Mercer Arboretum Botanic Gardens, 22306 Aldine Westfield, will showcase blooms and foliage for a colorful summer garden 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday, July 27.
The Summer Color Conference Plant Sale will feature a tour, guest speakers, lunch and an opportunity to buy unique and hard-to-find plant species.
“The theme is color: how people can get good color in their gardens in the summer months when the heat and humidity are prohibitive,” said education director Scott Meadows.
“Whenever you have extreme temperatures, and it’s not rainy, it will suppress flowering. A lot of annuals do well during the spring, but in the heat they don’t bloom well at all.”
In addition to covering colorful summer plants, speakers will recommend plants that are large enough to be enjoyed from the window during the hottest parts of the day.
The presenters will provide information on native plants, but the conference will not be limited to those options.
“There are locations around the world with similar climates,” Meadows said. “You can expand the variety you have in your garden by going non-native.”
The day will open with a tour led by Darrin Duling, director of Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Gardens, who will point out examples of colorful summer blooms and foliage on the botanic garden’s grounds.
Speakers are scheduled for 10:15 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 1:45 p.m., with lunch at 12:30 pm.
The plant sale will be limited to registered conference-goers until mid-morning, when it will open to the public.
“So paying customers will get first dibs,” Meadows said.
Conference-goers also will have the option of leaving their purchases with center volunteers until they’re ready to leave for the day.
The plant selection will include a number of the varieties to be addressed by the speakers.
The first presenter, Ceil Dow, will focus on ginger.
“The gingers are fabulous if you have a partially shady spot,” said Suzanne Chapman, Mercer’s volunteer coordinator. “They’ll take a little morning sun, but they need shade in the afternoon.”
Chapman’s favorite ginger varieties include curcuma, also known as hidden gingers because they grow their flowers on short stalks amid their foliage. Another nice summer variety is the hedychium coronarium or butterfly ginger, Chapman said. Also scheduled to speak are Norm Arnold of Glorious Gardens, who will share landscaping ideas for bringing out color. Caladium expert Margaret Cherry will be the final speaker.
This is Mercer’s fourth year to present a summer color conference, Chapman said. During past years, it has presented programs on tropical plants and bamboo.
“The goal is to educate the gardening public and make people aware of everything they can grow in this area,” she said. “We’re considered sub-tropical. We have one pallet for winter and a completely different group in the summer that looks fabulous.
“The great thing about this conference is it gives people a chance to see the garden. They’ll go to classes, and they’ll have time to shop in a shaded area.”
Participation costs $70 for members of The Mercer Society and $80 for non-members. Reservations are required.
Proceeds will go toward The Mercer Society’s efforts to support Mercer Arboretum Nature Center.
For information, call 281-443-8731, e-mail msociety@hcp4.net or visit http://www.hcp4.net/mercer or www.themercersociety.org.
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