Arkansas Master Gardener Program

Master Gardener plant sales offer choice picks for home gardeners

By Tracy Courage
U of A System Division of Agriculture

LITTLE ROCK — Master Gardener plant sales are happening all around the state, offering home gardeners a wide assortment of annuals, perennials, pollinators, herbs, vegetables and more. A word of advice though: Arrive early.

PLANTS GALORE — Master Gardeners are hosting plants sales across Arkansas. UADA photo

At a recent sale at the Pulaski County Master Gardeners greenhouse in Little Rock, customers lined up well before the 8 a.m. start time for the two-day sale. Within an hour, hot items like the yellow lantana had been scooped up, and by the end of the first day, most of the annuals and heirloom tomato plants were sold out.

“It was probably the best showing we’ve had on the first day, and it helped that the weather cooperated,” said Pulaski County Master Gardener Jessica Rogers, who co-chaired the plant sale. “We saw a lot of experienced gardeners coming for something specific. We grow a lot of natives from cuttings, and we had some unique native perennial plants.”

More than 30 Master Gardener plant sales are happening around the state. The sales started in April and will continue through the first week of June. Find a sale at www.uaex.uada.edu/plant-sales.

Novice and experienced gardeners benefit from the sales by getting healthy plants at prices often below those at gardening centers. As an added perk, buyers can talk to Master Gardeners on site to get their knowledgeable recommendations for plant selection and care.

Proceeds from the plant sales, in turn, benefit the communities in which they are held.

“The Master Gardener plant sales are the primary source of revenue for our Master Gardener groups,” said Randy Forst, extension consumer horticulture educator and Master Gardener coordinator for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “They fund  beautification projects, education outreach and scholarships for students pursuing plant-related studies.”

Upcoming plant sales include:

  • April 27: Craighead County, 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Judd Hill Farmers Market, 3360 Aggie Rd., Jonesboro

  • April 27: Cleburne County, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., 725 S. 4th St., Heber Springs

  • April 27: Drew County, 8-11 a.m., Monticello Coffee Co., 316 Highway 425 South, Monticello 

  • April 27: Independence County, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville

  • April 27: Polk County, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., Polk County Fairgrounds, 603 De Queen St., Mena

  • April 27: Baxter County 9-10:30 a.m., Baxter County Fairgrounds Livestock Barn, Mountain Home

  • April 27: Montgomery County, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Montgomery County Fairgrounds, Mount Ida

  • April 27: Arkansas County, 10 a.m.-12 p.m., Arkansas County Fairgrounds, DeWitt

  • May 4: Pope County, 8 a.m.-Noon, Fairgrounds, 500 S. Knoxville, Russellville

  • May 4: Union County, 8 a.m.-3 p.m., Historic Newton House Museum, 510 N. Jackson St., El Dorado.

  • May 4: Madison County, 9 a.m.-12 p.m., Watson Primary School parking lot, 314 N Gaskill St., Huntsville

  • May 4: Prairie County, 9-11 a.m., Hazen Community Center

  • May 4: Stone County, 9 a.m.-12 p.m., Extension Homemakers Club (EHC) building at Stone County Fairgrounds, 216 Warren St, Mountain View

  • May 10-11: Crittenden County, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., 12401 Hwy 70 W, Proctor

  • May 11: Faulkner County, 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Conway Expo Center. 2505 E. Oak. St, Conway

  • May 11: Greene County, 8 a.m.-12 p.m., Paragould Farmers Market Community Pavilion

  • May 11: Van Buren County, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Van Buren County Fairgrounds, 1827 Arkansas 16 East, Clinton

  • May 11: Madison County, 9 a.m.-12 p.m., Kingston Square

  • May 11: Logan County, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Union Bank Community Center, Paris

  • May 17-18: Benton County Plant Sale & Expo, 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday and 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, First United Methodist Church, Bentonville.

  • June 8: Boone County, 9 a.m.-12 p.m., Downtown Square, Harrison

The Master Gardener program started with 40 members in four counties — Garland, Jefferson, Pulaski and Saline. Today, more than 3,200 members volunteer in 67 of the state’s counties.

To learn about Arkansas Master Gardeners, visit or www.uaex.uada.edu/Master-Gardeners or contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension.

Janet B. Carson Master Gardener scholarship open to high school seniors

By Rebekah Hall
U of A System Division of Agriculture 

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas high school seniors interested in pursuing a plant sciences degree may benefit from a scholarship opportunity available through the Arkansas Master Gardener program.

THE FUTURE OF HORTICULTURE — The Janet B. Carson Master Gardener Scholarship is named for noted extension horticulturist Janet Carson, who served the Cooperative Extension Service for nearly four decades. The scholarship is available to high school seniors planning to pursue a plant sciences degree at an Arkansas college or university. (Division of Agriculture photo.)

The Janet B. Carson Master Gardener Scholarship is available to high school seniors planning to attend an Arkansas college or university and major in a plant science related-field, including horticulture, botany, agronomy, forestry, landscape architecture and more.

The Arkansas Master Gardener program funds the $1,000 scholarship. Randy Forst, extension consumer horticulture educator and Master Gardener program coordinator for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said the scholarship is part of the program’s investment in the future of horticulture.

“The Janet B. Carson Scholarship was set up in 2014 in honor of Janet Carson, who spent 38 years sharing her horticulture knowledge and love of gardening with many people across the state,” Forst said. “We are hoping that this will encourage more people to pursue a career involving plants. When it comes to horticulture, Master Gardeners are a big component of investing in the future generation of the plant industry.”

The deadline to apply is March 10, 2023, and the scholarship application is available at bit.ly/carson-scholarship-23. Scholarship applicants are required to submit two letters of recommendation and a short statement about their career goals, along with their high school transcripts and ACT (or equivalent) scores. For more information, contact mg@uada.edu or contact your county extension agent.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.