Master Gardeners share talents and labors for all to enjoy

[May 16, 2017]  LINCOLN - This past Saturday the University of Illinois Extension Logan County Master Gardener volunteers shared products of their labors with the public. The Special Events Building at the Logan County Fairgrounds in Lincoln was filled with plants for sale. There were annual and perennial vegetables and flowers, ornamental grasses and prairie plants, some shrubs and a few house plants, all grown with care by members and reasonably priced.

The group also hosts a morning gardeners conference each Spring, the Russel Allen Garden Day, that features guest speakers and product displays.

The fundraisers provide a source of revenue for Master Garden program, which designs, installs and maintains beautiful displays through out Lincoln. You can see their show garden surrounding the Extension Office, and enjoy their works spread throughout the Logan County Fairgrounds.

The group also designed and maintains landscape and gardens at the Oasis Senior Center, and in the downtown Scully Park.

Horticulture Educator for the University of Illinois Extension Logan-Menard-Sangamon, Jennifer Fishburn, oversees the Master Gardeners program. She said that this year the group is focusing on new shrubberies on the west side of the fairgrounds. There will also be a pruning display.

The Extension also offers training in a newer program, the Master Naturalist. Volunteers in this program have been busy restoring habitats at Kickapoo Creek Park and Lincoln College's Creekside Environmental Outdoor Learning Center, and other areas.

Both programs offer education, training and require volunteer hours. For more information on these and other Extension programs you can call the University of Illinois Logan County Extension office at 217-732-8289.

[Jan Youngquist]