Master Gardeners’ primary mission is to provide members of our community with research-based information on a wide range of horticultural and gardening topics. The public is encouraged to access our services or join us at events across Cuyahoga County. Brief descriptions of our programs and services appear below, but be sure to check our calendar for details on upcoming events!

Hotline Callback Service

Gardening questions? Master Gardeners of Cuyahoga County offers a callback service from April through September to provide research-based information. Leave a detailed message at 216-429-8200 and a volunteer will call you back within two days.

Hotline On The Road

You can also find us at various locations throughout the year.

• Shaker Square Farmers Market – Saturdays from May to September 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM
• Crocker Park Farmers Market – Saturdays from May to September 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM
• Cleveland Botanical Garden – Summer 2025 various dates
• Cuyahoga County Fair – August 2025
• The Great Big Home and Garden Show – IX Center, January/February 2026

Request a Speaker

Does your garden club or community group need a speaker? Click HERE for a list of topics and to fill out a speaker request form.

Ask Extension – Ask an Expert

“Ask an Expert” offers expert answers from Cooperative Extension/University staff and volunteers within participating land-grant institutions from across the United States. Click HERE to submit a question or search previous questions and answers.

Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) Encore Program

The Encore Program has been a premier provider of education to individuals 55 and older with a unique learning experience – no homework, no tests, and no books! Cuyahoga County Master Gardeners regularly teach “Gardener’s Gazette” sessions including plant descriptions and selection, soil needs, and basic good gardening techniques based on research from The Ohio State University Extension. The spring session is now closed but mark your calendars for the session beginning in September. To learn more about this program see the Tri-C Encore Program site HERE.

Library Programs

Each year, Master Gardeners prepare programs on a selected topic and present them at libraries throughout the Cuyahoga County. Recent topics have included “Attracting Pollinators to Your Garden”, “Great Tips for Designing Your Yard,” “Vegetable Gardening Fundamentals,” “Pruning,” “Pruning 2.0,” “Smart Solutions for Shade Gardening,” “Native Plants: Rugged Easy-Care Survivors,” “Creative Container Gardening,” “How to Keep the Unwanted at Bay: The Problem of Wildlife in our Gardens” and “Success with Succulents.” Our 2024 topic and library dates/times are updated regularly. Check our calendar for upcoming events.

Nature in My Backyard

MGCC partners with the Audubon Society of Greater Cleveland to deliver the Nature in My Backyard (NMB) program. It is designed to address the global biodiversity crisis by bringing research-based information to homeowners for improving habitat on their properties.  A pair of trained volunteers will visit clients’ yards and identify the non-native invasive plants to be removed, suggest removal techniques and discuss native flowers, trees, and shrubs appropriate to the site that provide food and shelter for birds and pollinators.  This is a step-by-step process over time, and it is not necessary for homeowners to remove beloved non-native plants that are not invasive, nor take out all of the lawn.  NMB offers well curated resource lists, and the first step is always “Plant a Native Tree”. Click HERE for more information.

Community Gardening

Our volunteers work with community gardens throughout Cuyahoga County. MGVs provide support, answer questions, demonstrate gardening techniques, and work one-on-one with garden leaders. If you are a community garden leader in Cuyahoga county and would like to request a mentor for your garden, please email admin@cuyahogamg.org

Master Gardener Volunteers also undertake projects and programs for a specific population or location. Our volunteers maintain demonstration gardens and deliver specialized programs at schools, medical facilities, and nursing homes.

Ben Franklin School Horticulture Program

Volunteers work with 4th graders to support lessons in horticulture and gardening. They also help maintain the school garden.

Ben Franklin Demonstration Gardens

Volunteers plan and maintain vegetable, herb, and perennial gardens behind the Benjamin Franklin Elementary School in Old Brooklyn.

William Rainey Harper School and Garden

Volunteers prepare and present horticulture and gardening lessons to 4th graders. Topics include “Plant Parts”, “Plant Propagation from Seeds”, “Importance of Pollinators”.

Horticultural Therapy

Horticultural therapy is defined by the American Horticultural Therapy Association (AHTA) as “a discipline that uses plants, gardening activities, and the natural world as vehicles for professionally conducted programs in therapy and rehabilitation.” Utilizing both indoor and outdoor goal-oriented activities, participants in a variety of settings can achieve cognitive, social, psychological, and physical benefits. The Master Gardeners of Cuyahoga County currently provide services at Judson Park, Menorah Park, and the Cleveland Clinic.