The Northeast Tennessee Master Gardener Association was formed to concentrate on Master Gardener projects and to help trainees fulfill their service commitments. Its newsletter, Master Gardener Thymes, is published bimonthly to inform members of volunteer and educational opportunities. The University of Tennessee Extension provides unbiased, research-based horticultural information via its Master Gardener website, electronic listserv, and county extension agents.

The Master Gardener is a volunteer service program for University of Tennessee Extension (UTE).  Extension professionals train local members of the community as volunteers to help provide sound, practical, research-based information to educate the public about home horticulture.  Master Gardeners also help to solve other home gardening problems.

Master Gardeners provide great gardening information in many different ways.  They may hold gardening workshops, lectures, plant clinics and demonstrations in their local community.  Master Gardener programs offer home horticulture information to the general public with an educational and non-biased approach.  Master Gardeners may write articles for the local newspaper or answer their neighbors’ gardening questions.  They are a terrific resource for their local communities.