What is master gardener? Well according to the American Horticultural Society, it is a program typically offered through universities in the United States and Canada that provides intensive horticultural training to individuals who then volunteer as Master Gardeners in their communities by giving lectures creating gardens conducting research and many other projects.

There's no prerequisites, requires just basic gardening experience. You learn how plants grow, diagnose treat disorders, identify insects, plant pathology, vegetables soil and fertilizers according to that region possible careers are landscaper, groundskeeper or pesticide handler tree trimmer and pruner. Personally, someone who would be in a 2 year horticultural certificate program or associate program would learn more. And when you are part of this master gardener program associated with universities you cannot call yourself a master gardener unless you're working in harmony with whatever a university is sponsoring. You'll get experience talking to people about gardening as a master gardener through lectures at home and garden shows, farmers markets, libraries, garden clubs and so forth.

I was in the program at one point in time probably maybe close 10 years ago. I didn’t finish it because I didn't complete the volunteer hours. And I felt uncomfortable with people calling me on the phone asking questions about things I didn't have education about at the time. What I know now compared to what I was learning, is information that I would have obtained if I read horticultural books in bookstores or library or online. So, I personally don't like when people use the term master gardener.

The reason I bring this up is because I've had different people refer to me as a master gardener because I've mentioned that I've take the master gardener program. It's a title. The people who I look up to consider themselves to be plant stewards. A steward is a person morally responsible for the careful use of money, time, talents, or other resources especially with respects to principles or needs of a community or a group. So many of the people that I follow through books, TV and online are plant stewards. They feel morally responsible for the careful use of plants native to the area that they're in, respecting the environment, respecting the people, respecting the wildlife.

I like to refer to myself as a garden steward. It's my moral responsibility to care for the gardens of others. Or I’ll call myself a trusted gardener because trust means that you rely on someone else to do the right thing and sometimes the right thing is telling the homeowner what they may not want to hear. Maybe I can combine the two: trusted garden steward.