Champaign County Extension Master Gardeners' Idea Garden, an annual focal point at the UI Arboretum, is more than an oasis of brightly colored flowers and unique plants.
It is an exercise in democracy.
Each flowering section within the garden's 15,000 square-foot footprint sprouts as the result of a team of Master Gardeners charged with deciding what to plant and who will deliver daily care. The section leaders, along with three Idea Garden co-chairs, form the garden's governing committee.
"If any one of the sections is planning to do something big or unusual, they have to bring it to the overall committee," said Sandra Mason, a UI Extension educator. "We're a public garden, so we have to keep that in mind. It's been effective in maintaining an organized approach."
The team approach, which draws from nearly 200 members of the Champaign County Master Gardeners' chapter, has led to a consistent annual presentation in which even walkways and common areas are agreed upon. New volunteers are quickly incorporated into the team, learning new techniques along the way.
"Design is always the hardest thing because it's such a personal expression with each gardener," Mason said. "It usually works out in the end because everyone is here just for the love of gardening and we all want to share it."
While some members participate more than others, Mason said as many as 75 volunteers keep the Idea Garden flourishing, with thousands of maintenance hours logged since the garden's creation in 1997. Volunteers log more than 2,500 hours annually for its upkeep.
Champaign County Master Gardeners' volunteers also have created and cared for several other community gardens, including those at the Urbana-based Crisis Nursery, the county's Juvenile Detention Center and an Alzheimer's Garden at the Champaign County Nursing Home.
But the Idea Garden has become a summertime focal point for the community, along with the Hartley Gardens and Japan House. An on-site registry regularly shows visitors from around the world who have left positive comments about the garden.
Eventually the group would like to have a visitor's center or add QR codes to signs to provide visitors a fuller and more-educational experience.
"Sometimes people just come out to get outside and walk," Mason said, "and this is an ideal place to do that."
But it wasn't always that way.
"Back when we first started, there was nothing here," said Phyllis Brussel, a master gardener involved with the initial planning and development of the Idea Garden. "As far as you could see it was just grass and weeds."
Mason said the idea for a local "learning garden" began solidifying after the group took a tour of Cantigny Park gardens in Wheaton, which offers an Idea Garden as part of a multitude of nature-themed programs.
"We liked what we saw so much we even took the name," Mason said. "We liked the gazebo they had in the center and that they had sectioned it off for the different varieties."
The Arboretum location, once the home of the Hartley Trial Garden, was offered to the Master Gardeners group after the Hartley Gardens were relocated in 1994.
"It was a perfect location for us," she said.
Brussel said the end result has been because of the perseverance and hard work of volunteers - all possessing the desire to have a hands-on laboratory to share time-tested garden knowledge with the public.
"This spot was available so we just took it," Brussel said. "Out of nothing came this beautiful garden. We were stunned that it all worked, and it's been a continuing learning experience - just making it square and putting up a fence was a challenge."
"We wanted it to be an opportunity to try different things and provide a showcase for the public," Mason said. "It's been a nice benefit for campus, too. We're close enough we get classes out here quite often."
The former proprietor of a gardening store, Brussel said she became involved with Master Gardeners to keep her knowledge fresh and to learn soil and plant science.
"The only way to remember all of that information is to use it," she said. "Plus, the term 'master gardener' sounded so good."
Although considered an expert and mentor by members, Brussel said she continues to learn through Master Gardeners' educational programs - and from working alongside other members.
"If you have a question, there's enough expertise in this group that somebody will come up with an answer," she said. "It's really widened my horizons and I get so much being a part of it. It's just a group of friends sharing knowledge."
Ann Tice, a retired dermatologist and 2000 graduate of the Master Gardeners' program, didn't think she had that much to learn about gardening when she joined.
A self-described "rabid" gardener, she had since childhood helped her Iowan grandparents raise a variety of garden and flower selections. As a youngster, she boldly - and unsuccessfully - tried to grow peach trees in Iowa.
"I thought I knew something until I took the program," she said. "And long after taking the program, I continue to learn."
She said the organization is the local equivalent of a garden information superhighway, a place where members together address unknowns and find answers.
One of her favorite Idea Garden pastimes, shared by other members, is answering general questions of the visiting public.
"I also just love being out here, and now I can pass some of these things on to others," she said. "You learn you can't just throw information out there you 'think' you know. You have to make sure and look it up, and if you still can't find it, you can call Extension with questions."
She said the group's committee and intern structure gives everyone a voice - and a way to move up the chain of responsibility.
"One of my first jobs was pulling the same kind of weed, over and over," she said. "Out here, it's a shared thing. There is a core group who puts in a tremendous amount of time. We're happy for any hours that people can contribute."
Mary Morris, a retired X-ray technician from Texas and a 2001 Master Gardeners' graduate, said the organization is a humbling experience for anyone who thinks they know how to garden.
"I felt like I was doing it right until I became a Master Gardener," she said. "That's when you realize how little you know about gardening. I went back and did everything all over again."
She said the camaraderie among members is unmatched because everyone is dedicated to learning - and sharing that knowledge freely.
"You have to have teamwork because you're going to need help at some point," she said. "Our motto is kind of, 'you help rescue me and I'll help rescue you.' "
She said gardening has numerous benefits, especially for seniors. It's good exercise and relieves stress. She said upper-body strength is of primary importance, especially when it comes to weeding or moving dirt.
"You're using every muscle imaginable, including brain power," she said. "Getting out in the garden is very therapeutic. There's something about playing in the dirt."
And there also is a feeling of legacy among members. They are keenly aware that healthy, well-maintained plants can last generations.
"We trade personal plants all the time and you remember who you traded with," Morris said. "If that person is deceased, you remember even more. There are lots and lots of friendships that have been made here."