NEW BOSTON, Texas-After spending a decade "playing in the dirt," the Bowie County Master Gardeners all agreed Sunday they wouldn't have it any other way.
Dozens of the organization's gardeners, both current and former members, came out Sunday afternoon to New Boston's Trail Head Park to eat cake, sip lemonade and "dish the dirt" (politely, of course) about the fun they have had in being part of a group that started with 17 members in 2008. They now have 42.
"I've always loved planting and growing things," said Joyce Weber a relative newcomer to the Master Gardeners. "When I retired I decided to join the Master Gardeners because I knew I would have the time to learn and volunteer.
"Before I joined I thought I knew everything about gardening, but as it turned out I've learned a lot more. You learn about birds and bees and the effect they have on different plants and you also learn about the different soils and about different insects and how they can either hinder or help plants."
Besides taking classes, earning a membership certificate and learning more about gardening, Weber said she also loves volunteering time to help educate the public by answering questions at farmers' markets as well as going to public schools and teaching children about plant life.
Mary Miller, one of the group's charter members, said she became interested in plant life while growing up on a farm in Hooks, Texas.
"I was raised on a farm and it seemed like my mom could plant just about anything in the ground and it would grow," Miller said. "I just loved watching things grow."
Irene Speulda, a new member of the Master Gardeners, said she is still working on getting her certification and has already completed 19 of the 50 hours of education required for it.
"My granddad was a gardener," she said. "I got interested in gardening because I needed to know more about the different soils, as well about the different nutrients and minerals needed in the different soils. I also raise bees."
Anyone interested in becoming a master gardener may call 903-628-6702.