What is the Master Gardener Program?

Purpose
The purpose of the Laurens County Master Gardener program is to provide horticultural training and information to Laurens County residents.  Each Master Gardener course consists of a series of 12 (or more) classes held once per week for 12 weeks. Each class lasts approximately 3 hours. 

Service
Graduates of the Master Gardener Program will volunteer 40 hours of service to the Laurens County Extension Program over the 12 month period following graduation.  These hours of service can be provided in many different ways - answering horticultural calls in the Extension Office, working on Community Beautification Projects, or perhaps manning Extension or Master Gardener information booths during fairs or festivals.

Classes
Our last course included the following classes:

Classes for each course are offered based on the availability of instructors. We may substitute certain courses if an instructor is not available for a given subject.  Short tests (10 questions, usually true/false or multiple choice) are given each week, with a final exam administered the week following the last class.

Day and Time of Course
The class day and time are typically Tuesday evenings from 6 to 9 pm, but may be changed due to conflicts with other Extension programs.  Our course typically begins in late August and ends in late November or early December.

Course Registration and Fees
The registration fee for the Laurens County Master Gardener Program is $300.00, which includes a number of books (the Master Gardener Training Manual alone is over 500 pages!), handouts, and other materials.  Registration for the course is now done completely on-line - if you do not have internet access, please contact Bryan Smith at 864-984-2514 ext 112 or wsmth@clemson.edu for registration assistance.  Registration closes 1 week before classes begin. Each course will be limited to 24 persons due to space limitations, with a minimum of 10 persons required to register in order for the course to be held.  Please DO NOT mail in registration fees.

Current Course Offering
We currently have a course under way.  Our next course is scheduled to begin in August 2013.  Registration for this course, when it is opened in the summer of 2013, can be found on-line at http://www.regonline.com/MGLAUF13 and will be open until one week before the course starts or the class is filled.

Master Gardener Waiting List
If you are interested in this program, but are visiting this page at a time when no course registration is available, we will be happy to place your name on this Prospective Master Gardener mailing list - simply call us at 864-984-2514 ext. 112 or e-mail wsmth@clemson.edu to request that your name and address be placed on the list.  (You may prefer to complete the Prospective Master Gardener Form on the web - when the "submit" button is clicked the information in the form is e-mailed directly to Bryan Smith.)

You may also like to visit the South Carolina Master Gardener Home Page or the Home and Garden Information Center .

The Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to people of all ages, regardless of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital or family status and is an equal opportunity employer.