CREDIBLE WEB SITES WORTH YOUR VISIT

• http://aggieturf.tamu.edu
• http://citybugs.tamu.edu
• http://hortipm.tamu.edu
• http://insects.tamu.edu
• http://tarrant.tamu.edu
• http://www.tcmga.org
• http://texassuperstar.com
• http://www.txsmartscape.com
• http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu
• http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/web.html
• http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/earthkindrose
• http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/wildseed/index.htm

The following are a list of PowerPoint programs
I have developed on a number of horticulture topics

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Derald Freeman is the author of this program CD. I moved to Burleson, TX in 2002 and enrolled in the Tarrant County Master Gardener program in January 2004. The classes met in Fort Worth, TX at the Tarrant County Extension office.

Prior to 2002 I knew nothing about gardening. My sum total of knowledge was identification of St. Augustine grass, red tip photinias (disease riddled for years) and an apple tree. Oh, I knew what a grasshopper looked like.

When we moved to Burleson in 2002 we had a home with a yard that was totally without landscaping. I spent the two years planning, digging, planting, transplanting and recovering from a cardiac stent.

I think the photos of what had been accomplished were what got me accepted into the Master Gardener program at the applicant interview.

The Master Gardener program required 72 hours of classroom study, plus 72 hours of volunteer time answering phone calls at the Extension office and working on numerous landscape projects.

During the Intern year as a Master Gardener I volunteered a total of 750 man hours which was about 600 hours over the requirement. This was done not to be somebody or show up anybody, but to satisfy my hunger for knowledge. It was fun and educational. I have continued to use my talents in various ways simply because I enjoy trying to make life a little more enjoyable for other people.

During this time I found it increasingly difficult to keep track of the massive amount of new information so I began creating a computer program in HTML code to make easy reference to this information when I needed it. Soon this was no longer a small program. When it grew to 950 files, mostly images, the Extension agent asked that it be distributed and shared with other master gardeners. Now after working on this for nearly two years it has become a CD containing nearly 2000 files of which over 90% are photos and images.

This CD is a work in progress because it continues to accumulate more information as it is encountered. This CD is not being marketed for profit because it contains many images from TAMU and other University web sites. Any money received from it's distribution is for cost of materials and time to prepare the CD's.

I am proud to be a Master Gardener. It is fulfilling, enjoyable, and fun. It is a corridor to meet many interesting and wonderful people. I would encourage anyone with an interest in gardening to become a Master Gardener. Just remember, you must contribute voluntarily of your time or your will not benefit from the adventure.

Derald Freeman