Maryland Native Plants Program
Fran Garcia, Interim Coordinator
Master Gardener Program
The Maryland Native Plants Program - HB 950/SB 836 bill passed on April 10, 2023. It establishes the Maryland Native Plants Program, which will be administered by the Maryland Department of Agriculture and the University of Maryland Extension (UME). This program will develop a Commercial Maryland Native Plant List, create a voluntary certification program for growers and retailers, and a “Maryland Natives” marketing program and webpage. This bill also creates a new position for UME to hire a native plants specialist.
The Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC) faculty and staff were instrumental in providing research and data in support of this bill. The HGIC will leverage the Master Gardener program to promote this initiative, and look into ways to make this part of the “Maryland’s Best Program.” If you would like to learn more about this bill, the link is provided below:
https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/SB0836?ys=2023rs
50th Anniversary of the Master Gardener Program
March 20th marked the first day of the inaugural National Extension Master Gardener week. Washington State University is where the MG Program all began. The WSU College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences released a story on the history of the program. It’s an inspirational story and we are all lucky enough to be a part of it.
To learn more about the history of the MG program, I included a YouTube video, courtesy of Jennifer Marquis, Statewide Program Leader, WSU Extension. To learn more, please see the WSU website: http://mastergardener.wsu.edu
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