Join in this Saturday, April 21 for two talks at the Sparling Pavilion at the Sunshine Coast Botanical Garden by no-nonsense speaker Linda Chalker-Scott from Washington.
Whether you are new to gardening or a seasoned green thumb, the information and skills you learn will give you new confidence about caring for garden plants.
At the morning talk, beginning at 11 a.m., How Plants Cope will give you a deeper understanding of how plants, including trees, react to the places we put them, the conditions we throw at them, and ways we can keep them healthy.
Choosing suitable plants for the conditions we have is the first step. Chalker-Scott and her Washington State University team of researchers study the science behind gardening, and give us the best information available on plant care. Her advice may surprise you.
Her afternoon talk at 1 p.m. is Myth Debunking, a popular topic sure to make us think twice about why we do what we do to plants. Should you add manure or fertilizer to the hole you dig to plant a tree? Are native plants better easier to grow than cultivated ones? Bark mulch is it good or bad? Should you prune a shrub back when you plant? "Dr. Linda" takes away the guesswork; our plants will thank us with vibrant health.
Tickets are available at the door and are $20 for Botanical Garden members or $25 for non-members for the day. Memberships are also available, so you can save immediately. During the break (bring a lunch, we'll offer coffee, tea, and cookies) you may visit the site of the new native plant garden to see the progress, see the emerging spring garden, and just enjoy talking with other gardeners.
Chalker-Scott's books will be available for sale, The Informed Gardener and The Informed Gardener Blooms Again, and her latest, Sustainable Landscapes and Gardens, each an excellent research-backed resource about growing plants successfully.
For more information about the Sunshine Coast Botanical Garden and programs, visit www.coastbotanicalgarden.org.
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