Posted: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 11:00 am
The Bradford Era
Area gardeners can welcome the long-awaited spring season and get a head start on gardening skills by attending the 2014 Bradford Area Garden and Landscaping Symposium on April 5 at the First Presbyterian Church at 54 E. Corydon St.
The Betty Monjar Garden Walk Organization has placed the event back on its spring schedule after forgoing the symposium last year, said committee member Janet Detweiler. The deadline for registration is March 25 and the fee includes the symposium, a continental breakfast and lunch, and door prizes.
She said the organization began doing garden tours a number of years ago to raise funds for community projects. Approximately five or six years ago, the organization began sponsoring the symposiums that recruited local and regional master gardeners, botanists and professionals to share their knowledge on a variety of gardening topics.
The funds have been used to beautiful the community through the purchase of hanging flower baskets on Main Street and the placement and maintenance of flowers along the Richard E. McDowell Community Trail at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.
“The classes this year are excellent,” Detweiler said. “The main speaker is David Clark … he was here in the past.”
She said Clark is a national gardening speaker and horticulture instructor for The Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens in Buffalo, N.Y., and the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh. Clark is a multi-talented educator, floral designer, event director, garden show judge and wholesale florist with more than 30 years experience in ornamental horticulture industry. In addition, he teaches the popular four-level horticulture certification program at botanical gardens in Buffalo.
A morning water garden class taught by Clark will teach participants how to grow a mini water lily in a table-top garden or a pond. An afternoon spring floral design class by Clark will teach participants how to design a seasonal floral arrangement to take home.
There are a variety of other presentations during the daylong event which participants can choose to attend. They include a new Hands On-Succulent Wreaths morning class taught by Debbie Lowery, an amateur gardener formerly from Bradford. Lowery’s class will teach participants how to make their own beautiful, succulent living wreath to take home. An additional fee will be charged for supplies and class space is limited.
Also offered is a gardens pests class by David Talon, a master gardener coordinator for Penn State Extension in Smethport. The morning class will teach students how to identify pests, the damage they can cause and the different methods of control.
Additional afternoon classes will include a soil health and amendments class by Nicole Santangelo, the field and forage crops educator with Penn State Extension. Participants will learn about new soil health evaluations, tests and how to look at soil in a different light.
Another afternoon class, Native Plants in the Landscape, will be taught by Rebecca Ryan, a retired educator and lifelong gardener in Lafayette Township. The class will discuss topics that include Pennsylvania native perennials, where they grow in the wild, where to buy quality plants and how to grow them in a home garden.
Ryan said more information on the symposium can be obtained by contacting the church at 362-5569 or Dee Britton at 598-4800.
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Wednesday, March 19, 2014 11:00 am.
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