The Master Gardener program began in the 1970's in response to the many gardening questions that resulted from the rapidly increasing level of interest in home gardening. The idea was to train knowledgeable gardener volunteers to help University Extension staff deliver home gardening information to the public.

Our local Master Gardeners are able to build on their interests and acquire greater expertise through the resources available through the Extension Service and the University of Missouri.

University of Missouri Extension provides equal opportunity to all participants in extension programs and activities, and for all employees and applicants for employment on the basis of their demonstrated ability and competence without discrimination on the basis of their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability or status as a protected veteran.

Hickory County Master Gardeners recommend contacting your local Extension Service for more complete plant and growing information and how to become a Master Gardener.

Meetings are reserved for Master Gardener members, but community programs hosted by the Master Gardeners are public events and will be announced in the local newspaper.

As of 12/31/2014, this blog will no longer post new articles. It will remain active as an archive. Please use the tools available in the right column to search for information and source links provided in previous articles.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://extension.missouri.edu/ and http://mg.missouri.edu/.


Butterfly Gardening and Your Gardening Personality


Master Gardener's Road Trip 
A great way to spent a hot day on Aug 28, 2014 was with members of the Master Gardeners of Hickory County attending an event sponsored by the Barton County and Four Seasons Master Gardeners.  The event was titled:  Flying Flowers in your Garden and Your Gardening Personality.  The speaker was Lenora Larson who is a member of the  Miami, Kansas Master Gardeners, the Idalia Butterfly Society, and the Kansas Native Plant Society.  She is an informative speaker with a great sense of humor that kept everyone cackling the entire time! 

The workshop provided great information on how to create a better butterfly environment.  A hand-out pamphlet, "How to Convert your Beautiful Garden into an Even More Beautiful Butterfly Garden" contained a wealth of information and included links to help create a better environment for butterflies.  Missouri has a lot of different kinds of butterflies but unfortunately they are becoming less common because of the plight of the Monarch butterflies - migratory butterflies that are dying in record numbers.  Creating a better butterfly environment will not only help our butterfly population and bring these beautiful creatures into our gardens, but will also aid the Monarchs in their migration to and from South America. 
Monarch Caterpillar on Native Milkweed


The workshop attendees learned that to survive and thrive, the butterfly needs nectar plants and host plants - nectar plants for the adult butterfly and host plants for the caterpillar and cocoon stages to feed on.  The nectar plants can be from a wide variety of flowering plants that flower from as early and as late in the growing season as possible to benefit the largest group of butterflies.  
Monarch on Marigold  (Tagetes patula)

As gardeners, we all have a variety of beautiful flowering plants in our yards and gardens. Unfortunately, many are unsuitable for butterflies. The issue seems to be that most plants we consider for flowers are hybridized and do not provide nectar.  That's right…they are nectar sterile!  I had no idea!  I assumed all flowers buds had nectar.  Knowing this, I will surely be attuned to what varieties I will plant in the future.  As I looked over the flowers that I had chosen, I realized that I could have had the same flowers and colors by simply planting the native variety of those plants attracting more butterflies to our yard.  A case in point: I planted some hardy marigolds having no idea they were sterile.  If I had just planted more of the native variety of marigold, Tagetes patula, I would have provided more of the nectar the butterflies needed.  Luckily, we had some varieties of marigolds and zinnias that did attract a few Monarchs in my yard.  We can do better and still have the beauty!
Monarch on Zinnia

I encourage everyone to look at your flowers and to see if they are attracting butterflies or bees. If they are not being visited, this could be an issue that is easily remedied. The link to the Missouri Conservation Dept. provides a good list of native nectar and host plants that will last throughout the growing season.

After the event's morning session, we took a brunch break with the pot-luck items that we all provided.  The afternoon session focused on landscaping principles.  The speaker's approach focused on a person's personality and not the standard that you see in most gardening books. The idea is to find out what your unconscious gardening personality is and by being conscious of your unconscious personality, you will be better able to create a one of a kind landscape. This was accomplished through a series of visual pictures on different elements of a landscape and a self-quiz as to what you like to do if given choices. 


This was a great workshop and provided much useful information!  Traveling  by carpool was ample time to chat with fellow Master Gardeners and share other perspectives on related issues.  Butterflies have specific needs that must be met as does all wildlife.  The presentation reviewed their biology and habitat requirements with an emphasis on garden design.  Additional information can be found at:

Monarch Watch

North American Butterfly Association

Missouri Wildflowers Nursery

Source:  Keith Pearson, Hickory County Master Gardener
Posted:  9/13/14
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