Upcoming Events

(Last updated: 8 May 2008)

February 21 to April 17, 2008 (additional class in June for those interested in judging flowers)
Advanced Purdue Master Gardener Training Class, Porter County
Thursday evenings from 6:00-9:00 pm
Porter County Administration Building, Room 309
For more information, please contact Todd Hutson in the Extension Office, 219-465-3555 ext 26.

Class size is limited. All master gardeners and interns are eligible to participate in this series.

Paid registration deadline: January 31
Send your registration form and check to:
Purdue Extension- Porter County
155 Indiana Avenue, Suite 301
Valparaiso, IN 46383

Sessions remaining:

June 5: How to Judge Flower Shows
– Jim Pavelka, Advanced Master Gardener and Judge

May 3, 2008
4th Annual Garden Celebration!
Sponsored by the Johnson County Garden Club and the Purdue Master Gardener Program of Johnson County
Johnson County Fairgrounds, Scott Hall
100 Fairgrounds Street, Franklin, IN 46131
9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Admission: Donation of a non-perishable food or toiletry item for the Inter-Church Food Pantry or $2.00 per person

Join us in Johnson County for a full day of gardening seminars, vendors, food, and just plain fun!
Free seminars all day long-- topics include:

9:30 Jo Ellen Meyers-Sharp of Living Green Indiana Magazine, speaking on using Drought Resistant Plants
10:30 Anne Young, Advanced Master Gardener, on The Wiggly World of Vermiculture
11:30 Bill Noble, Indy Water Garden Society, on Beginner Backyard Ponds and Water Gardens
1:00 John Hawkins, Certified Arborist, Q & A session, An Hour with An Arborist
2:30 Carolyn Clark Kurek, American Institute of Floral Designers, with a demonstration entitled Artful Arrangements from Your Own Garden

For more information contact Deb Baker, Purdue Extension Service/Johnson County, at 317-736-3724 or bakerds@purdue.edu
May 17, 2008
GardenFest -- "Going Green" (recycling and being kind to our earth)
Sponsored by Rush County Master Gardeners and Friends
Rush County Fairgrounds, Livestock Pavilion
Rushville, IN
9:00 am to 3:00 pm
No admission charge and all of the kid’s activities are free!!!

Vendors will be selling plants, garden accessories, and a variety of other items.
Visit the Master Gardener booth for garden tips, handouts and MG info (and if you have more plants than you need in your garden, bring some in and “swap” them for something new and different).
Kid’s Korner where kids can plant seeds and do garden crafts and learn many ways to recycle.

Six different informative programs:

9 am – Marvin Kuhn, teacher and Master Gardener -- "Seed Starting and Seed Saving"
10 am – Carrie Nicholson, Master Gardener intern -- "Recycling Plastic Grocery Bags into Useful Items"
11 am – Linda Davis & Michelle Manker, certified wildlife rehabilitators -- "Rehabilitating Wildlife"
12 noon – Joyce Miller, Master Gardener -- "Making Natural Cleaning Products"
1 pm – Kay Story, Master Gardener -- "Flower Pounding--Imprinting Flowers on Fabric or Paper"
2 pm – DeLana Miller, Master Gardener -- "Turning Trash into Garden Treasures"

Still room for more vendors. If interested, contact the Rush Co. Extension office at 932-5974 or contact Joyce Miller at 561-2572.

May 17, 2008
Hypertufa Program
Sponsored by Blackford County
Hartford City, IN
10am-Noon
Cost: $20
Participants will take home a planter trough. (This is a messy project, dress accordingly! )

Reservations now being accepted, fee must be received to be registered, space is limited.
Send name and registration fee to Blackford County Extension Office, PO Box 643, Hartford City, IN 47348.

Hypertufa is a type of artificial stone created by mixing sand, peat, and cement. It is much lighter in weight than stone or concrete and very hardy in cold temperatures. Very popular now in the gardening community--you can make limitless kinds of garden accessories and crafts. It can be sculpted, hand molded, or molded into a form. It can also be used to make fake rocks and boulders and other decorative accents.

For info: cluppers@purdue.edu
June 3-14, 2008
Purdue Master Gardener Study Abroad: The Gardens of France
Contact: Rosie Lerner
More information available at <http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext.GoF/>.
June 7, 2008
Herb and Garden Festival
Sponsored by Sunnyside Master Gardeners
9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Rain or shine
Clark County 4-H Fairgrounds, 9608 Hwy 62
Charlestown, Indiana

Booths with local and regional vendors selling herbs, perennials and native plants as well as garden-related items such as woodcrafts, lawn art.
Master Gardeners will staff a consumer gardening information booth where
your garden and lawn care questions can be answered.

Presentations throughout the day:

9:30 am Bob Hill -- Colorful Combinations in the Perennial Garden
10:45 am John Belski -- Weather Lore and Gardening
11:30 am John Dyer -- Flowers Galore Through Propagation
12:30 pm Greg Mills -- The Most Important Time in the Life of Your Tree
1:30 pm Jeneen Wiche -- Summer Sense: Drought Proofing Your Garden

Free and open to all. Handicap accessible.
For information, call 812-948-5470.
June 7, 2008
Trip to Chicago Botanic Gardens
Sponsored by Wabash Valley Master Gardeners
Turner coaches will be driving bus(es) to the Gardens (arrive at parking lot by 4am, bus leaves 4:30am)
Cost: $48.00 per person and includes entrance fee to the Gardens. Extra packages are available upon request
Download flyer and registration form (deadline to register: May 15, 2008)
Contact info: Robert G. Love, 7745 E. Mulberry Drive, Terre Haute, Indiana 47802

Join the Wabash Valley Master Gardeners Association as we enjoy a day at the Chicago Botanic Gardens. Spring, summer, fall and winter, the Chicago Botanic Garden offers 385 acres of beauty and serenity, awe, and wonder.

Enjoy a day of strolling through the 26 exhibits of the botanic gardens as well as attending the North Shore Iris & Daylily Society Iris show & sale June 7 and 8. (see flyer for more details and other offerings).
June 12-14, 2008
National Gardening Convention
Fort Wayne, IN Chapter of The Gardeners Of America/Men’s Garden Club Of America will hold it’s National Convention at Hall’s Guesthouse in Fort Wayne.

12 different gardening seminars to choose from, tours and, of course, great food. The seminars may be counted as education hours for Master Gardeners.

Friday tour to: Master Gardener Display Gardens at the Allen County C.E.S.
Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory
Lakeside Park & Rose Garden
Merry Lea Environmental Center

Open to all persons interested in gardening.

For more information contact Bernie or Sue Holm at 260/485-0164 or bgholmmg@earthlink.net
July 16-19, 2008
Midwest Regional Master Gardener Conference
"Gardening through the Continuum of Life"
Hosted by SouthEast Wisconsin Master Gardeners for the Wisconsin Master Gardener Association and UW Extension Master Gardener Program
Location: Four Points by Wyndham Milwaukee Airport Hotel and Convention Center
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Registration: $150 through April 14th, $175 from April 15th through July 1st

Keynote speakers:
Michael Weishan of the Victory Garden
Melinda Myers of PBS' Great Lakes Gardener and author of several gardening books
Edward Lyon, Executive Director of Janesville Rotary Gardens
Gene Rothert, enabling garden author, educator and manager of Chicago Botanical Garden's Buehler Enabling Garden & Horticulture Therapy Services

Six fantastic motor coach tours to (20+) private gardens in the area.

General information and registration: http://sewmg.encumpus.com, or contact Doris Fons at 414-425-6072 for a registration packet.
Download brochure

July 17, 2008
Purdue Master Gardener Advanced Training
Master Gardeners in Bloom
Sponsored by the Purdue University Master Gardener Program
7:30am - 8:00pm (E.S.T.)
Bill Daniel Turfgrass Center, Purdue West Lafayette Campus

Purdue Master Gardeners will explore the use of bedding plants in public gardens and community beautification projects and learn more about the nationwide “America In Bloom” (AIB) program. We’ll tour the display gardens of Ball Seed Company, AIB plantings in downtown Chicago, and the Lurie Garden at Chicago’s Millennium Park.

Enrollment is limited and shall be open to Purdue Master Gardeners only through June 1, after which MGs will be permitted to sponsor one non-MG guest, if space remains available. Enrollment form and payment must be received to hold your space in the program.

Cost: $55/person, includes lunch and light refreshments
Refund Policy: Through July 1 — Full refund if you notify us in writing (email or US mail)
Download Flier& Registration Form
September 26-28, 2008
2008 Master Gardener State Conference
"Enhancing Your Plant Palette"
Sheraton Indianapolis
Keystone at Crossing
March 22-26, 2009
2009 International Master Gardener Conference
“New Frontiers in Horticulture and Gardening”
Alexis Park Resort
Las Vegas, NV

The conference will address issues that gardeners everywhere face -- water conservation, proper plant selection, soil enrichment, pest control -- while also presenting new concepts in environmental stewardship and “green” technologies. Since what is old has become new again, we will also explore historical and traditional plants and methods.

Workshop Topics:

Green Technologies, Water Conservation, Heirloom Plants, LEED, Healthy Gardening, Native Seeds, Farm to Restaurant, Ancestors' Gardens, Trees for Tomorrow, Artful Gardening, Water Harvesting, Soil Microbes, Interactive Learning.

Tours:

Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, LV Springs Preserve, Ethyl M Cactus Garden and Living Machine, Red Rock Canyon, Spring Mountain Ranch, Desert Rose Garden, China Ranch Date Farm, Gardens at the Bellagio and Wynn resorts.

Check the website for updates: http://www.unce.unr.edu/imgc. On-line registration and hotel reservations will begin in Summer 2008. (The Alexis Park Resort is lovely, and we will have it all to ourselves – check it out at http://www.alexispark.com.)

The registration fee is not yet final. For information, contact: Ann Edmunds, Program Officer and IMGC Conference Coordinator, University of Nevada, Cooperative Extension.