Plants Add Happiness

Linda is pictured here, front and center with a group of her Master Gardeners at an education event at Wenke Greenhouses. Back row is Irene Loczi-Belden, Patt Hewitt, Kym Mulhern and Cheryl VanderVeen.

An Interview with Linda Whitlock

Linda Whitlock is the Consumer Horticulture Educator/Master Gardener Program Coordinator for Kalamazoo County Extension Services. Linda is the "go to person" for consumers with landscape, horticulture and home insect questions. She is also an educator, leader and coordinator for the county's Master Gardener Program.

The Master Gardener Volunteer Program affiliated with Michigan State University Extension supports community gardening initiatives ranging from community beautification to gardening with/for people with disabilities to feeding the hungry to educating the community on responsible, successful methods of gardening.

"Our 400 master gardeners provide approximately 10,000 volunteer hours annually to enhance community gardening efforts and provide educational information and programming to Kalamazoo County," states Linda.

So how does Linda manage 400 master gardeners, answers hundreds of calls from consumers throughout the year, plan programs and teach seminars on gardening and horticulture? Passionately.

Linda had the gardening bug upon birth, it is probably genetic she laughs. "Both my parents were avid gardeners, my mother had flower gardens and my father had the vegetable garden and I would be with both of them in their gardens throughout the season," Linda recalls. Her desire to grow plants and vegetables empowered her to have one of the only garden plots ever at the married housing complex at U-M, Ann Arbor.

"It was the tiniest piece of yard however the exposure was perfect for a few vegetable plants and some flowers," Linda says. "So I approached the manager and assured him it would be well kept and plants pulled come late fall and he agreed to let me try it."

Since that small garden spot, Linda has expanded her interest and knowledge of horticulture to include shrubs, trees, annuals and grasses in addition to her beloved vegetables and perennials. When her children were in high school Linda decided to become serious about finding a way to combine her passion for gardening with her desire for education and outreach. She completed the Landscape and Turf Grass Management course at the Institute of Ag Technology at MSU and completed the Master Gardener course.

This formal training in horticulture combined with her BA in Communications and TV Production made her the perfect candidate for her current position. "I found my dream job," Linda smiles. "I thoroughly enjoy going to work every day. My role as an educator, communicator, facilitator and program developer to increase awareness and knowledge among consumers of gardening and horticultural practices is just the best of all worlds."

"There are just so many wonderful aspects of gardening that I enjoy and to be able to work with Master Gardener groups on such initiatives as the Humphrey Vegetable Garden where our volunteers work to provide fresh produce to the Southwest Michigan Food Bank is very rewarding," says Linda.

For more information on how you can join a Master Gardener Course or learn more about the many initiatives of the Master Gardener Program, contact Linda at (269) 383-8815 or visit http://web1.msue.msu.edu/mastergardener/kalamazoo/