Class.

Our  2024  Class is scheduled each Wedenday from January 10th – April 24th, 2024 with the final graduation class on Tuesday, April 23, 2024.  The last class on April 24th is a Bonus Day including topics not contained in the standard training manuel.

Participants from Austin, Colorado, Fayette & Washington Counties are welcome to register for the class. The 50+ hours of classes will be held at the Washington County Expo Event Center at 1305 East Bell Road, Brenham, Texas 77833.

Details of  field trips for on-site learning will be announced in class.  The  Master Gardener Handbook,  compiled by the Texas Master Gardener Association, is included in the $200 registration fee.  You may register online below or contact the Washington County Extension office at (979) 277-6262 for more information.

Class size is limited to 25.

For more information about the Master Gardener Program and to apply for the class,  HERE

Flyer for Training Class

 

New Texas Superstar Brochure

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The Texas Superstar brochure is updated.  The new brochure is a beautiful, full color 44-page booklet with detailed descriptions, suggested uses and special notes for each plant with the Texas Superstar® designation. Texas Superstar: Strong & Stunning Plants for Texans

Link to the Texas Superstar: Strong & Stunning Plants for Texans brochure

You may print, download, view it in your browser or on device.  Be sure to have it available when planning your landscape and vegetable gardens.

To be designated a Texas Superstar®  a plant must be beautiful and perform well for growers throughout the state. Texas Superstars must also be easy to propagate, ensuring the plants are widely available and reasonably priced.
Texas Superstar® is a registered trademark owned by Texas A&M AgriLife Research, a state agency that is part of the Texas A&M University System. Plants are designated Texas Superstars by the Texas Superstar executive board, made up of nine horticulturalists from AgriLife Research, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Texas Tech University.

Summer Celebration in The Gardens at A&M-You’re Invited

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Invitation to Celebration

The Gardens at Texas A&M
Summer Celebration

Saturday, June 11, 2022
9:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Leach Teaching Gardens

Free parking available in lot 97.

Join us at our annual community Summer Celebration for food and fun for the family, including children’s educational activities, story time with Chance The Librarian, JJ’s snow cones, and more. You won’t want to miss this fun-filled morning! 

Learn More About The Gardens!

Gardens Logo

 

2021 Fall Horticulture Seminar

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Please join Texas A&M Agrilfe Extension Service August 27, 2021 for the Fall Horticulature Seminar, hosted by Texas A&M Agrilfe Extension Service for Austin County.  Topics, which will be presented by AgriLife Extentions Agent Robert “Skip” Richter and Specialists Tim Hartmann, Ph.D and Monte Nesbitt, Ph.D  include:

Planting Fall Vegetables
Fruit Tree Care and Maintenance
Citrus Tree Care and Maintance
Prepping Plants for Freezes

RSVP HERE by August 25, 2021  or call 979-865-2072.

2021 Texas Master Gardener Virtual Conference- DAY 1

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The 2021 Texas Master Gardener State Conference will be held virtually this year on May 18-19, 2021. The leadership workshop will be on May 17, 2021.

Join us as we walk through Texas gardens! We have an amazing line-up of inspirational speakers ready to share with you their favorite topics in horticulture. We will also travel across the state through virtual tours to see the diverse gardens of Texas.

The conference offers continuing education hours for Master Gardeners including three keynote presentations, twenty-four breakout sessions, and four virtual tours.

The conference is also time to celebrate the Search for Excellence Awards and the incredible achievements our volunteers are accomplishing in education across the state.

Cost:  $50 includes both Day 1 & Day 2!

 

Register Button

2021 Plant Sale in Sealy at Levine Park

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Need to replace plants after this year’s winter blast?

 The Bluebonnet Master Gardener Association’s 18th Annual Plant Sale is Saturday, April 10, 2021, 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

New location:  Levine Park Pavilion, 410 Main Street, Sealy, across the street from city hall.

Plants for sale include roses, “Texas Superstar” plants, “Texas Native” plants, “Earth Kind” plants, succulents, butterfly friendly plants, ground covers, herbs, bushes, and a few surprises – something for everyone.  There will also be rain barrels, planters and other garden items.

All plants are locally sourced to insure they are climatized for this area. Master Gardeners will be on hand to help you find that special plant and give you guidance for its care.  Master Gardeners’ knowledge and passion for each plant will inspire you!

Proceeds from the sale help Bluebonnet Master Gardeners support the four counties (Austin, Colorado, Fayette, and Washington) with college scholarships, community gardens, free-to-the-public “Lunch & Learns”, and other local activities.  This is a sales-tax free sale.

More information:  https://txmg.org/bluebonnet

 

Plant Sale Flyer

Online Horticulture Learning Could Never be Easier

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LogoSo many online horticulture learning opportunities you don’t know where to start?  This guide can get you started learning from horticulture experts.

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension recorded many of their programs for viewing on your own schedule.  These recorded presentations are free to the public.

Bluebonnet Master Gardener Association members may claim Continuing Education Units (CEU) for these all AgriLife programs that pertain to gardening and horticulture; live or recorded.  Just watch the presentation and record your time as CEU.  BMGA members, remember to get your CEU credits recorded by December 31, 2020 to apply those hours to your re-certification requirement.  For 2020, you need 6 CEU credits.

Below are links to some of these programs to start learning from our Aggie experts.

Gulf Coast Gardening Online Series
There are 22 videos for more than 24 hours of learning. Topics include:

Young Tree Care – Video  #5
Earth Kind Pest Disease & Weed Control – Video #10
Texas Superstar Plants – Video #19

Horticulture & Gardening Webinar Series with David Rodriguez, County Extension Horticulture Agent, Bexar County
There are currently 17 of these recorded sessions for more than 13 hours of education. Topics include:

Getting Your Lawn and Landscape Ready for Summer Heat – Video #9
Tomato Basics 101 – Video #13
Butterfly Gardening – Nectar Plants – Video #5

Aggie Horticulture Facebook Live Recordings
There are 55 horticulture recorded events. Wow!  You do not need a Facebook account to watch.  Topics include:

Homeowner Greenhouses- Video #41
Transitioning to a Fall Garden, Two Parts – Video #40 & #45
Toys for Vegetable Gardening – Video #50
Fall Blooming Flowers & Biennials Planted in Fall – Video #51
Growing Blueberries in Containers – Video 18

 

2020 Master Gardener Open Houses

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The Bluebonnet Master Gardener Association is hosting three Open House events in January, 2020.  If you are interested in learning more about the Master Gardener Program in Texas or want to sign-up for the intensive 5o- hour certficiation training class, please be our guest at one of these three events:

La Grange Open House
January 8, 2020
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon
Fayette County AgriLife Meeting Room
255 Svoboda Ln, Rm 134
La Grange, TX 78945

Brenham Open House
January 9, 2020
11:30 a.m.– 1:00 p.m.
Washington County Fairgrounds Sales Facility (Entrance on Independence St across from Sherriff’s Office)
1305 East Blue Bell Road
Brenham, TX  77833

Bellville Open House
January 9, 2020
10:00 a.m. 12:00 noon
AgriLife Extension Office – Austin County
800 E. Wendt St.
Bellville, TX 77418

The Bluebonnet Master Gardener Association 2020 Training Class will be held in Brenham.  Space is limited.  For more information and to apply online visit our Application Page.

 

Earth-Kind Landscape Short Course in Somerville

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The 2019 Earth-Kind Landscape Short Course by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Horticulture Sciences Program is a continuing education program designed for professionals responsible for managing and maintaining urban green space such as residential landscapes, parks, commercial properties and golf courses.

The course will also benefit municipal, schools, city personnel and landscape businesses, particularly those interested in developing sustainable urban landscape conservation programs.

Texas Master Gardeners earn CEUs for this course.

When:
December 16 – 18, 2019

Where:
Texas A&M HortTREC
3199 CR 269 E.
Somerville, TX 77879

Speakers:

  • Dr. Mike Arnold
  • Dr. Gerald Bergner
  • Ms. Wizzie Brown
  • Dr. Becky Grubbs
  • Dr. Mengmeng Gu
  • Dr. Young-Ki Jo
  • Dr. Mark Matocha
  • Mr. Shea McLamore
  • Ms. Laura Miller
  • Dr. Genhua Niu
  • Dr. Kevin Ong
  • Dr. David Reed

Master Gardener Online Earth-Kind Training

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Earth-Kind Logo

Earth-Kind® On-Line Master Gardener Training videos are made available by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. These videos are available to the public to learn more about Earth-Kind® gardening practices.  This program is designed to provide information on a variety of environmentally friendly (Earth-Kind®) practices for use in the home landscape and garden. As your interest and knowledge in this area grows you will have an increased awareness of the many programs, practices and activities that are Earth-Kind®.

All Texas Master Gardeners must recertify each year to remain in the Texas Master Gardener program.  In addition to the annual volunteer hour requirements, recertification requires Texas Master Gardeners to complete continuing education hours on topics of horticulture and gardening practices.  This continuing education helps Texas Master Gardeners sharpen their gardening skills and learn new fact-based and scientifically sound practices supported by Texas A&M AgriLife.

Texas Master Gardeners may select from any of these on-line modules to obtain up to 3 hours of re-certification education credits in a calendar year. Each module is worth 1 hour of credit.  Progress through the training program is tracked “on-line” and the results for each completed module are automatically forwarded to the Texas Master Gardener’s county Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Master Gardener Coordinator.

Participation in the Earth-Kind® On-Line Master Gardener Training will assist Texas AgriLife Extension Service to promote principles and practices that help conserve and protect our state’s valuable natural resources. Working together we can create a healthy and sustainable environment.

To go to the online modules, click the link below and following the instructions.

Link to: Earth-Kind® On-Line Master Gardener Training videos

Available videos are:

2020 Training Class

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Our  2020 Master Gardener Certification Training Class is scheduled each Thursday from January 16th – April 23rd with the final graduation class on Tuesday, April 28, 2020.  Participants from Austin, Colorado, Fayette & Washington Counties are welcome. The 64 hours of classes will be held at the Washington County Extension Sales Facility at 1305 East Bell Road, Brenham, Texas 77833 (use the Independence Rd entrance) , plus some field trips to be announced in class.  The updated training manual compiled by the Texas Master Gardener Association, is included in the $175 registration fee.  You may register online below or contact the Washington County Extension office at (979) 277-6262 for more information.

 

Bluebonnet Master Gardener Volunteer Program Application

 

2020 Training Class Flyer

Map to Open House & Class Location

2020 Training Class Flyer