Bayshore Garden Center, which has served Lee County for nearly 40 years at 5870 Bayshore Road, has offered gardening classes for its do-it-yourself customers for years.
And beginning Saturday, it will continue that long tradition with four classes to take place on consecutive Saturdays starting at 9 a.m.
Terry Chepy, owner of Bayshore Garden, said the store has held classes every fall and spring since long before he took ownership three years ago.
“It’s been a way to welcome people back who have been gone and get people excited about plants and how to enjoy them,” Chepy said. “People are afraid they’re going to kill everything and it’s not that hard once you understand the basics.”
The classes, which are determined by customer interest, will be centered around new ideas such as container gardening and landscaping, to go along with traditional classes such as the ABCs of planting roses and butterfly gardening.
Container gardening will kick things off on Saturday.
The class on roses, which will be on Nov. 2, has always been a popular one, Chepy said, because it’s an area people have the most trouble with.
“They think they’re a lot of work, but with basic instructions, they aren’t very hard at all,” Chepy said. “We try to get them to understand how to take care of them, especially those from up north who like them, but don’t know the difference between the roses down here and up there.”
On Nov. 9, landscaping and plant maintenance will be offered for the first time, which will show how to design them and understand what plants you need and the kind of sun and water needed to maintain it.
“You need to know what makes sense. There are thousands of varieties of plants, but you need to put them together in a way that adds beauty and joy to the yard,” Chepy said. “Once you put a plant in you need to know how to keep them looking good.”
The final class, butterfly gardening, has been offered annually and shows the importance of the host and nectar plants to attract the butterflies.
It’s considered one of the more fun classes.
Chepy said the classes are easy and basic. All you need to do is be prepared to learn and have fun and if you have any questions, they can be answered for you.
Classes are free, but space is limited, so early sign-up is of the essence.
For more information call 543-1443.
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