Barron County Master Gardeners

Welcome and thank you for visiting the BCMGA informational page. Our Association was formed in 1997 by a small group of gardeners dedicated to taking their love and knowledge of gardening to help make a difference in their community. We joined the WIMGA in 1999.

There are 40 members in our association. Yearly dues are $15. Benefits to you as a member of the association include state and local association newsletters, monthly meetings featuring guest speakers on a variety of gardening topics, membership in the Wisconsin Master Gardener Association, opportunities for continuing education and volunteer activities, and networking with other Master Gardeners.

In 2006 we volunteered 2128 hours in youth and community education and support services

and participated in 734 hours of continuing education.

Read the latest issues of our newsletters:

Barron Co. MG Newsletter • Barron Co. Extension Connection: Horticulture Update

Newsletter Archives

We invite you to learn, teach and help make a difference in the community. All who have taken the Master Gardener classes are encouraged to join the Barron County Master Gardener Association and come to our meetings. Unless otherwise noted, meetings are held on the 1st Thursday of every month at the Barron County Extension Office in the Courthouse, 330 E. LaSalle Ave. in Barron, Room 110, and start at 7:00p.m.

Scheduled Meetings and Activities in 2008:

January	No meeting scheduled
February 7	"Got Dirt" - Kevin Schoessow - 7:00 p.m.
February 8-10	WPT Garden Expo, Madison
March 6	Floral Arrangement – Troy Haugen, Cozy Creations, Rice Lake. 7:00 p.m., Courthouse
April 5	Spring Garden Expo – Cameron Middle School – Set up at 7:00 a.m. The first speaker will be Roger Schalow from Schalow’s Nursery in Marshfield. He will present a PowerPoint program on “Cutting Edge Plants” for the landscape. He will show us some great perennials, trees, shrubs, and evergreens. He will also do a second program called “Renovation of an Older Flower Garden.” Our third program of the day will be Kris Henning from Grantsburg who will do a PowerPoint program on daylilies. She is a Master Gardener of both Wisconsin and Minnesota. She owns Spirit Lake Daylilies, a mail order nursery in Frederic. She is the current President of the Hemerocallis (daylily) Horticultural Society of Minnesota. She is a very active member of the Minnesota State Horticulture Society, and has been on the Board of directors for many years.
May 1	“Summer Bulbs” Kris Henning. Spirit Lake Daylilies
May 17	Annual plant sale
June 12	(NOTE DATE) Picnic and Garden Tour – 6:00 p.m., Laura Cutsforth
July 10	(NOTE DATE) Picnic and Garden Tour – 6:00 p.m., Ron and Penny Tietz, Chetek
July 12-13	An overnite bus trip In combination with other nearby garden clubs and Master Gardeners is planned for this weekend. We will take a Bloomer coach bus to the Rotary Gardens in Janesville, WI. Then head down to Chicago to visit the Chicago Botanical Garden, and also the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL. We will spend the night in the Chicago area. We will also visit the Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison on the way home. Marilyn Saffert will have more information concerning the cost and other pertinent information at the upcoming meetings.
August 7	Picnic and Garden Tour. Paul and Marilyn Saffert, Rice Lake.
September 4	Picnic and tour of Sunny Crest Nursery, Al and Deb Madsen
October 2	Robert Tomesh, “Deciduous trees” – 7:00 p.m., Courthouse
November 6	“Northwest Regional Food Network” – Gail Smith and others will give a presentation of their organization – 7:00 p.m., Courthouse
December 4	Christmas Party

Major Accomplishments or Projects:

We hold two plant sales per year as our only fundraisers. Money earned is used for MG projects and continuing education.
We handle all activities with the 4-H and Open Class exhibitors before and during the Barron County Fair in July. We man a booth at the Fair five days answering horticultural questions as well as the judging of exhibits.
We have participated in projects throughout the county including Display Gardens at the Barron County Courthouse and Fairgrounds, and beautifying other public areas.
In January, we had an educational booth about soil testing at the Spring Home and Garden Show at the Rice Lake, and sent speakers to the Heart of the North Home Builders Show in Barron. In April, we manned a booth at the “50-Plus Challenge to Live Well” in Rice Lake, and in May, we sent a speaker to the Environmental Service Day at Barron High School.
We continue to support the Nature’s Edge Therapy Center in Rice Lake, a place where disabled children receive therapy by interacting with nature.
We host a Spring Expo every year with speakers, demonstrations, displays, and vendors on a variety of horticultural topics.
4-H Discovery Days are held on Saturdays from January to May with our Master Gardeners sharing their knowledge on silk flower arranging, propagating plants with seeds and stem cuttings, soil acidity/ composting, herbs and fair judging with county 4-H members.

We have helped landscape a Habitat for Humanity house in Cumberland this year. We landscape at the University of Wisconsin-Barron County Campus, and will host a pruning workshop there this fall. We sent volunteers to Farm Progress Days in Clark County in 2005.