2022 Winter Seminar Series:
We are working hard on the 2022 scheule including brand new speakers! Some talks are detailed below with more to come soon so please check back.
February 5, 2021 @ 11:00 am
Plants for Dry Garden Spaces
Speaker: Debra Knapke
Dry areas of the garden are often seen as problem spaces. This is due to a number of causes: elevated, rocky areas or sandy areas which receive lots of sun, areas which are sheltered from the rain, such as near foundations, and under established shade trees, to areas with complicated soils. Debra will discuss the principles of Xeriscaping and how to create beautiful gardens that can also be very low maintenance once established.
Known as “The Garden Sage”, Debra is passionate about gardening, sustainable and regenerative garden design, and the natural world and enjoys sharing knowledge through her writing, teaching, public speaking, and garden consulting in the private and public sectors. She loves being a gardener and has packed an amazing variety of perennials, trees, shrubs, and edibles onto the 2/3-acre lot surrounding her home. Debra is a published author and will have her books available for sale during the talk.
PREMIUM SEMINAR // Fee: $20.00 per person
February 12, 2021 @ 11:00 am
Thriving or Merely Surviving? an Assortment of Superior Selections at Secrest Arboretum
Speaker: Jason Veil, Curator Secrest Arboretum, The Ohio State University – Wooster Campus
Not all popular landscape plants are aware of the spectacular virtues bestowed upon them by catalogs and the internet. When faced with less-than-ideal conditions, some truly impress while others disappoint. At Secrest, we relish our role of subjecting a wide range of trees, shrubs and perennials to the harshest conditions Ohio can dish out. The winners deserve our attention, praise and respect. The losers become compost. This presentation will focus on a number of proven performers sure to elicit botanical bliss instead of horticultural heartbreak.
Fee: $10.00 per person
February 19, 2021 @ 11:00 am
Light Up Your Landscape with Rhododendrons & Azaleas
Speaker: Tom Dayton
With their jewel-like flower trusses, rhododendrons and azaleas can light up your landscape from very early April into mid-June. Depending on the type and variety, these acid-loving plants can be grown in full sun, part shade or almost full shade but the trick to growing these special plants is in the planting process! Tom will discuss the planting procedures for this ericaceous group including location, light, soil amendments, fertilizer and root wash. But, luckily, once planted, they require very minimal after care and will reward you with blooms year in and year out. Tom will also discuss the different families from evergreens to deciduous types to their bloom times and specific varieties including a brand new series taken from cuttings at a home near Lake Anna in Barberton. Approx. length: 1.5 hours.
Fee: $10.00 per person.
March 5, 2021 @ 11:00 am
The Makings of the Mum Fest
Speaker: Robert Humm
The Barberton Mum Festival was started as a one-time event to celebrate the city’s 100th birthday. It has since turned into a yearly event drawing thousands of the people from around the region. The 31st Mum Fest was celebrated in 2021. The two-day event has evolved from a display of 15,000 garden mums to include crafters, food vendors and a water ski show on Lake Anna. But the main attraction is still the mum display. It takes art, math, research, science and luck to have the flowering perfect for the last week in September. Bob’s presentation will show how the display goes from a concept to a finished product. Bob received a horticulture degree from the University of Missouri along with serving in the U.S. Air Force. He has worked for a number of years in the industry including a long stint at Yoder Brothers (now Aris).
Fee: $10.00 per person
2021 Winter Seminar Series Videos: