About the Program

Since 1979, Virginia Extension Master Gardeners have served communities throughout the Commonwealth by providing unbiased and research-based horticultural information to home gardeners.

Master Gardeners provide a resource for all Extension program areas and for professionals from many other agencies. They provide communities with locally identified programs, including answers to individual questions via hotlines and plant clinics; radio, newspaper, and computer links; educational programs to meet targeted needs; education for the preservation of historic landscapes; urban tree planting programs; and guidance in making the natural environment accessible to all residents regardless of disabilities, incomes, or where they live.

Mission: Sharing knowledge. Empowering Communities.

Vision: To be the Virginia Cooperative Extension volunteer organization extending horticulture and environmental outreach across the Commonwealth.

Core Values:

• Respect - The environment, each other, and those we serve.
• Accountability - Wise stewardship of resources. To our organization, our community, and each other.
• Collaboration - Willing to work with a diverse group to reach a common goal. Actively seeking out partners.

Virginia Extension Master Gardeners are volunteer educators. 

Extension Master Gardeners do not provide free gardening labor--they work to provide research-based horticultural information to Virginia home gardeners.

Want to learn about the projects Master Gardeners do? Check out these spotlighted projects:

• Extension Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia received the 2024 Governor’s Volunteerism and Community Service Award for a program focused on horticulture education within the public school system.
• Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Volunteers of Hanover County are fighting food insecurity and reducing waste by gleaning thousands of pounds of fresh produce for local food pantries.
• Rapidan River Extension Master Gardeners provide hands-on education for removing invasive species through a Giving Day-funded project.
• A fruitful partnership between Bedford Master Gardeners and the Bedford YMCA provides gardening and environmental education to children in after-school programs.