Every year, I learn something new at the Winter Gardening Fair that I can use once the weather warms. This year, I’m taking classes on blueberries, vertical gardening and more at the Feb. 16, 2013, event at Kirkwood Community College, sponsored by the ISU Extension Linn County Master Gardeners.
I’m told that some of the workshops are already full, but registration is still being accepted for many other classes. The $49 fee includes four classes in one of two tracks, the keynote speech and a boxed lunch. Organizers expect more than 550 people to attend, from Iowa and beyond. This is a great place to swap tales and share good gardening practices with fellow gardeners.
New for 2013: The 2013 Winter Gardening Fair will feature two strands of classes in two subject areas: Vertical Gardening and Water Gardening/Water Conservation. Many of these classes are offered in both Track A and Track B. Vertical gardens have been around a long time but more people are finding that a vertical garden has benefits. Many plants can be adapted to grow vertically, adding to your available gardening space. Also, learn how you can incorporate the precious commodity of water into your gardening and how to save water in dry years.
Register in advance for classes:
· register online
· download and complete registration form
· or call (319) 398-1022 or 1-800-332-8833
Questions? Call the Linn County Master Gardeners at (319) 447-0647 or Linn County Extension at (319) 377-9839 or email mkenyonb@iastate.edu.
Download the Winter Gardening Fair class schedule
Here is information about the event’s featured speakers:
Pat Stone, Keynote Speaker
Topic: The Most Important Garden Advice Ever Given
Enjoy a grand mixture of practical advice and humor, culminating with an inspiring conclusion on gardening and life while Pat shares the three things gardeners should never do and the three most important things gardeners should do.
Bio:
Pat Stone
Pat Stone, Keynote speaker for the 2013 Winter Gardening Fair, is the editor/publisher/creator of GreenPrints and “The Weeder’s Digest”, since 1990 the only magazine devoted to sharing the human side of gardening in fine prose and art. Pat is also the co-author of Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul. Called the “Garrison Keillor of Gardening,” Pat shares the country’s funniest and most inspiring garden stories in programs that are inspirational and hilarious, warm, fun, and moving. In “The Most Important Garden Advice Ever Given,” Pat will include a grand mixture of practical advice and humor, culminating with an inspiring conclusion on gardening and life.
Elwynn Taylor, Featured Speaker,
Topic: What will the weather bring?
Dr. Taylor will provide a long range view of weather and climate history and its effect on gardens and crops. His insight will help you sharpen your gardening skills for whatever may befall us come spring.
Bio:
Elwynn Taylor
Elwynn Taylor is recognized throughout Iowa for his extraordinary efforts as an Extension Educator. He is a recipient of the Iowa Distinguished Service to Agriculture award. He is internationally known as a scholar of Bio-Meteorology and his contributions to the three-fold mission of the Land Grant University (Research, Teaching/Advising, and Extension) demonstrate the breadth of his expertise.
More than a meteorologist, Elwynn studies weather trends such as El Nino and La Nina, and has even started his own weather indicator, the Reiman Index.
Jane Hogue, Featured Speaker
Topic: The Art of Gardening
Learn how to use four basic design elements– space, texture, shape, and color – to achieve balance, harmony and unity in your backyard. Jane will include suggestions for garden design, plant selection, under plantings, blooming sequences, and successful floral combinations for continuous color.
Bio:
Jane Hogue
Jane Hogue is the owner of the Prairie Pedlar, a family-owned garden business established in 1985 near Odebolt in Northwest Iowa. More than 75 theme gardens are arranged on a seven-acre farmstead where Nature’s beauty and rural tranquility converge. Today, amid corn and bean fields, the Prairie Pedlar has become a haven for Iowa tourists and garden enthusiasts. Hogue is a member of Garden writers Association of America, and wrote a column for six years entitled “Kindergarden” for Country Living Gardener Magazine, which linked children to a variety of garden activities. The Prairie Pedlar has been featured in several magazines over the years including Country Living Gardener, Country Gardener, Garden Shed, Iowa Gardening, the Iowan, Flea Market Gardening and Vintage Style magazine.
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