The history of Master Gardener programs goes back to 1972 at Washington State University Cooperative Extension where agents were inundated with calls from home gardeners seeking advice. A group of volunteers rose to the challenge and to be trained and become Master Gardeners. The first Master Gardener programs in California started in 1980 in Riverside and Sacramento counties, and now almost every county in the state boasts a pool of Master Gardener volunteers.
Now it is time to celebrate Master Gardeners of Nevada County whose legacy goes back 40 years. Their history reflects a number of community-wide contributions which started in the early days of the organization. In 1983, Steve Cole and Gracie Worley worked with the Placer County Master Gardeners to become the first Master Gardeners in Nevada County. The following year, a team of eight volunteers established the official Nevada County Master Gardeners. This group included Carolyn Bunyan, later known as Carolyn Singer, a well-known local gardener and author. Carolyn Singer was a long-standing member of the Nevada County MGs and was active in many activities in the community.
By 1985, there were eight original active members plus an additional 33 new members were inducted into the group. Over the years, the roster of volunteers has grown to over 100, with a new 2024 training class on the horizon.
With 1985 Farm Advisor Garth Veerkamp at the helm, the Master Gardeners’ primary goal was to extend research-based home gardening information to the community. Some of the early projects included daffodil and poppy seed planting, gardening workshops; a winter garden tour; booths, and displays at the Nevada County Fair the first garden-related publication was released – the Western Nevada County Gardening Guide was published in 1984, as a booklet focusing on growing vegetables in our area.
In the fall of 1990, the Nevada Irrigation District and the UC Cooperative Extension, Master Gardeners of Nevada County entered into a long-term agreement where an open area of about 1.4 acres on the NID business grounds was allotted to Master Gardeners for a Demonstration Garden. NID officials said the cooperative project would provide valuable gardening education to the community while encouraging efficient use of irrigation and water management. Since then, collaboration with NID has enabled Master Gardeners to establish areas within the garden highlighting efficient use of water while establishing beautiful landscapes. Currently, the garden boasts raised beds and propagation areas; a native plant area; an oak habitat, and Foothill Mediterranean Garden – focusing on plants that thrive in Mediterranean climates – which we have: hot dry summers, and wet winters. A new meadow area consists of a lovely pathway that meanders through low water use grasses, planted earlier this year. The recent addition of beautiful, informative interpretive signs adds a perfect educative touch within the garden areas.
As we look back through the years, one of the projects that stood out each year was the Master Gardeners “Daffodil” project. This project started in 1985 when over 1500 bulbs were planted at Empire and Sacramento Street offramps. Between 1987 and 1988 over 11,000 bulbs were planted along Highway 20 from Grass Valley to Nevada City. During this time, Washington Ridge Youth Conservation Camp workers helped with the planting. Scroll ahead to 2022 – hundreds of daffodils were planted at the Nevada County Fairgrounds as well as new plantings at the North Star House. In addition to daffodils, many areas were also seeded with California poppies.
Many of the early projects are still included in the Master Gardener’s current roster of activities. Public workshops in 1984 included tomato tips, and the Union’s Home and Garden show in 1985 was a good venue for sharing home gardening information – just as it was at our most recent Home Garden and Lifestyle show at the Nevada County Fairgrounds this past April. The Nevada County Fair was also a frequent venue for past MG events. Over the years, a 2-minute radio spot on KNCO grew to a full show in 1992. The “Master Gardener and Friends” program on KNCO continues to air each Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. We are grateful to KNCO and the show’s sponsors.
One unique project undertaken by Master Gardeners in 1989 was the fire victims tree project. Following the ‘49er fire, the organization collected donations to purchase trees to help replace some of those burned in the fire. The trees were given out at the Penn Valley Fire Department, and Master Gardeners provided a tree planting workshop.
As we celebrate our 40th birthday, we invite the community to our party on Saturday, September 23 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It’s fitting that our celebration will be held at the Demonstration Garden on the NID business grounds, at 1036 W. Main St. in Grass Valley. Parking will be available at the Lyman Gilmore School across the street. There is a ribbon cutting at 10 a.m., food trucks will be available for hungry visitors, we will have garden workshops, music, and activities for children. For a full schedule of events, go to our website at https://ncmg.ucanr.edu/. We are grateful to several local sponsors who have so graciously supported us for many years, and for some new sponsors as well. Thank you!
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