2005 - 2025
Celebrating 20 years in Blount County, Teaching, Connecting & Growing!
Become a Master Gardener!All volunteers are trained with 40 hours of horticultural classes and return 40 hours of volunteer service in Blount County. The Master Gardener Intern Course fee is $300. This fee covers learning materials, including the Master Gardener handbook, workbook, and weekly activity materials, as well as instruction and other program-related expenses.
The classes are taught by professors and other industry professionals who share their knowledge and experience. Being a Blount County Master GardenerUpon enrollment in the Master Gardener Intern course, you will be considered a Master Gardener Intern. Intern status remains in place until the following requirements have been completed:
Once these requirements have been fulfilled, you will earn the status of a Certified Master Gardener. To maintain your Certified Master Gardener status in future years, you must:
The Master Gardener program is a rewarding opportunity to expand your horticultural knowledge, serve your community, and connect with fellow gardening enthusiasts. | Master Gardener Intern Training - What's it like?Twelve Interns completed in the BCMG General Training Course for 2025. The Interns completed the fourteen week program which included weekly instruction by UT professors on topics such as Intro to Botany, Soil Sciences and Water Management, Plant Pathology, Tennessee Vegetation and Flora and Landscape design. All students also completed indoctrination in the MG Program and Volunteer Guidelines. Interns enjoyed opportunities to begin that all important volunteer time by participating in plant digs, monitoring bluebird nests, and joining teams for many of the community projects that the Blount County Master Gardeners are involved in. 2027 Intern Class February 2 - April 27, 2027The 2027 Intern Class will held in on Tuesday mornings from 9:30 until 1:00 pm beginning on Tuesday, February 2, 2027. Click on link for class information and application form Applications for the 2027 Master Gardener Intern class are due to Caitlin Dalton, Agriculture & Natural Resources Extension Agent, at CaitlinANR@utk.edu. Questions? Contact Caitlin via email or call 865-518-2019. Master Gardener General Training Class The Master Gardener program, conducted throughout the US and Canada, is a two part educational effort in which enthusiastic gardeners are provided intense horticulture training. In return they “pay back” local university extension agents through volunteerism. Blount County Master Gardeners' projects include a partnership with Habitat for Humanity, Project Hope a youth- and science-based program to teach middle school students STEM through gardening, an annual plant sale, the Shakespeare Garden at the Blount County Public Library, the Townsend River Walk, and the Maryville College Grove project, to name a few. |