Master Gardener

Master Gardeners are trained volunteers who are passionate about the environment and community engagement. Our mission is to support the University of Maryland Extension service by educating residents about safe, effective and sustainable horticultural practices that build healthy gardens, landscapes, and communities. We use a variety of activities to provide horticulture information such as:

• Plant clinics to diagnose disease and/or pest problems

• Exhibits at local events

• Youth programs

• Maintaining demonstration gardens

Actions you can take to garden more sustainably include:

• Composting

• Growing more native plants

• Implementing Bay-Wise landscaping practices  

• Growing food organically

To see what we are currently working on, please visit our Resource Page to get The Compost, for the latest information on new and ongoing projects.

If you or your organization in Charles County would like assistance with planting techniques, or design, or would like to request a gardening presentation, please complete this form.

Do you want a garden, but don’t know where to start? Is your garden space limited to a balcony or patio? Does your head want more gardening space than your back can handle?

Charles County Government’s new video, “Your Charles County: Starting a Garden,” answers those questions with help from Charles County Master Gardeners and University of Maryland Extension.

Lee Ann Stone, video production specialist with the county government, interviewed Kaitlyn Baligush, program management specialist for University of Maryland Extension, and Molly Moore, Charles County Master Gardener, on gardening in containers, raised beds and using cardboard and organic matter to create a no-till native plant bed.

Stone and her camera followed Baligush and Moore as they walked through Moore’s property near Newburg in southern Charles County discussing how to choose a garden site and how to pick the right plants for the right spot.

Then Baligush and Moore went to work laying cardboard, raking piles of compost and mulch and planting a new bed of the deer-resistant native, White Snakeroot, which blooms in early fall.

And those strawberries you see in the video? They were quickly devoured as soon as Stone turned off the camera.

To learn about becoming a Master Gardener or about our programs, click on the side menu or on the images below.