The Fairfax County Master Gardeners Association, Inc. (FCMGA) is a nonprofit organization of volunteers who receive training under the auspices of the Virginia and Fairfax County Cooperative Extension offices. We help to provide research-based horticultural information, tips, techniques and advice to home gardeners in the community. We do this through our plant clinics - held in various locations throughout the county during the months of May through September - and other community service activities (click on the "Public Services" tab above for descriptions of our many volunteer services).
We wish to acknowledge and thank The Merrifield Garden Center for providing free space for our classes, a facility for our diagnostic laboratory, and other valuable assistance.
Enrollment. You must be a Fairfax County resident to enroll in our program. If you live in a different county, contact your local Cooperative Extension office for information about your local program; most if not all counties in Virginia, as well as other states and the District of Columbia, have master gardener programs.
The 2011 program is now closed. If you would like to be added to the 2012 program waitlist, please contact us after January 1, 2011 by email enrollment@fairfaxmastergardeners.org or call and leave a message at 703-968-3018, X 3500.
Additional Program Requirements. New members of FCMGA are expected to attend 30 hours of training for three years (3 hours each Wednesday for 10 weeks in mid-January through March) and to serve a minimum of 24 volunteer hours per year. Master Gardener certification is usually achieved at the end of the third year. After that, certification is maintained through ongoing continuing education (8 hours per year) and volunteer service (24 hours per year).
The FCMGA program is funded by annual fees paid by our members. While we receive training materials and technical support from VCE, no federal, state or local government funding is provided to Fairfax County Master Gardeners Association Inc.
Virginia Cooperative Extension programs and employment are open to all, regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. An equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.