Intern Guide

The Monroe County Master Gardening Basic Training Class for 2024 runs from January 16 through April 14.

6 Steps to Become a Master Gardener

  • The number 1

    Find a Purdue Extension Master Gardener Program near you.

  • The number 2

    Contact the Monroe County Extension Master Gardener Coordinator.

  • The number 3

    Complete the volunteer application and agreement form.

  • The number 4

    Learn more about horticulture by attending a series of weekly classes.

  • The number 5

    Pass an exam with a score of 70% to complete the required training.

  • The number 6

    Give back by volunteering 40 hours within two years to be certified.

These 6 Steps are spread over a two part process.

  • In the first part of the process, you apply by submitting forms, taking the class, and passing the test (with a minimum 70% score). At this point you are a Master Gardener Intern.

  • In the second part of the process, you complete 40 hours of volunteer service within a one year period. Once that is complete, you are awarded the status of Certified Master Gardener.

Purdue University Extension guides you through the process.

  • Submit an application expressing interest in the Master Gardener program through the local Purdue Extension office. Read more about the Master Gardener Program Policies and review the volunteer application and agreement. The application can be found on pages 16-18 of this publication.

  • Complete the volunteer application and agreement form and return it to the Monroe County Purdue Extension office with registration fee of $200.00 and any additional registration information. You will also be asked to show evidence of a government-issued photo ID.

    3400 South Walnut Street
    Bloomington, Indiana 47401

    Phone (812) 349-2575
    Fax (812) 349-4637
    Email: monroeces@purdue.edu

  • Complete a comprehensive training course spanning fourteen weeks, which includes classroom instruction, hands-on activities, and expert presentations covering various aspects of gardening, plant biology, pest management, and environmental stewardship. This Purdue brochure outlines subjects in the coursework in more detail.

  • Pass a required examination with a passing grade of 70% or more to demonstrate understanding of the material covered in the training class. At this point, aspiring gardeners are now considered to be Master Gardener Interns and will be recognized with an official badge upon completion. Badges are usually handed out at one of our monthly educational meetings.

  • Commit to volunteering 40 hours to the community within a two year period. You can volunteer to work on community garden and education projects, plant clinics, at the annual garden fair or Indiana State Fair, or even becoming a board or committee member. Monroe County has a variety of fun, educational, and fulfilling volunteer opportunities to choose from.

    New opportunities to volunteer and learn are constantly becoming available, and many are announced at classes, meetings, and seminars.

  • Upon successful completion of the training and volunteer hours, participants become certified Purdue Master Gardeners.

  • Becoming a certified Master Gardener gives you the chance to continue your gardening knowledge through a built-in community of like-minded people.

    Master Gardeners have access to monthly meetings with knowledgeable speakers, workshops, seminars, and even state and national conferences which offer the best of the best of up to date and modern gardening info available.

    Volunteering allows you to learn by getting you involved in the different ways that gardening knowledge is applicable in the real world. Get your hands dirty (or not!) by finding the niche that is available to you in the wide reaching community of like-minded gardening enthusiasts.

Volunteering as a Master Gardener

  • Photo of dried tall grass cleared from garden at Wonderlab Museum Garden in early spring

    Volunteer's maintain the garden at Wonderlab — Museum of Science, Health and Technology in Bloomington.

  • Volunteers clear tall grass in early spring from Wonderlab garden.

    Clearing tall grass on a chilly spring morning at the Wonderlab garden.

  • two women clean up garden in spring

    More spring clean up at Wonderlab.

  • two women smile in a chilly spring garden

    Friendships blossom as well as plants while volunteering as a Master Gardener!

  • man shows bonsai tools for a demonstration

    David Higgins gave a talk on Bonsai at a monthly meeting. Here he talks about the requisite tools.

  • man demonstrates Bonsai techniques

    David Higgins discusses and demonstrates Bonsai aesthetics and techniques.

  • master gardeners observe bonsai plants

    Master Gardeners get up close and personal with examples of Bonsai after class

  • informal classroom with speaker and presentation

    This monthly meeting took place after the annual Fall Harvest meal and Auction at the Monroe County Fairgrounds.

  • master gardeners listen to guest speaker showing slides

    Guest speaker Anita Bracalente gave a presentation titled “The Cultivated Campus: Roaming the Grounds of Indiana University.”

  • two women smile at a House Plant booth

    At the Annual Garden Fair, our biggest outreach event of the year, there are lots of volunteer opportunities, including organizing and hosting the Plant Sale booth.

  • volunteers host the "Garden Activity" booth at the Garden Fair

    The Garden Activity booth at the annual Garden Fair is educational and fun. A committee of volunteers designs a horticulture project that engages families and then follows through by hosting the booth.

  • children roll pine-cones in peanut-butter and seeds

    Fulfilling the mission of "helping others grow" the Garden Activity booth gives families fun hands-on horticultural lessons. Children roll pine cones in peanut-butter and seeds while learning that seeds are a plant food for birds and pine cones themselves consist of seeds!

  • woman takes money from a customer at a food display

    The Garden Thyme Cafe is always popular at the annual Garden Fair for it's delicious home-made food and affordable prices. Volunteers bake, organize and host the Cafe every year.

  • six women volunteer inside and outside the kitchen at the Garden Fair

    The Garden Thyme Cafe is a major production requiring lots of volunteer hours. Master Gardeners enjoy the camaraderie and return to this project year after year!

  • gardener at a distance in a spring garden filled with blooms

    IU Hilltop Garden and Nature Center consists of several gardens and is always seeking volunteers. Here a volunteer works in the Shakespeare garden in spring when the Sweet William is in bloom.

  • a single male gardener waters plants in the garden

    Hilltop's herb garden is planted with herbs arranged in a geometric shaped lattice pattern. The garden produces oregano, sage, thyme, lavender, chives, garlic chives, basil and mint.

  • gardening works in the urban garden at IU's Hilltop Garden

    The urban garden at Hilltop demonstrates different gardening techniques for those that do not have a lot of garden space or poor soils. Volunteers help maintain raised container beds.

  • volunteers host the "Plant Info to Go" booth

    Once a year, Purdue Extension Master Gardeners from various counties throughout the state host the "Plant Info to Go!" booth at the Indiana State Fair. Monroe County Master Gardeners travel to Indianapolis in teams for Monroe County's assigned dates.

  • woman stands at information booth ready to answer questions

    Members of the public are familiar with the popular "House Plant Doctor" booth at the annual Garden Fair where they come with questions about the health of their indoor plants. Master Gardeners offer expert advice.

  • man hands wrapped plant seedling to woman while answering questions

    Monroe County Master Gardeners team up with Purdue Extension to host the "Gardening Everything" booth. Here our extension educator distributes and answers questions about grey dogwood tree seedlings to the first 300 visitors of the Fair in 2023.

What’s next?

Connecting Being a Master Gardener brings access to a community of like-minded people and provides ongoing opportunities to deepen your knowledge about gardening. As a master gardener you will grow your expertise, and your gardening network!

Continuing Education Certified Master Gardeners are required to earn 6 education hours annually. Attending talks by gardening experts, monthly meetings, and listening to approved online education modules are some examples of how to fulfill the education requirements.

Volunteering As part of the Purdue Extension, one of the missions of the Master Garden Program is to “help others grow” about a variety of horticultural subjects. We give back to our community through volunteerism. After your first year, members in good standing are required to volunteer 12 hours annually. Some choose to devote many more hours and advance through advancing levels of certification.

Advancing to Full Certification

  • Once you have completed the intern classes and passed the test you’re now a Master Gardener Intern. Congratulations!

    The next step is to complete your 40 volunteer hours with-in two years. (Your education hours for the year are already covered by the classes you took to get to this point.)

    Once you’ve found the way you want to volunteer, log the 40 hours and you officially become a fully Certified Master Gardener!

  • The Master Gardener Association makes it easy to find a way to volunteer.

    Not only do we offer opportunities within the organization itself, we also partner with local organizations that appreciate our help with their public spaces. After all, the point of volunteering is to help spread the knowledge and love of gardening to the wider community - with the added benefit of it educating you along the way.

    Check out Volunteer Opportunities for the current list of places and projects to get involved with. A couple of examples include design and maintenance of the Monroe County Courthouse gardens on the square in downtown Bloomington, and the garden at Wonderlab, Bloomington’s local children’s museum.

    New or recurring volunteer projects are announced at general monthly meetings, or other MG events such as Book Club.

    Other volunteer opportunities include things like: working on the website and social media channels, joining a subcommittee that helps plan and organize the annual Garden Fair, volunteering at the Plant Info to Go! booth at the state fair, or joining the board of directors.

    There are many more possibilities; if you have more questions about volunteering, visit Volunteer FAQs, or ask an MG member at one of our general meetings.

  • Purdue Extension, the umbrella organization for Indiana Master Gardeners, makes signing-in to log your hours easy and fast. Visit the Report Hours page to learn how.

    Make sure to log your hours before the end of the year to become a fully certified Master Gardener, otherwise your window for membership closes.

    You can only be an intern for one year, but once you advance to full Master Gardener, with continued learning, you can be involved for life.

  • Our general meetings occur on the second Tuesday evening of nearly every month. During each meeting you’ll get to know other MG members, meet board members, learn about current event updates, get updates on volunteer opportunities, and most importantly, get to hear experts impart their knowledge about their specialty to you - all for free!

    Plus, we usually have tasty snacks. So, come on down to our meetings! The wealth of knowledge is vast and unending, and you’ll be happy you made the effort to learn and meet new people.

    You can log one education hour for each one hour speaker you attend.

  • Volunteering isn’t the only way to get involved. There are also enriching activities such as: Book Club, field trips for members, public events such as Garden Fair, and a diverse community that is happy to embrace new members.

    Check out our To-Do list below for an easy checklist of things you can do to get involved, and make the most of your membership in the Monroe County Master Gardener Association (MCMGA).

To-Do List: Making the Most of Being a Master Gardener

  • Folia & Flora is our definitive guide for members with information on contacts, rules and bylaws, events and yearly schedule, and general official information. It is updated and issued yearly. Once you are fully certified and registered you’ll be able to access Folia & Flora through a password protected portal.

  • Sign up and like our pages on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram to access recordings, updates, and information.

    Also, watching our recordings of educational speakers counts towards your educational hours, so don’t forget to log those!

  • The Purdue Extension Master Gardener website is an excellent master resource for planting dates, crop info, growing zones, and copious amounts of other helpful gardening information.

  • Garden Fair planning is well under way, but we are always on the hunt for volunteers to help with various aspects (big and small!) to help the process along. Contact us if you want to find a way to help out!

  • Our board of directors often have projects they need help with, so if you have just a little bit of extra time, connecting with the board can be an easy and fast way to get a few volunteer hours, and you also get to be involved in helping the organization thrive. Come see us at General Meetings, or say hi when you see one of us at your intern classes. We’re happy to meet you!