Ask a Master Gardener
Our volunteers are staffing the in-office Help Desk on Monday and Thursday, and virtually on Friday from 9-1. Call: (303) 678-6388 with your questions.
Volunteers are checking email at other times during the week. Home horticulture questions can be sent to mggpa@bouldercounty.org any time.
Let’s Grow Together
Grow & Give: Colorado Master Gardener
Your information source for gardening and horticulture related programs and classes through Boulder County Extension. For additional information on gardening, link to Planttalk Colorado below AND see Online Publications.
Events & Opportunities
We will be accepting applications for a limited number of openings in the Apprentice program. Applications will be available on the CSU Extension CMG website statewide in September.
Grow with Us
The Colorado Master Gardener Program in Boulder County:
Are you interested in gaining knowledge and helping others? If yes, the Colorado Master Gardener program is for you!
Participants receive intensive training in horticulture in exchange for a small tuition fee plus 50 hours of volunteer service answering gardening questions, teaching classes, mentoring special populations, writing articles, and maintaining demonstration sites. Alternately, those with limited time may choose to receive a Colorado Gardener Certificate, which provides the same training with no volunteer commitment for a higher class fee.
The Colorado Master Gardener/Gardener Certificate program is a great way to give back to your community and enhance your home garden, and is also an ideal stepping-stone toward a career in horticulture. The program is recognized by the Green Industry as an excellent vocational education course; many people considering a career in horticulture start with Colorado Master Gardener training as an all-around introduction to advanced plant care.
Training Information
Program participants hone their knowledge through 10 weeks of classes in horticulture taught by Colorado State University professors, specialists, and agents. Beginning with basic botany, the program focuses on plant health issues such as soil composition, plant selection and care, disease diagnosis, and insect identification and control. Topics include water-wise gardening, home vegetable and fruit production, turf management, irrigation, flower and tree care, and plant care during drought.
In Boulder County, two training sessions are offered each year:
Spring session classes (January-early April) are held one full day per week during business hours. Snow days may extend the training by another week.
Fall session classes (September-December) are held two evenings per week.
Applications
In Boulder County, Spring class applications are accepted mid September – the end of October, fall applications are accepted early June – the end of July. Apply online at Become a Master Gardener
Textbook
Our printed information is obtained online and required. It is up to you to decide which book format is best for your learning style, acquire it prior to class, and be prepared for class each day.
Volunteer/Community Greening Projects
The Colorado Master Gardener Program in Boulder County works to match volunteer interests, skills and schedules with ideal community greening projects. We combine partnerships with the Green Industry, elementary and secondary schools, and community service programs to promote environmentally responsible horticulture throughout our community.
View the gallery below for a glimpse into a day in the life of a Colorado Master Gardener in Boulder County.
In their first year, Colorado Master Gardener apprentices provide 50 hours of volunteer time to the program during the first growing season following their classes. Volunteers help the community by staffing the Master Gardener office, staffing clinic sites at nurseries and garden centers on weekends, working with elementary schools, writing articles, teaching classes, and mentoring youth or other special populations, among many other activities.
Colorado Master Gardener Qualifications & Enrollment
A desire to help others learn about gardening is the number one requirement for becoming a Colorado Master Gardener! While this is not a beginning gardening program, and having some Colorado gardening experience is required, you don’t have to be a gardening expert to join us.
