Registration under way for Master Gardener classes

Start this winter by enrolling in the Tennessee Master Gardener course. It includes 14 weeks of classes in all things horticultural, including basic botany and plant science, landscaping, trees, flowers, vegetables, fruits, lawns, gardening equipment, insect control and chemicals used in a residential lawn or garden.

Classes will be held 5:30-8:30 p.m. each Tuesday from Feb. 9 through May 11 at the Dyer County Complex Auditorium, 151 Everett Ave.

The Master Gardener program is coordinated by the Dyer County Extension Office and Extension Agent William O. Taylor. Call 286-7821 to register.

The course fee is $100 a person or $150 for a couple. The fee covers all materials, including a Master Gardener notebook and a light supper each night.

Taylor said this is an especially good time to take the course because a new version of the Master Gardener notebook has just been released. The new notebooks feature information on dozens of topics and include compact disks containing additional materials that weren't available in previous editions.

Classes in the coming year also will include field trips to identify trees, insects, weeds and plants, he said.

Persons who complete the course are invited to a plant swap and potluck dinner in May with members of the Dyer County Association of Tennessee Master Gardeners. The association is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.

To become a certified Master Gardener, students must provide 40 hours of volunteer service and obtain eight hours of continuing education on gardening topics.

Tennessee Master Gardeners strive to educate the general public about horticulture in an appropriate and unbiased manner.