SILVERHILL, Ala. — Carolyn Koch (pronounced “Cook”) can remember what got her involved in gardening,

“I can remember planting things 35 years ago, said Koch, seated in her home just outside Silverhill. “We lived in Mobile then, and the woman who lived across the street kept saying, ‘what a hard worker you are.’”

While the Koch family has moved around the state a bit, Koch says, “I always put flowers in the yard.”

Learning what works where, often by trial and error, gave Koch a respect for the area’s climate. She talks knowledgeably about plants that do well here, but struggle to grow in the Birmingham area, and vice-versa.

The Koches settled here about 13 years ago, and now have several horses, a dog, chickens, and cats on the property.

And yes, Koch loves to garden. The sun porch is an incubator for many plants, and there are plantings of banana, roses, lots of flowers and raised beds of vegetables in the back yard. The chickens are cooped at night, but roam free through the yard under the watchful eye of a protective rooster to keep insects under control. With horses on the property, obtaining fertilizer is no problem, but Koch likes commercially available fertilizers and garden products to handle spot problems.

But Koch wanted to learn more about gardening.

“I started going to Faulkner (Community College) to study landscape design, said the former elementary school teacher. It was there that she learned about the “Master Gardener” program offered by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. To qualify as a Master Gardener, a candidate has to take classes in soils/plant nutrition, plant physiology, entomology, pathology, weeds, landscape care and maintenance, plant selection, turfgrass, vegetables, fruits, annuals and perennials, interior plants, and landscape design. Master Gardeners also agree to give 40 hours a year of their time to the community.

There is an “Info-Line “ for home gardeners. The info-line is a free service and can be reached at 1-877-252-GROW (4769).

Koch wasted no time getting her certification. She works area plant sales sponsored by the Master Gardeners.

“I do the things I like to do,” said Koch. One of the things Koch enjoys is being with the public and sharing her knowledge of plants. She’s active with the Silverhill Arbor Day program.

She advocates checking out the local Master Gardner sales first when picking plants for your home.

“What we sell are native plants which grow well here,” said Koch. “If you go to a ‘big box’ store, (what they sell) is not always conducive to growing here.”

“Local plant sales are a good way to pick up growing information,” Koch says.

“Just go to a Master Gardener sale,” said Koch. “There are a lot of us, and we love to teach.”

Knowing what plants to put where is key to having a lush, beautiful garden, Koch says.

“If you put a plant in the wrong place or care for it incorrectly, you will have problems,” said Koch.

When asked if she has a favorite plant, Koch hesitated.

“That’s a hard question,” she said. “There’s something good about every plant.”