So you want to be a Master Gardener?

Even novices who don't know a Hemerocallis from a Cotinus coggygria can become a master gardener. Really.

In three months, they'll be spouting Latin terms like a pro. (Hemerocallis is a daylily, and Cotinus coggygria is a smokebush.)

It's love of gardening that attracts folks to the Washington State University Cooperative Extension's Master Gardener program, which trains a force of volunteers in counties across the state to answer plant, tree and yard questions and grow demonstration gardens.

"The reason we exist is to provide environmentally based gardening advice to homeowners," said Elaine Anderson, coordinator of Washington State University/King County Cooperative Extension's Master Gardener Program.

With 650 volunteers, King County's program is the area's most visible and active horticultural organization. While it might seem like an exclusive group, it's open to anyone willing to commit to the program's intensive training and volunteer requirements.

Here, Anderson helps dispel some myths and shares a few truths about who gets in and what volunteers do.

Myths

• It's only for experienced gardeners.

"We have every level of gardeners in the class," noted Anderson, who took the training as a beginner herself.

"What I'm looking for is people who have a background in volunteer work, not necessarily horticulture," she explained. "If people have a love of gardening, their level of knowledge is not a determining factor."

That said, beginners are advised to befriend more experienced gardeners in class who can help explain little gardening in-jokes (like mocking the pronunciation of cotoneaster as "cotton Easter" instead of "co-tony-aster").

• I'll never get in.

Maybe not the first time, but qualified applicants who apply a second time are almost guaranteed acceptance, she said.

For next year's class of 95 students, Anderson expects to receive 150 to 160 applications. The deciding factor is often geography, as the program needs volunteers spread out around the county to staff clinics. Other pluses include experience working with children or the disabled and being a good public speaker.

• It's best to have a special interest (veggies, trees, perennials).

Master gardeners are generalists. Staffing plant clinics at farmers markets, libraries and garden stores, they field queries ranging from, "What should I plant in the shade?" to, "Why is my plant dying?" Volunteers aren't expected to memorize in-depth information on all gardening topics; instead, they're provided with a wide range of handouts and books to look up answers.

New master gardeners are paired with veteran volunteers. "When I first started [volunteering], I didn't say anything," Anderson remembers. "I just smiled and listened."

• I have to go organic/I can be spray-happy.

Volunteers always start with the least-toxic method of dealing with a garden problem but will answer questions about pesticides or herbicides. "It's not strictly organic," Anderson said.

Adherents to either side — chemicals or eco-friendly — have to agree to follow the program's guidelines.

• There's no hands-on gardening.

While question-and-answer clinics are the program's most extensive outreach, others include its demonstration gardens, youth education and school gardens, and outreach gardens (a fragrance garden for the blind, a domestic violence shelter garden). Since volunteers sometimes work with vulnerable populations, they must submit to a Washington State Patrol background check.

For volunteer hour credits, master gardeners must work with an official Master Gardener project; sometimes applicants believe volunteer time with other nonprofit horticultural groups counts, Anderson said.

• It's like a long gardening workshop.

Nurseries and garden groups often lead short garden classes on everything from roses to planting pots. That's not what the Master Gardener training is like. The 80 or so class hours provide a "firm basis in general horticulture," Anderson says, with lessons in botany, soil composition, plant pathology and entomology. Instructors are Washington State University professors or other field experts. Former class members admit some lectures are very interesting and others, well, less so.

Truths

• The typical volunteer is a retired woman.

About three-quarters of King County's master gardeners are women; the largest age group is 50 to 60. Anderson especially encourages men, people of color and younger gardeners but notes that applications do not ask age or race (she can usually guess the men).

The weekday training sessions do limit the field to folks who are retired, self-employed or work flexible hours. But plan ahead: In 2008, the trainings will be on Saturdays, which Anderson hopes will draw a more diverse group.

• It's a big commitment.

With 12 full-day classes and 45 mandatory volunteer hours the first year, new participants may feel they talk more about gardening than they're actually out in their yard. Anderson notes that the volunteer requirement is less than an hour per week over a year, but that's a bit misleading.

Most opportunities are during the growing season of late spring to early fall, usually in blocks of three or four hours. This means volunteers will most likely put in several-hour chunks a couple times a month (often on weekends) for half the year.

• It's fun.

From year to year, the program boasts a 92-percent retention rate, losing less than a tenth of its participants. "Our volunteers really buy into the philosophy of the program," Anderson said. And with a shared love of gardening, they form a close community.

Stephanie Dunnewind is a former master gardener: 206-464-2091 or sdunnewind@seattletimes.com