When Larry King and his partner retired and moved from Multnomah County to Lincoln County, they left behind many of the friends and family who had been part of their lives. They also arrived in their new community ready to get involved. Joining the Oregon State University Extension Master Gardener Program gave Larry a way to share reliable, research-based gardening knowledge while creating something equally important: a new community and chosen family on the Oregon coast.
Finding community in a new home
“At retirement, my partner and I moved from Multnomah County down to Lincoln County and immediately signed up for the Master Gardener Program,” Larry said.
Starting over in a new community could have been isolating. Instead, the Master Gardener Program provided an immediate point of connection.
“We left most of our friends and family behind, but discovered that a new set of friends and chosen family were waiting for us in the Master Gardeners in Lincoln County.”
For Larry, those relationships have become an important part of what it means to be a Master Gardener volunteer: learning alongside people with a shared interest and becoming part of the community where he now lives.
Sharing research-based gardening knowledge
Larry also values the Master Gardener Program’s emphasis on reliable, science-based information and the opportunity volunteers have to share that knowledge with others.
“It’s a wonderful way to pass along science-based gardening tips and processes,” Larry said. “So much of gardening seems to be ‘what Grandma did,’ and although that’s great, there’s no replacement for research-based information that will work in our local environment.”
That local connection matters. Gardening practices that work somewhere else aren’t necessarily the best choices for Lincoln County’s climate and growing conditions. Master Gardener volunteers help connect community members with information they can put to use where they actually garden.
Helping people grow food where they live
Larry sees that knowledge as especially valuable when it comes to helping people grow their own food.
“Master Gardeners are one of the sources of education about raising our own food,” Larry said. “We provide realistic advice and training for people who wish to grow their own fruit and vegetables right here in Lincoln County.”
It’s a role that brings together many of the things Larry values about the program: science, education, local knowledge and neighbors helping neighbors.
For Larry, joining the Master Gardener Program after retirement didn’t just provide a way to keep gardening and learning. It offered a way to become part of a new community, share useful knowledge with others and discover that even after leaving longtime friends and family behind, a new chosen family was waiting to welcome him.