master gardeners

greater new orleans

Let's grow, New Orleans!

Like you, we are passionate about the charm, culture and cuisine of our beautiful historic city. Through this site, we hope to inspire you to join us in growing a greener, more sustainable landscape with healthier food sources for our community.

Here’s what you’ll find:

  • Local and regional gardening events
  • Monthly features specifically for and about NOLA gardeners 
  • Trending topics in Louisiana horticulture 
  • Educational links to online courses, webinars, tutorials, tours and book reviews
  • Resources for science-based horticulture information from LSU AgCenter, habitat certifications, lists of NOLA nurseries, farmers markets, plant societies and seed libraries
  • Community projects where master gardeners support our city
  • Volunteer speakers to present educational programs to garden clubs, plant societies and at libraries
Together, we can grow a greener New Orleans!

Features

Master Gardener Spotlight

Periodically we will focus on the gardens of our members, how they became a Master Gardener and what they enjoy about their gardens and MGGNO.  Enjoy a virtual tour of this Carrollton-Riverbend garden that was transformed into a Louisiana Native and a Wildlife Habitat by master gardener Chris Belser.

Galvez Garden - Our Newest Project

The Galvez Garden is a growing community garden in St. Roch. With an emphasis on native plants and pollinator plants, specific goals of the garden are to be welcoming to the community, safe and inviting for children and the elderly, and to serve as a demonstration and teaching garden for the neighborhood.

Garden Tips

Monthly information about gardening in the New Orleans area and more!  Salvias, prized for their showy blooms, fragrance and pollinators, provide colorful interest summer through fall.  Featured this month are a few favorites.  Pictured above Salvia Mystic Spires (improved).

Trending

Growing a Successful School Garden

A step-by-step guide for educators that outlines everything you need to know to establish a productive learning garden at your school. Here’s how to get started!

Louisiana Super Plants

All you need to know to grow healthy, reliable bedding plants, shrubs and trees evaluated and approved for your Louisiana landscape.  Learn more.

Become a
Louisiana Master Gardener

Louisiana Master Gardener Program

The Louisiana Master Gardener Program is a volunteer development program offered by the LSU AgCenter. Master Gardener volunteers are highly trained and provide proven, research-based educational programs to Louisiana residents.


Master Gardeners are members of the local community who take an active interest in their lawns, trees, shrubs, flowers and gardens. They are enthusiastic, willing to learn and help others, and able to communicate with diverse groups of people.

QUESTIONS?

We have some answers for you!

Testimonials

The Master Gardeners play a vital role in the success of the New Orleans Botanical Garden. They assist with the garden shows, do a tremendous job in growing and harvesting of vegetables in the cold frames, and help to maintain numerous gardens throughout the Botanical Garden.

The Greater New Orleans Iris Society has been blessed over the years to have many MGGNO members in our group and to have worked alongside them on projects such as at the Besthoff Sculpture Garden. We are always delighted to discover that a member has completed the Master Gardner program, and we look forward to opportunities for our organizations to work together on projects for the benefit of the community. There is much that we can do.

The MGGNO volunteers bring great skill, experience and boundless energy to our work-days at Longue Vue, making our gardens beautiful for thousands of visitors each year. Master Gardeners are natural teachers who share their love of gardening in many ways with our staff and other volunteers, which fits perfectly with our mission of life-long learning. Ordinary tasks like planting tulip bulbs, raking paths, and digging weeds are much more fun with Master Gardeners!

Without the knowledge provided by LSU Ag and the Master Gardener volunteers, the LaSalle’s Landing Garden Rehabilitation Project would not have been possible. The expertise these organizations lent to the city allowed us to revitalize these gardens and submit a competitive grant application to Keep Louisiana Beautiful, which helped to fund the project. We are extremely grateful to the Master Gardeners of Greater New Orleans for their continued assistance with the upkeep of the gardens, but most importantly for lending their expertise which has made a significant improvement in an area of our community for all to enjoy.

When I completed the Master Gardener class in the summer of 1999, little did I know that my horticulture knowledge would bring me to the Besthoff Sculpture Garden. I have overseen the grounds there for fifteen years. One of my greatest pleasures during the years is the development of partnerships with the MGGNO and GNOIS. Their care and maintenance of the LA Super Plant Demonstration Garden and the LA iris plantings, as well as generous donations of plants, have kept the "garden" in the Sculpture Garden!

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