Master Gardeners and the County Parks

Work with knowledgeable Master Gardeners while beautifying County Parks. 

Who Are the Master Gardeners

The Master Gardener program, founded in Seattle over 30 years ago, has branches in all 50 states and six Canadian provinces. In Missouri, the volunteer run program offers classes and certification through the Missouri Botanical Garden and the University of Missouri Extension Program.

How Do I Become One

Interested gardeners apply to the Missouri Botanical Garden.  Each winter the garden offers classes in topics from basic botany to lawn care to organic gardening.  To earn their title Master Gardeners must attend 50 hours of these classes and complete 50 hours of garden related community service within a year.  To maintain active gardener status, they must complete 50 more hours of service and 10 hours of continuing education each year. Some describe the program as intense, but all enjoy applying their new knowledge.

What Are they Doing With The County Parks

Master Gardeners supervise planting and maintenance in Creve Coeur Park, Faust Park, the Museum of Transportation, Queeny Park and Tilles Park. Their flower beds provide a pleasant background whether for wedding photos or an afternoon in the park.

Other Volunteering Options

While volunteering inspires some to higher aspirations, for others it is just another fun way to give back to the community. Whether you're a life long gardener looking for another outlet or a novice looking for new experiences you will be a welcome addition to the volunteers. You will learn from experts and make new friends along the way. “I don’t think there’s any nicer people than gardeners,” Pat Klimushyn said.

Meet The Master Gardeners

Ginny McCook

Ginny, the County Parks’ original Master Gardener, first volunteered in 2003 while completing her first annual service requirement.  She said that she started exploring her own interests after age 50, because “that’s when you think; Ok, there has to be something more for me to do.” She chose gardening because of an interest reaching back to childhood when she would watch the fruits and vegetables growing in her uncle’s garden.  “It was always interesting to see what Uncle Pete used to make,” she recalls.  Now she enjoys stimulating experts she has met because of the program.

Bonnie Langston

Bonnie volunteered for a season before entering the Master Gardener program in January 2006.  She says she joined the program because “there’s just so many things I didn't know.”  She started gardening when her mom made her tend the family vegetable garden.  By 15, she declared she “wasn't never going to do that again.”  Never lasted 10 years.  Over time, she’s raised many vegetable and flower gardens.  After retirement she turned to her therapeutic hobby to avoid the same old thing. Since then she has learned new skills, made new friends and watched the parks grow more beautiful. 

Chris Schmidt

Chris became a master gardener in 2006 after hearing about it from Ginny, who volunteered with her at Queeny Park.  She thought it sounded like a good opportunity to learn more about her hobby.  She appreciates the “wealth of information” she has received in the forms of instruction and learning materials.  She enjoys applying her book knowledge in the garden, turning ‘why did it die’ moments to ‘so that’s why’ discoveries.  After learning “a little bit about a lot of things,” she wants to find a specialty because she’s “not fool enough to think I'm going to remember all of this about everything.”

Cathy Arnold

Cathy’s path towards becoming a Master Gardener started when she joined St. Louis Evening Herbalist to learn more about herbs. At one of the group’s workshops she listened to Clare Name speak about the historical gardens at Faust Park.  Interested in history since high school, Cathy saw this as an opportunity to combine two loves.  Even though she claims “those first couple of years I didn’t know a weed from a seed,” she has been gardening since childhood.  She considers gardening “a way to get back to the earth to the plants and it’s a way to get away from all the hectic pace.”

Michelle Schmitt

It’s not surprising that Michelle followed her sister-in-law first to the heritage garden at Faust Park and then into the Master Gardening program.  For Michelle, Gardening has long been a family affair.  Growing up, Michelle spent her summers helping her grandmother and uncle in their green house nursery.  She’s enjoyed gardening ever since. “I like the sense of accomplishment, the reward of caring for what is growing and sometimes you get to eat some of it.” Through the Master Gardener program, Michelle can share these experiences with others who share her interests.  In addition to new acquaintances, Michelle has also gained new knowledge.

Judy Moskoff

The sensory garden in Tilles Park is Judy’s first therapeutic garden, but not her first garden.  She has been around gardens since childhood when she’d listen to her father and grandmother discuss gardening during dinner. As she has grown older, Judy has used gardening to relax and enjoy the outdoors. Over a decade ago, Judy became a Master Gardener to increase her knowledge. She continues to increase her knowledge by interviewing experts on her radio show and participating in various gardening groups and volunteer projects.  Volunteering gives her a chance to meet new people while giving service to the community.