The award-winning Smith County Master Gardener Association will host the Texas Superstar® State Master Gardener Advanced Training November 1-3 at the Holiday Inn Conference Center, 5701 South Broadway Ave., Tyler, Texas 75703 (903-561-5800).
This Texas Superstar® Advanced Training was created as an intensive multi-day workshop that helps empower Master Gardeners with the knowledge and skills required to effectively support and multiply Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service efforts in Earth-Kind® horticultural education within their counties. During the training certified Texas Master Gardeners will learn about the history of the Texas Superstar® plant program as well as the benefits and landscape usages of these specially designated plants. The class winds up with a tour of the Tyler Botanical Garden and an invitation to attend the Smith County Master Gardener Association monthly meeting where Smith County horticulturist Greg Grant will present a lecture on landscaping with native plants.
Instructors for this year’s training include Greg Grant, David Rodriguez, Dr. Larry Stein, and special guests Keith Hansen, Erin Smith, and Dr. Andrew King. Rodriguez is the Bexar County Horticulturist, Stein the head of Extension Horticulture at Texas A&M, Hansen the retired Smith County Horticulturist-Emeritus, Smith a research Associate at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Overton, and King the owner of King’s Nursery in Tenaha.
To be eligible for the Texas Superstar® Advanced Training, an applicant must possess an up-to-date Master Gardener certification. Master Gardener applications must be approved by their local Master Gardener program coordinator and County Extension Agent. Only two Master Gardeners per county are allowed, unless space is available by noon Monday, October 3, 2022. Additional Master Gardeners in each county should sign up on the waiting list.
The cost for the Texas Superstar® specialist training is $225 if you register by October 3. After that, the cost is $250. To register (or for more information) please call 903-590-2980 or visit the Smith County Master Gardener website at txmg.org/smith/ and click on coming events. The registration deadline is October 17, 2022, and spaces are limited.
