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PAUL:

They say you reap what you sow. And if that's true, today's guest has cultivated more than just plants. She's grown community and connection across Jackson. Hey, it's Paul Wolf with a front-row seat to conversations on culture from Jackson, Mississippi. We call our podcast Soul Sessions. It's the people, places and events that make the City With Soul shine. On today's show, we're talking with Maureen Scott, a certified Master Gardener and member of the Metro Master Gardeners Association. From her work at Greenwood Cemetery and the Ag Museum Herb Garden to a touching award-winning project at St. Dominic's, Maureen shares how gardening can be both personal therapy and public service.

Maureen, let's start at the root of it all. What does it mean to be a master gardener and how did you personally get involved in the program?

MAUREEN:

To be a master gardener, you have to have a love and an interest in gardening, and it could be flowers, it could be vegetables, it could be herbs, it could be propagating. It's done through the Mississippi State University Extension. And if you're interested in becoming a master gardener, they do the online classes ever since COVID has gone online.

And they do those in the fall starting in October. And if you're interested, you need to contact your local extension agent, which in Hunts County is Kyle Lewis out in Raymond, and he can get you signed up, and you can start your program, it's self-paced, and it covers a multitude of classes.

From botany to soils to insects to vegetables to ornamental plantings to even honey bees, which I was like, hmm, honey bees. But I learned so much about honey bees. I became a master gardener because I have had a lifelong interest in gardening. I was a 4-H member as a child growing up and I had a grandmother who had a magical greenhouse. She grew roses and flowers, whatever she touched just blossomed and grew and I love to go into her greenhouse and the smell I still remember that. I was an accountant, retired from public accounting after 42 years and everybody always knew on April 16th that they could not find Maureen. She was going to be in her garden doing her dirt therapy after tax season. Gardening has always been an outlet and a therapy for me. I love it. I have a vegetable garden and flowers so I do a little bit of everything.

PAUL:

For folks who may not realize how deep your group's roots go in the community, can you share some of the projects the Metro Master Gardeners are involved in here in Jackson?

MAUREEN:

The Metro Master Gardeners encompasses the Metro Jackson area. We have members from Hunts County, Madison County, one or two from over in Rankin County. And our core projects, the ones that we dedicate throughout the year, include Dr. Phil's herb garden at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum. If you go out there and you see the doctor's building, go behind. There are some interesting herbs back there. And even Felder Rushing gets involved back there. We also work at the Clinton Nature Center in Clinton, Mississippi. We have taken on the Greenwood Cemetery in downtown Jackson. If you've never been there, the rose is out there. I can't even remember how many varieties of roses are out there. And also we do other projects such as speaking at garden clubs, going to the schools when they need a program. I know last year I spent Earth Day making seed bombs with students. We also do a lot teaching about how to collect your seeds and native plants and things like that.

And then we have one-time projects. People may need help with one thing or another thing. And you know, we're always available for that, but service and education are two major functions of the Metro master gardeners.

PAUL:

Okay. Let's talk about the plant sale. The big plant sale at Mynelle Gardens on April 26. You got to get there early bright and early 8 AM because the pick of the plants will be, well, they'll be picked, right? They'll be picked over. So what can folks look forward to this year at the plant sale?

MAUREEN:

We always have our plant sale the last Saturday in April. The funds that we generate from the plant sale provide our funding for our special projects. We try to promote native and heritage pass-along plants, plants that you might've gotten from your grandmother and been in your family at your grandmother's house. We have flowers, we have shrubs, we have trees, we have herbs. A little bit of everything. And we have been working weekly at our greenhouse since November, trying to propagate and start seeds. And then we go out into our gardens and collect different plants to divide and pot and make available. We want to promote people getting out in the garden. It's good for the soul. Pardon that pun. And you know, it just brings joy to share these heritage plants.

As you said, arrive early. We'll open the gates to the area at eight o'clock, but we have people lining up at seven o'clock. You might want to bring, if you've got one of those portable wagons or just a box or something to carry, we will have security out there. We will have people directing traffic. You need to come up by what we call the Westbrook House, not by the office, but come a little bit further up by the Westbrook House and they'll direct you where to park and we'll have people to assist you with your plants answering questions if you have about whether it's a shade plant, a partial sun plant, a full sun plant, is it invasive or whatever your questions might be. All of our master gardeners are going to be there wearing a red shirt so you can spot them and they will help you get them to your cars.

PAUL:

And for anyone who's ever shown up at Mynelle Gardens for this plant sale and realized that you only take cash or checks this year, something special, you're going to take credit and debit cards.

MAUREEN:

Thanks to a very special lady, Sophie Wolf. She has worked diligently trying to teach this old dog new tricks. We've got it all set up to take it. So if you do forget your cash or your check, we are going to be set up to take credit cards.

PAUL:

Maureen, from your experience, what role do these gardens and green projects play in the day-to-day life and quality of life for Jackson residents?

MAUREEN:

I think that so many of, and I see it in children and I see it in my grandchildren actually. They don't have the experience of getting out and getting their hands dirty and growing something and realizing where their food comes from, how important bees are and you need the flowers for the pollinators to have more food and they don't realize the connection and I think having this gardening space like I say it's good for your mental health to get outside get some fresh air get your hands dirty. In working with the children I know I was making seed balms and they get kind of messy and sticky when you're making them.

There were some kids that wouldn't stick their hands down in and I thought all kids like to make mud pies. But I think it's just kind of a different generation and we don't need to lose that. We need to keep that going. I made a fairy garden with my granddaughter and I don't know if you know what that is, but we took a pot and we made layers and we put a little cactus and we put little fairies in there, built a little ladder out of twigs and she is watering it, take care of it and loves it. You know, has to tell the story of her fairies.

PAUL:

For anyone listening who might be curious about getting involved, what's the first step to becoming a master gardener?

MAUREEN:

The first step is to think about taking the online master gardener course through Mississippi State. And like I said, it's offered online, it's self-paced, it's offered in the fall. There is a small charge. I think it may be $225 to $250. But you get about 40 hours of education. And once you complete that course, there's a little test. And I was gonna say, now if I can pass it, anybody can pass it. It's not intimidating. But then the first year you complete 40 hours of volunteer service. And then the next year, if you wanna maintain your certificate, you do 12 hours of education, continuing education, which is not hard to do. There's all sorts of classes and online information available. And then you do 20 hours of community service. I think I learn as much from the other people as I do from the experts. But the coursework that you do online is done by the extension specialists. So you are dealing with the best in Mississippi that are very knowledgeable about all of these topics. Then you're assigned to your local chapter. So if you live in the metro area, you would be assigned to the Hinds County Metro Master Gardeners and our county agent would let you know of all our different activities and try to get you involved in our quarterly meetings and coming out our projects. Those projects I mentioned are usually done on Monday mornings and you just kind of pick the one that you like and you'd be available to do speaking engagements on topics that you're interested in.

We have one member that I think she could propagate a plant from a rock. have one that's so knowledgeable about seeds. I mean, I'll open up a bud and I'm like, where's the seed? And she said, that teeny tiny, it looks like a pinhead. That's the seed. We have others that are very knowledgeable about trees. mean, and it's just whatever specialty you like. You don't have to be a jack of all trades. You can kind of pick and choose what you like to do but it's a good fun way to get out and share gardening. I've learned so much from the members.

PAUL:

That's our conversation with Master Gardener Maureen Scott. She wanted to make sure we gave a special thanks to the City of Jackson, specifically the Parks Department, for all of their assistance and hospitality as the Master Gardeners work out at Mynelle Gardens. Don't forget their annual plant sale is coming up Saturday, April 26 at 8 a.m. at Mynelle Gardens. We'll have links in our show notes at visitjackson.com/soulsessions to learn more.

The podcast is produced by Visit Jackson, the destination organization for Mississippi's capital city. Our executive producers are Jonathan Pettus and Dr. Ricky Thigpen, and I'm our managing editor. My thanks to my very own in-house master gardener, my wife, Sophie McNeil Wolf, who helped me prep for this interview. Boy, you should see her garden!

You can learn more about the work we're doing to help shine a spotlight on Jackson at visitjackson.com. I'm Paul Wolf and you've been listening to Soul Sessions.

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