Chickasaw County
Master Gardeners
A vacant lot next to the Houston, Mississippi City Hall was overgrown with weeds. It was unattractive and would probably not be considered an asset to any community. The Chickasaw County Master Gardeners thought they could make a difference.
The Master Gardeners took the lead to develop the Houston Garden Park over the next two years. It didn’t take long for the entire community to become involved.
“When the physical work started, residents and local businesses liked what they saw and donations of labor, money, plants and the like started to flow,” said Houston Mayor Stacey Parker.
Today, the park includes a fountain, benches, and picnic tables. It also features a Walk of Memories. Citizens may purchase engraved bricks to honor friends or relatives. The contributions help with improvements.
John Walden, president of the Chickasaw County Master Gardeners, said, “There’s more to this than just planting flowers. It’s been a motivating force for us, not only for us as Master Gardeners, but for us in helping and working together with other organizations to get involved with beautification efforts which goes back to development efforts…trying to create jobs and bring employers into this area and see the pride the community has.”
Mississippi Master Gardeners is a volunteer horticulture education program of the Mississippi State University Extension Service. To become a Master Gardener each volunteer trains for 40 hours, then passes on their knowledge through 40 hours of service every year back to their community.