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While blustery winds howled outside the Maryland Cooperative Extension office last week, the people inside had one thing on their minds – the spring gardening season.

The Frederick County Master Gardeners kicked off their 2009 Spring Garden Preparation series Feb. 19 with a course designed to ready flower beds and bushes for the warm weather coming soon.

The first of the series, "Getting a Head Start: Pruning and Soil Preparation," answered questions gardeners may have about tools, techniques, seed and plant resources or how to prep their gardens for spring. The class was led by Tony Murdock, a licensed arborist with his own pruning business, and Ted Lambert, who comes from a family of gardeners and specializes in soil.

Murdock covered basic pruning techniques, advanced techniques, tools, shapes and structures and most importantly pruning myths.

"There is nothing worse than to top or stub a tree," he said about the most common technique used to prune a tree. "The tree will never heal and it shortens its life, besides the fact that it's just plain ugly."

Murdock also explained that hanging bird feeders or swings from a tree is not good for it, but rather it is a better idea to use hooks. "The rope or wires girdle the tree and cut off its ‘blood supply,'" he said.

During the soil portion of the class, Lambert covered choosing the right places to plant, different types of soil, soil tests, mixing methods, laying out beds, edging, mulch, tools and fertilizer. When working with fertilizer and the "Big 3" (nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium) Lambert said to remember an easy rule.

"Remember up, down and all around. Nitrogen handles above ground, phosphorous the roots, and potassium the all around health of the plant," he said.

The spring seminar schedule continues each Thursday evening through April 30. The next class titled "Eating Well from Small Spaces: Growing your Family's produce," will take place 7-9 p.m. March 5.

The Frederick County Master Gardeners feel that it is their duty to educate the community about good gardening techniques, according to Linda Moran, a master gardener.

"When designing this year's seminar series, we tried to keep in mind the economy and recession," said Moran, who co-chairs the series. "We wanted to keep it relevant to people who have constraints."

Frederick County Master Gardeners are volunteer representatives of the Maryland Cooperative Extension. Their mission is to educate residents about effective and sustainable horticultural practices that build healthy gardens, landscapes and communities.

They offer plant clinics, host information booths, maintain display gardens, offer horticultural therapy at area nursing homes, offer a Junior Master Gardener program, speak to schools and local groups and many various volunteer activities.

E-mail Angela Stanzione at astanzione@gazette.net.

Each session of Frederick County Master Gardeners' 2009 Spring Preparation series is $10 and runs 7-9 p.m. at the Maryland Cooperative Extension, 330 Montevue Lane, Frederick. Call 301-600-1595 or visit www.frederick.umd.edu/mg.

-March 5: Eating Well from Small Spaces: Growing your Family's Produce

-March 19: Turf Alternatives: How to go Native

-April 2: Buying your Plants: When, What and How

-April 16: Do-it-Yourself Water Projects for the Garden

-April 30: Sedum Gardening - Containers and Techniques (additional $8 fee for materials)