The Pearl River County Master Gardeners celebrated the planting of two magnolia trees at Leola Jordan Park in Picayune Tuesday afternoon.

The Master Gardener program is conducted under Mississippi State University and focuses on providing horticultural knowledge to the public.

“We decided to plant these two trees here at Leola Jordan Park in an effort to beautify and bring fresh air to the city of Picayune,” Master Gardener President Bertha Page said. “We planted these trees with the help of the city and in honor of the Mississippi Bicentennial celebration.”

In the program, Master Gardeners participate in 40 hours of education and 40 hours of community service in an effort to learn more about horticulture and teach others about it, Page said.

All members in the Master Gardener program give back to the community through horticulture one way or another, Pearl River County-Mississippi State University extension agent Eddie Smith said.

“We decided to plant two trees because of our bi-centennial celebration,” Smith said. “We have 28 active members and we have a total of 147 members in the Master Gardener Club.”

At the planting, Picayune City Manager Jim Luke was in attendance.

“We all appreciate the efforts of the Master Gardener program to beautify our city of Picayune,” Luke said.

Anyone interested in joining the Master Gardeners program, can attend a training  course that will begin in February of 2018. Interested parties are urged to contact the PRC-MSU extension office for more information, Page said.

“Every day is a new learning experience and we are always looking for new volunteers,” Page said.