Gardening Challenged: Jensen’s struggle grows Deep Community Roots
Hilary Jensen is Wasco County Extension’s new Master Gardener and Community Horticulture Coordinator. She came by it rightly, through trial and error and learning from others.
By Dana Greyson
The Dalles, Ore., Sept. 3, 2026 — An inauspicious start led Hilary Jensen to land her dream job.
When Hilary moved to Tygh Valley from Portland, Oregon nearly ten years ago, she couldn’t figure out why nearly everything she planted in her yard her first year here died. In Portland that wasn’t a problem.
Who could have known that she would become Wasco County Extension’s new Master Gardener and Community Horticulture Coordinator.
At the time, her Tygh Valley neighbor’s garden was similarly afflicted a bad case of black thumbitis. Her neighbor, also a recent Portland transplant, suggested they join Master Gardeners.
That was the first Hilary had ever heard of Master Gardeners.
Desperate for information, and not knowing anyone in the area, much less who to ask for help, they joined together.
“Gardening is different here,” Hilary said. “Through Master Gardeners, I got to crowdsource from really knowledgeable gardeners who’ve lived here for years.”
Unlike the most perfectly fertile loamy soil ever in her former Portland area garden, Hilary discovered her soil in Tygh Valley was “100 percent sand.” Sieve-like sandy soil coupled with hot weather caused her plants here to wither and die. She began amending her soil. By her second year, her garden began to flourish.
Starting her second year in Master Gardeners, Hilary took on Wasco County Master Gardener Association (WCMGA) chapter’s Historian role, a board position. That pushed her to attend events, take pictures and follow up with other members who attended events that she didn’t for the chapter’s archive and for Facebook posts.
Hilary, who considers herself an introvert, credits that role for giving her a “gentle introduction to the public.” After that, she ran for President Elect, then President, a role she held for two years.
After the pandemic WCMGA found themselves with an abundance of seeds in need of good gardens. By then she was the sole south Wasco County Master Gardener. She yearned to grow Master Gardener’s presence in her area.
“There were a lot of eager gardeners, but Master Gardeners was under-represented in my neck of the woods,” she said.
Hilary worked with the South Wasco County Library, Maupin City Hall and Maupin Dig & Hoe Garden Club to start the South Wasco Garden Expo to put together the first Maupin Garden Expo. Master Gardeners supported the event with WCMGA volunteers answering garden questions while giving away a couple hundred packets of seeds.
Wasco County Master Gardeners posted that 445 people went through the 4th Annual South Wasco Garden Expo today on March 14. “Thank you to our Master Gardener volunteers, the Maupin Dig and Hoe Garden Club volunteers, The Maupin Chamber of Commerce, and the South Wasco County Library!”
Now in its fourth year, in 2026, 445 locals attended the Expo with 85 percent of attendees coming from Wasco County. Master Gardeners dispensed thousands of seeds along with gardening advice. Master Gardeners also added Tygh Valley’s Farmer’s Market to its roster of public plant clinics.
When Kendal Johnson, Hilary’s predecessor with the Oregon State University Wasco County Extension Service, needed to spend more time wheat farming, Hilary applied to replace his slot. The timing was perfect. Hilary’s son reached driving age, and she wanted to re-enter the work force.
She landed the job.
"By the time the coordinator position became available, I had already spent years volunteering and serving as Board President,” Hilary said. “Stepping into the role felt less like starting a new job and more like the next logical step in supporting a program I care deeply about."
Kendal wanted to support his replacement in as seamless as possible a transition. They worked together for a month, making the mid-year change over a smooth one.
Hilary hit the ground running. Not only was she passionate about gardening, and an experienced Master Gardener, she came in knowledgeable about master gardener protocol, the needs of the community and the volunteers.
Hilary recently celebrated her six-month anniversary as Master Gardener and Community Horticulture Coordinator. She’s most excited about WCMGA’s community connections, especially with Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue and Chenowith elementary school.
Gardening for Fire Prevention
Wasco County’s wildfire risk is rated at 99 percent higher than other US counties. Given high wildfire danger in our area, sharing preventative gardening practices can save homes and lives. WCMGA partners with Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue to provide information of how gardens can be used to create with defensible spaces. Oregon State University’s extension service publication on fire-resistant plants for home landscapes features over 150 perennials, shrubs, and trees that resist fire when properly maintained.
The manual Keeping Your Home and Property Safe from Wildfire teaches property owners how to manage fuel reduction zones around structures.
School Gardens
Many schools struggle with former student gardens that become weed beds when their championing teacher leaves. Last school session, Master Gardeners launched a pilot program assisting with Chenowith’s Elementary School garden resurrection. While the school staff focuses on integrating hands-on activities in the garden with school curriculum, Master Gardeners offers guidance on how to more easily grow a beautiful, sustainable garden. The long-term goal—Chenowith Elementary becomes a template for other schools who want their gardens to become engaging, educational spaces.
More on Master Gardeners
Keeping Master Gardener’s activities manageable for volunteers is equally important to Hilary. That requires constant reassessment and sometimes leads to making hard choices. A popular annual sale of Master Gardener greenhouse-grown plants ended because volunteers were stretched too thin, and because it was less in alignment with Master Gardner’s educational mission than other opportunities.
Whenever possible, Master Gardener classes and activities are geared to accommodate working families and community needs. To accommodate folks who wanted to first stop at the Farmer’s Market, Mornings at The Dalles Imagination Garden (DIG)—at the intersection of Klindt Drive and Steelhead Way—was switched from Saturdays at 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. The series became more hands-on. Attendance grew—over 130 community members participated. Accessing advice clinics—answering home gardener’s questions—also comes in a variety of options, including face-to-face events, scheduled office hours and online follow-up.“The program is not designed to be stagnant,” Hilary says. “We need to adapt with the communities changing needs. I’m excited about the possibilities.”
Thanks to Master Gardeners, Hilary, and WCMGA blossom along with her garden.
As Hilary stepped into the coordinator role, Kendal began a new chapter of his own. After leaving the position to focus on farming full time, he enrolled in the Master Gardener training program and will graduate with this year's class this fall. This transition reflects the strength of the program's volunteer community, where leadership takes many forms, and a passion for serving others continues long after a job title changes.
WCMGA is based out of Oregon State University’s Wasco County Extension Service at
400 E. Scenic Dr., Suite 2.278, The Dalles, OR 97058. Phone (541) 296-5494. Plant Clinic 541-296-1217. Email wasco.mastergardener@oregonstate.edu. Website blogs.oregonstate.edu/wcmga. Facebook facebook.com/WascoMG. Instragram Instagram.com/wascocountymastergardeners.
For helpful gardening information like these timely articles check out the Oregon State University’s Extension website extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening
