Winter Gardening Fair 2009

Presented by ISU Extension Linn County Master Gardeners

 

Saturday  February 7, 2009 

(weather cancellation make-up date: February 21, 2009)

Kirkwood Center for Continuing Education
Kirkwood Community College

6301 Kirkwood Blvd SW

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

 

This year choose from 2 tracks

Track 1: Way to Grow offering 4 sessions and 25 classes to choose from as well as lunch and the Keynote Presentation: Continuous Color in the Landscape

OR

Track 2: Plants and Pots offering 4 sessions and 26 classes to choose from as well as lunch and the Keynote Presentation: Continuous Color in the Landscape

 

Tuition: $49 for all day and includes a boxed lunch (some classes have additional charges for materials or supplies, as noted)

 

Register in advance for classes:

· download and complete the registration form

· or call (319) 398-1022 or 1-800-332-2055

Questions? Call the Linn County Master Gardeners at (319) 447-0647 or Linn County Extension at (319) 377-9839. 

 Download the Winter Gardening Fair class schedule

 

 

Class Descriptions  (Choose track 1 or track 2)

 

Track 1: Way to Grow  (register for only 1 class per session)

(please note: LCMG=Linn County Master Gardener)

 

Session 1        8:30-9:30am

 • Basic Urban Tree Identification    #CFLG-481-CHE01

Knowing what kind of trees are in your yard is key to making the right tree care decisions.  DNR Specialist Mark Vitosh will teach you basic tree characteristics which will get you off to a good start. 

• Revitalizing Your Home Garden    #CFLG-482-CHE01

For the novice or experienced gardener, this class covers beginning or re-working the soil prep, planting, transplanting, and pruning for your beds. LCMG Lori Klopfenstein will also cover tools, design principals, and “go to” resources for all your garden needs.

 • Daylilies – The Perfect Perennial    #CFLG-483-CHE01

LCMG and American Hemerocallis Society Garden Judge Zora Ronan will cover the basic information needed to grow perfect daylilies.  She will talk about selection, planting, and maintenance.

 

• The Garden Journal   #CFLG-543-CHE01

LCMG Jean Minehart and LCMG Laura Appleget will lead you through – Why keep one?  When to start?  What to keep?  What about reminders?  $10 materials fee

 • Houseplants – More than a Pretty Pot   #CFLG-484-CHE01

Are you good at killing your houseplants?  LCMG Dolly Brown will explain how to select, care for, propagate, and maintain your plants for year long enjoyment.

 • Everlastings   #CFLG-504-CHE01

LCMG Nancy Sutherland will show you which flowers dry well or have interesting seed pods.  Learn different methods for preserving flowers.

  

 Session 2        9:45-10:45am

 • Lawns: Green with Envy   #CFLG-528-CHE01

LCMG Jerry Schmidt will give you advice on how to turn your grass into a lawn.  Find out the best ways to rid your lawn of weeds, mushrooms, bare spots, and all those digging critters.

 • Dwarf Conifers   #CFLG-522-CHE01

Dwarf Conifers are the hottest new trees in town.  Join LCMG and Conifer Society member Darrell Hennessey as he shows us around the world of these small evergreens. 

• Vegetable Gardening Problems & Solutions   #CFLG-485-CHE01

Vincent Lawson, Superintendent of the ISU Muscatine Island Research Farm, will discuss solutions to common problems encountered in vegetable gardening.

 • Gardening with Kids    #CFLG-486-CHE01

LCMG Lori Klopfenstein will show you how to introduce the next generation to the passion of gardening.  Learn how to teach kids valuable science and nature lessons while having fun!  She will share her tips for success – good for the backyard, volunteer settings, or the classroom. 

 • Honeybees & Beekeeping in Iowa   #CFLG-487-CHE01

Managed colonies of honeybees are very important for the pollination service they provide.  State Apiarist Andy Joseph focuses on beekeeping, its role in gardening and food production. 

 • Create an Everlasting Nosegay   #CFLG-488-CHE01

Join LCMG Shelby Foley and LCMG Nancy Sutherland to create the perfect Valentine, an everlasting Victorian nosegay.  Bring floral shears and glue gun to the class.  $15 material fee. 

 

Session 3: Lunch & Keynote        11am-12:30pm

Continuous Color in the Landscape*   #CFLG-489-CHE01

Your landscape shouldn’t look like a moonscape during the off-season!  Great designs have color and interest all year.  Landscape Designer and author Janet Macunovich will provide design techniques and maintenance tips to help you choose, plant, and maintain perennials, trees, shrubs, and other garden features for a year round impact!

*This keynote presentation is supported by funds from the Ken Lafferty Memorial Fund. 

 

 Session 4        12:45-1:45pm

• Photography in the Garden   # CFLG-490-CHE01

Photograper and Author Steve Nikkila presents tips on how to make your photographs capture beautiful plant combinations; record your garden’s progress, individual plants and landscapes.  All Steve’s tips are effective for both digital and film cameras.

 Lite it Up - Garden Lighting    # CFLG-548-CHE01

Why only enjoy the beauty during the day? You don’t have to be an electrician to be able to enhance your garden in the evening!  LCMG Deb Walser will discuss placement, types of lighting, and transformer options – let there be lite! 

• Small and Unusual Fruits    # CFLG-521-CHE01

ISU Extension Field Specialist Dr. Patrick O’Malley focuses on common and unusual fruits for the home garden.

 • Tomatoes, Peppers, and Salsa    # CFLG-491-CHE01

LCMG’s Sherry & Marty Baldonado teach you how to make salsa that everyone wants!  What is involved?  Is fresh best? Become a salsa expert!

 Living with Bambi   # CFLG-535-CHE01
It is possible to have a beautiful garden with deer in your neighborhood?  LCMG Karla McGrail will share tips and strategies to help you live with these appealing troublemakers. 

• Composting - Create Black Gold   # CFLG-539-CHE01

Join Linn County Master Composters, Wil Carew and Glenn Babinat as they explore the mysteries of composting.  Learn different options for home composting.

 • The Kitchen Garden   # CFLG-501-CHE01

LCMG Ellen Skripsky explains raised vegetable beds, square foot gardening, growing vegetables vertically, and container vegetables.

 

Session 5        2:00-3:00pm

• Food Preservation and Storage   # CFLG-492-CHE01

ISU Extension Food and Nutrition Specialist Jan Temple will discuss current safe food preservation practices for canning, freezing, and drying food and making jams and jellies.  What you don’t know CAN hurt you!

 Hillside Gardens    # CFLG-554-CHE01

LCMG Kevin Weiss will concentrate on those areas of your lawn that are NOT flat.  Find out what plants grow well on inclines and combat erosion.

• Landscaping with Ornamental Grasses    # CFLG-493-CHE01

Ornamental Grasses have become the hot plant in the past five years.  LCMG Becki Lynch provides design tips to place these four season interest plants on your property – from small to large – sun to shade!

 • Create Your Own Backyard Habitat    # CFLG-494-CHE01

LCMG Devon Dietz will concentrate on identifying existing and added habitat elements at your home that will attract interesting and beneficial species!

 Bats and Bat Houses   # CFLG-544-CHE01
Bats are one of the garden’s best friends!  LCMG James Kurtzleben explores the lifestyle of bats, why it’s important to protect their habitat, and the construction of bat houses.   

• Terra Cotta Fountains   # CFLG-511-CHE01

Gardens of all sizes can have water features.  The relaxing sound of water is an attraction for us and all wildlife.  Join LCMG Deb Walser and build a simple terra cotta fountain.  You’ll never view flower pots in the same way!  $35 materials fee

 

OR --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Track 2: Plants and Pots  (register for only 1 class per session)

(please note: LCMG=Linn County Master Gardener)

 

Session 1        9:00-10:00am

 • Extending the Growing Season    #CFLG-495-CHE01

Join LCMG Bill Oliver on extending fall harvests and get a head start on spring greens.  Solar cones, pods, drop frames, and other “appliances” will be discussed along with the best plant selections. 

• Ornamental Grasses    #CFLG-534-CHE01

LCMG Ian Philpott shows how to use ornamental grasses in your garden.  The many varieties of grasses add a richness of texture and color to gardens in all seasons.

 • Designing a Culinary Herb Garden    #CFLG-559-CHE01

LCMG Wava Schmidt won a Victory Garden award for her Mt. Vernon herb garden.  Wava shows you a number of ideas for an herb garden.

 • Prairie Gardens   #CFLG-496-CHE01

Join LCMG Doug Smith to learn about our prairie heritage, how to construct a prairie, how to choose the various plants and how to care for them.

 • Pruning Trees and Shrubs   #CFLG-508-CHE01

LCMG and Master Woodland Manager Gene Frye discusses the why, when and how to prune woody plants and recommends tools to use.  Remedial pruning for minimizing storm and animal damage will also be covered.

 • Practical Plant Propagation Lecture  (Part 1 of 2)   #CFLG-497-CHE01

Kirkwood Assoc. Professor Paul Saladin covers propagation techniques such as air layering, leaf cuttings, soft-wood cuttings, stem sections and division.  Must sign up for workshop in Session 2.  

 

Session 2        10:15-11:15am

 • Practical Plant Propagation Workshop (Part 2 of 2)   #CFLG-605-CHE01

In Part Two of the Plant Propagation series Paul Saladin will lead a hands-on propagation workshop.  Must sign up for lecture in Session 1.

 • Bad Bugs in Good Gardens and Vice Versa   #CFLG-498-CHE01

Dr. Donald Lewis, ISU Extension Entomology Specialist provides detailed information distinguishing the beneficial insects from the pests in your garden and the practical ways to naturally control them.  Come prepared with questions! 

• Using Herbs   #CFLG-499-CHE01

Join LCMG Judy Bemer as she shows us many ways to use herbs at home for cooking, cleaning, and decorating.

 • Landscaping with Ornamental Grasses    #CFLG-612-CHE01

Ornamental Grasses have become the hot plant in the past five years.  LCMG Becki Lynch provides design tips to place these four season interest plants on your property – from small to large – sun to shade! 

 • Tree Problems   #CFLG-510-CHE01

DNR Tree Specialist Mark Vitosh talks about the problems affecting area trees in 2008.  Learn about the diseases, insects and environmental problems our trees experience and what to expect for next summer. 

 • Hardy Roses You Can Grow   #CFLG-500-CHE01

Are you in love with roses, but not the work required?  LCMG Deb Walser teaches us about the types of roses that are easy to grow and available in our area, how and where to plant roses as well as which varieties are more disease resistant roses. 

 

 Session 3        11:30am-12:30pm

• Photography in the Garden   # CFLG-613-CHE01

Photograper and Author Steve Nikkila presents tips on how to make your photographs capture beautiful plant combinations; record your garden’s progress, individual plants and landscapes.  All Steve’s tips are effective for both digital and film cameras.

 Living with Bambi    # CFLG-556-CHE01

It is possible to have a beautiful garden with deer in your neighborhood.  LCMG Karla McGrail will share tips and strategies to help you live with these appealing troublemakers. 

• Daylilies:  Beyond Stella    # CFLG-606-CHE01

LCMG and American Hemerocallis Society Garden Judge Zora Ronan explores the many forms, shapes, and colors in today’s daylily world.  Learn the differences between full-form, spider, and unusual-form daylilies.

 • Tomatoes, Peppers, and Salsa    # CFLG-607-CHE01

LCMG’s Sherry & Marty Baldonado teach you how to make salsa that everyone wants!  What is involved?  Is fresh best? Become a salsa expert!

 Rain Gardens   # CFLG-608-CHE01
Rain gardens conserve water by converting those low places where water stands to beautiful gardens!  LCMG Judy Stevens will walk you through locating the site, preparing it, and choosing plants that will thrive in rain gardens. 

• Composting - Create Black Gold   # CFLG-557-CHE01

Join Linn County Master Composters, Wil Carew and Glenn Babinat as they explore the mysteries of composting.  Learn different options for home composting.

 • The Garden Journal   # CFLG-555-CHE01

LCMG Jean Minehart and LCMG Laura Appleget will lead you through – Why keep one?  When to start?  What to keep?  What about reminders?  $10 materials fee

 

Session 4: Lunch & Keynote        12:45-2:15pm

Continuous Color in the Landscape*   # CFLG-615-CHE01

Your landscape shouldn’t look like a moonscape during the off-season!  Great designs have color and interest all year.  Landscape Designer and author Janet Macunovich will provide design techniques and maintenance tips to help you choose, plant, and maintain perennials, trees, shrubs, and other garden features for a year round impact!

*This keynote presentation is supported by funds from the Ken Lafferty Memorial Fund. 

 

 

Session 5        2:30-3:30pm

• Small and Unusual Fruits   # CFLG-609-CHE01

ISU Extension Field Specialist Dr. Patrick O’Malley focuses on common and unusual fruits for the home garden.

 Starting Garden Transplants    # CFLG-545-CHE01

LCMG Zora Ronan discusses growing vegetable and flower transplants successfully at home.

• Outdoor Tropicals    # CFLG-610-CHE01

Do you want a lush, bright and colorful garden all summer long and late into fall?  How about 4 – 5 ft. glossy leaves?  Join LCMG Jay McWherter to learn about outdoor tropical plants to try in your garden.  You’ll be glad you did.

 • Economical Ponds and Water Features    # CFLG-611-CHE01

Ponds don’t have to cost a lot to set up and maintain.  Join LCMG Larry Dawson to learn how to build an economical pond, waterfall, and other water features.

 The Kitchen Garden   # CFLG-558-CHE01
LCMG Ellen Skripsky will explain raised vegetable beds, square foot gardening, growing vegetables vertically, and how to grow vegetables in containers.   

• Build a Toad House   # CFLG-525-CHE01

Enjoy the hands-on experience of making a mosaic toad house with LCMG Karla McGrail.  $15 materials fee

 

 

Tuition: $49 for all day and includes boxed lunch

Register in advance for classes:

·   download and complete the registration form·   or call (319) 398-1022 or 1-800-332-2055

 

Download the Winter Gardening Fair class schedule


12/15/2008

  • 3279 7th Ave., Suite 140
  • Marion, IA 52302
  • (319) 377-9839; Hortline: 319-447-0647
  • benesh1@iastate.edu