By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Flowers and vegetables are the standard of any garden tour. Throw in a high tunnel and some microgreens and you get the second annual Gathering of the Gardeners, presented by the K-State Research and Extension Master Gardeners. This year's tour, scheduled on June 24th from 5 to 8 p.m., includes five locations around Great Bend.
"Master Gardners is a volunteer group that has been trained by the Extentension Office," explained Sarah Shirer, president of the group. "The purpose of the group is to assist the county horticuluritists in sharing information with people in the community, helping out answering questions, that sort of thing."
Master Gardeners buy their own materials, attend 40-50 hours of training in all aspects of horticulture, then donate an equivalent number of hours back to community projects. To maintain certification after the first year, the gardeners take eight hours of continuing education and donate a minimum of 20 hours to the community.
"There's just a variety," Shirer said. "Everyone just steps in and puts their hours in on the projects that speak to them, that they're most interested in doing."
Local Master Gardeners helped reconstruct a historical garden in front of the stone house at the Barton County Historical Society, assisted with the flower pots and butterfly house at the Brit Spaugh Zoo, and work in the teaching garden on the south side of Washington Elementary School, which is included in this year's tour.
Some hobbyists complete the original training hours but do commit to the volunteer hours for the full certification.
"You can take the course and learn the material, then not step into the organization or the commitment year after year to spend volunteer time," said Shirer. "A lot of peoples' work schedules and health concerns have kept them from stepping in fully."
A relatively new program in the Cottonwood District, Shirer estimates there are approximately a dozen active members just five years into the program.
"A lot of other counties have been building their group for years," she said. "We're getting a good foothold, figuring it out, and bonding as a group. It's great."
The community garden tour has been organized by various groups but was taken over by the Master Gardeners for the first time last year. That event included stops only at the homes of Master Gardeners. The goal of this year's tour is to show a variety of gardens. A Master Gardener will be available at each stop to help answer questions.
This year's stops include: 2530 12th Street, 1216 Roosevelt, 1221 McKinley, 2207 Canterbury Lane, and 135A NW 50 Ave.
For more information about the Master Gardener program, contact Alicia Boor at the Extension Office at aboor@ksu.edu or by calling (620) 793-1910.