Schedule of Events
8:00 - 9:00
9:00 - 9:15
9:15 - 10:15
10:15 - 10:30
10:30 - 11:30
11:30 - 12:30
12:30 - 1:30
1:30 - 1:45
1:45 - 2:45
2:45 - 3:00 | Check-In & Shopping
Welcome
Opening Keynote by Dr. Patrick McMillan Topic: What's up at the South Carolina Botanical Garden? Imagine taking a stroll from the cool coves of Jocassee Gorges, through the dazzling display of wildflowers of the basic-mesic forests of Stevens Creek, into the past as you are surrounded by acres of a long lost piedmont prairie with dancing heads of endangered coneflowers and sunflowers above the tall, green grass stretching to the horizon, visit a Carolina bay, stroll through a sunny longleaf pine savanna, and then onto the shores under the boughs of Live Oaks on the maritime strand. Now imagine you can do all this in just over an hour in the SCBG. Join Patrick as he discusses the new and exciting projects and the fulfillment of long-held visions for this space. After nearly two decades, The Heritage Gardens are seeing their completion - Patrick will describe the project and the new President's Walkway as well as the Founder's Garden. This is but the tip of the iceberg in a Garden that is growing by leaps and bounds. This is YOUR Garden - and your space is blossoming into a world-class botanical garden. Break Session A 1. Pam Beck, Backyard Food Gardening Growing some of your own food may not be as difficult as you believe. This colorful and instructive lecture will cover general planting and care information for including suitable, nutritious vegetables, fruits, herbs, and nut trees into your home landscape, whether you garden in containers or acres.2. Carol Buie-Jackson, Creating a Bird Sanctuary Carol will talk about adding plants and other essential elements that will invite birds and other interesting and beneficial wildlife to add energy, fun, and balance to your garden.3. Amanda McNulty, The Dirt on Dirt Earthworms, earwigs, millipedes and grubs. We’re all familiar with the big guys we find in the soil but there is another world teeming with friends and a few foes that can’t be seen with the naked eye. Join Amanda for a fun journey among the algae, fungi, bacteria and other unicellular organisms that make soil work by unlocking and bringing nutrients to our plants.Lunch & Shopping
Session B 1. Pam Beck, Change How You Garden It is time to reevaluate your landscape and your relationship with it. Working with a holistic approach, we can create realistic gardens that are maintainable, water-wise, nature-friendly, and food-producing. This inspirational lecture is filled with practical suggestions to take home
2. David Powell, New Concepts of Tree Planting So you thought you knew how to plant a tree. Join Dave to learn new research, concepts and proper techniques for tree (and shrub) planting, which will help ensure that your expensive plant was worth the price. 3. Paul Thompson, Raised Bed Gardening
Paul grows a large amount and variety of summer and fall vegetables in the raised beds at the Extension office. Join him to learn how to produce a lot in a small space, attract beneficials, minimize work and never till again. Break Closing Keynote by Dr. Larry Mellichamp Topic: Bizarre Botanicals As a gardener and plant lover, have you become too familiar with your everyday Erythroniums, your routine Rudbeckias, and your paltry Polygonatums? Do you seek some excitement in your horticultural pursuits that will reinvigorate your inquisitive intellect? Well, look no further. Join Larry Mellichamp in exploring the world of unusual, surprising, and downright bizarre plants. These are not freaks, distortions, nor sideshow monstrosities, but natural plants that simply have unusual structures, forms, or behaviors that take them into a realm beyond that of everyday plants. Just as magicians, acrobats, and astronauts tickle our fancies with their extraordinary abilities, bizarre plants show us that they can do amazing things as they navigate the twisted corridors of competition and cooperation. Get ready to take a walk on the wild side and grow plants that will spice up your life with freaky displays of sex, death, and botanical wizardry. Door Prizes and Closing |