Mastering the garden

When Master Gardener Alison Ogden of Santa Rosa was recently honored as one of Sonoma County's top volunteers, she was, well, a bit flabbergasted.

"There is so much volunteering in Sonoma County and what I do . . . it just pales to what others do," said the retired teacher.

A member of the 2003 Master Gardener class, Ogden was honored for building up the program's volunteer coverage and leading its information desk.

Saying Ogden doesn't do anything big is sort of like saying firefighters just put water on fires.

Through a program of the UC Cooperative Extension, trained Master Gardeners provide advice to home gardeners. An umbrella farm-advising division provides information to farmers and commercial agricultural entities.

Because of Ogden's enthusiasm and energy, working the information desk in the group's Aviation Boulevard office is now the cool place to be. All she asks from colleagues is one day a month.

"Alison saw that we could do things a little better. She's a plunger, so she plunged in. She's also a sweetheart," said Paul Vossen, the extension's farm adviser.

A typical day on the desk includes phone calls, visits and e-mails. Volunteers must be ready for anything.

"A lady walked in one day with something in her hand, a pill bottle, and before I knew it, she had spilled out the contents and said, I want to know what kind of ticks these are," said Ogden, recalling the frantic effort to re-capture dozens of scattered pests.

What intrigues Ogden about volunteering is the potential to offer scientific, region-specific information.

"I loved being a teacher. I guess you never quit once you get involved with teaching and learning," Ogden said.

She emphasizes that Master Gardeners advise for free, but don't work in the yard for others.

Often the people who come in are desperate for ideas. Take invasive weeds, for example. A man walks in complaining of morning glory strangling his roses. He'd been pulling and pulling and pulling. What spray would kill them? What was the quick fix?

"We talked for a long time and eventually he looked at me and said, OK, I guess I better just get back to work," she said and laughed.

The reward for offering garden advice is meeting others with a passion for beauty, learning new skills and offering hope to the discouraged.

"We really do give people hope. It's a good feeling to enable people to succeed. It gives us all a little

vicarious pleasure," she said of chats that can lead to cheerier neighborhood walks or lovelier vistas.

Each mid-January to mid-April, a new class meets twice weekly to be trained by experts, including university professors. Not every applicant is accepted, because enrollment is limited. Master Gardeners must fulfill a minimum of 60 hours of volunteer service and 12 hours of continuing education. Tuition ranges from $200 to $250.

"Our core projects include information tables at farmers markets, fairs and library workshops on Saturday mornings," said Debra Curle, coordinator of programs.

The Master Gardener Information Desk is at 133 Aviation Blvd., Suite 109, and the phone number is 565-2608. Walk-ins are welcomed Monday through Friday. A second desk in the city of Sonoma can be reached at 938-0127. Questions may also be e-mailed to MGsonoma@ucdavis.edu.

You can reach Staff Writer

Rayne Wolfe at 521-5240 or rayne.wolfe@pressdemocrat.com.