What Practical Gardening Topics Does MGABC Cover?

MGABC (Master Gardeners of BC) publishes practical, science-based gardening guidance across several recurring topics, including deer deterrence, mason bees, roses, and the limits of gardening instructions. The content is aimed at home gardeners in British Columbia who want sustainable-gardening advice they can apply directly. Below are the main topic areas visible on the site, with what each one actually offers.

Deer deterrence: using scent to protect plants

The site's deer guidance is built on one mechanism: deer rely heavily on smell to detect predators, so strongly scented plants can confuse that sense and make deer uneasy about an area. The practical takeaway is to plant strongly scented foliage as a deterrent.

The site pairs this advice with an honest caveat worth repeating: "Deer don't read lists." Treat plant lists as a starting point, not a guarantee — deer pressure varies by region, season, and how hungry the animals are.

Mason bees: a hands-on hobby for adults and children

MGABC offers a Mason Bee Tip Sheet and frames mason bee keeping as "a fun, fascinating and interactive hobby for adults and children alike." If you want a low-barrier pollinator project that works as a family activity, this is the section to start with. The tip sheet format suggests practical, checklist-style guidance rather than long-form theory.

Roses, poetry, and gardening culture

Under the heading "A Rose by Any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet," the site blends rose growing with poetry — an example of content that is as much about gardening culture as technique. Useful if you want inspiration alongside instruction; not the place for a step-by-step rose-care protocol.

When instructions run out: "All About Possibilities"

This piece makes a point many gardening sites skip: instructions are valuable because they save you from rediscovering what others already learned, but every instruction eventually arrives somewhere it doesn't quite fit. The practical lesson is to follow guidance first, then adapt it to your own garden's conditions rather than treating any list as absolute.

Regional and community content

The site also covers local gardening news and projects, such as the Khasdzoon Yusk'ut Botanical Garden (Dakelh for "Red Maple of the Hill") in Prince George, opened in June 2025 as a collaboration between the David Douglas Botanical Garden Society, the Lheidli T'enneh First Nation, and the University of Northern BC. Posts are organized by chapter (for example, Vancouver and Victoria) and by category such as Article, Ask A Master Gardener, and Resource.

Is this content practical for you?

The through-line across these topics is the association's stated mandate: promoting sustainable gardening practices with science-based information. The content is explanatory and example-driven rather than a rigid how-to manual — expect principles and caveats you apply to your own conditions, not one-size-fits-all recipes.