UConn Advance - February 13, 2006 - UConn offers conference for garden enthusiasts

Gardening will be the topic of an all-day conference on Thursday, March 9, at the Lewis B. Rome Commons. The program begins at 9:15 a.m.

The keynote speaker is Stephanie Cohen, former director of the Landscape Arboretum at Temple University in Ambler, Pa., and contributing editor of Fine Gardening. Cohen is co-author of a new book on garden design, The Perennial Gardener’s Design Primer, published by Storey Press. She will speak on “Perennial Garden Design Demystified.”

Other speakers at the conference include:

Nancy DuBrule-Clemente, owner of Natureworks Horticultural Services, a specialty garden center and landscape design service based in Northford, Conn. She will give a presentation on “Succession of Bloom: How to Have Color Every Month of the Growing Season;”
Tom Rathier, a soil scientist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Valley Laboratory, where he operates the diagnostic laboratory and conducts soil fertility experiments. Rathier will discuss “Keys to Success in Planting and Maintaining Woody Ornamentals;”

Steve Frowine, a well-known professional horticulturist and author, who managed one of the largest collections of orchids in the United States at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Frowine will speak on “Surviving the Winter with Orchids;”
Lee Reich, an avid gardener, lecturer, and writer whose articles have appeared in Fine Gardening, Horticulture and The New York Times. He is the author of Growing Fruits in Your Backyard, A Northeast Gardener’s Year, and Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden. Reich will speak on “Delectable Native Fruits.”

There is a pre-registration fee of $60 per person if post marked on or before March 2nd. After that, the fee is $70 per person. Included in the cost of admission are lunch, snacks, and beverages, parking, and opportunities to purchase orchids and a wide selection of gardening books. Please make checks payable to the University of Connecticut and send to Richard McAvoy, Department of Plant Science, Unit 4067, University of Connecticut, 1376 Storrs Road, Storrs, CT 06269.

The 2006 Conference for the Garden Enthusiast is sponsored by the Department of Plant Science and the UConn Cooperative Extension System. For more information, go to www.hort.uconn.edu/2006garden.