The chatter was all about plants and gardening. As the crowd mingled during the two-day OCtech Foundation’s Home Garden Symposium, people exchanged growing tips and admired the ribbon winners at the flower show. They tapped into the plethora of knowledge that speakers Amy Dabbs and Andy Cabe came to share. And no one went away empty handed as the Orangeburg Master Gardeners handed out free zinnia plants.
Each year, the lineup of presenters, the flower show and the silent auction are declared “the best they have ever seen” by many attendees. This year, the “friend raiser,” as OCtech College President Dr. Walter Tobin likes to call it, brought the public wonderful opportunities to learn even more about gardening.
Amy Dabbs, Clemson extension agent from Charleston, gave the crowd plenty to think about as she presented tips on how to best go about buying plants for their yards. Dabbs emphasized doing a little planning and research before even heading to the store. Making a list and keeping to it as well as being able to recognize a healthy plant are important if you want your yard and garden to thrive, Dabbs said.
“My personal plant list includes oakleaf hydrangea, Echinacea, creeping plum yew, Hibiscus Texas star — all plants I really like and that do well in my yard,” she said.
Dabbs shared her personal experience of landscaping the yard around her newly-built home and finding ways to solve problems by selecting the right plants for each situation. She also cautioned against impulse buying, which often results in poor plant choices.
Her presentation was followed by “Dueling Designers” Vonnie Bozard and Lynn Garrick, who potted up two shade-loving planters, demonstrating two very different design ideas.
Wednesday’s events began with a sumptuous buffet and viewing of silent auction items. Bids were placed on a wide variety of donated plants and garden-related items. OCtech Sustainable Agriculture students were on hand to sell vegetable and bedding plants grown in the campus greenhouses.
Andy Cabe, director of the gardens at Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens, awed the crowd with a presentation on “The Top Fifty Plants for Southern Gardens.” As pictures of the chosen plants were shown on the wall screen, Cabe touched on the outstanding features that make each plant special and worthy of including in the home garden.
“For me, the selection changes over time, but what you see here today are things that grow well here and that we rely on at the botanical gardens,” he said. “You can depend on them.”
Cabe also shared his Top 10 List of plants the botanical gardens will feature annually that are the “cream-of-the-crop choices that can work well in any garden and will add beauty and interest to any landscape.” The list can be viewed on line at
http://www.riverbanks.org/botanical-garden/top-10-pick-list.shtml.
“Everybody owes it to themselves to splurge every now and then and make a ridiculous (plant) purchase — buy something expensive,” Cabe told those attending. “You deserve it for all the hard work you put into your garden.”
Jim Elliott of the Avian Conservation Center finished out the afternoon program with a Birds of Prey flight demonstration. Three different trained birds from the center flew over the indoor audience on command. Elliott’s presentation included information on how birds are rehabilitated at the Charleston facility and the importance of all birds in the ecosystem.
* Contact the writer: 138 Nature’s Trail, Bamberg, SC 29003.
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