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Garden Talks
Joys of the Garden |
Saturday March 27, 2010 |
11: 30 am
Rainwater Harvesting
 Ed Parken
is a retired businessman and mechanical engineer with BS and MS degrees from The Ohio State University. He became a Master Gardener in 2003 and has made a number of Master Gardener sponsored presentations on how to plan and construct a rainwater harvesting system. He has been involved in the planning and construction of a number of rainwater harvesting systems including the 2 systems installed at Zilker Botanical Garden. Currently Ed is serving on the Austin Area Garden Council board and the Horticulture Committee. |
12:30 pm
Austin Hardy Tropicals
 Jeff Yarbrough has been a nurseryman for 30 years, following a couple of years at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He started Emerald Gardens in 1993, the first water garden nursery in Austin. He is a member of the Texas Nursery and Landscape Association. An exotic plant enthusiast, Jeff likes to "trial" plants. As a result of these trials, he has a good selection of tropicals that are hardy for our zone. Jeff specializes in landscape design for new homeowners, using water features, natives, rocks, cactus, as well as tropicals. There is an art to finding the right plant for a specific place on any property. Check out Emerald Gardens’ website at www.pondsandgarden.com |
1:30 pm
Backyard Restoration with Bison or Compost Tea?
 Patrick Van Haren has a BS in Agriculture Economics and Business from the University of Guelph (Canada), he is also a graduate of the federal Department of Agriculture - Canadian Agricultural Lifetime Leadership Program. He completed an MBA in entrepreneurship at Babson College in Wellesley, MA and is now a full-time partner in Microbial Earth. He also has a consulting company called Sunergie which is focused on the 7 F's: food, feed, fiber, fertilizer, fuel, fresh water and fresh air. Patrick has a plan for healthy fertilizer that requires less space than a bison in the yard, and the neighbors will not object. www.microbialearth.com |
 2:30 pm
Floral Design with a Master
Dolores Rumpf, a long time Austin resident, has been a member of the Violet Crown Garden Club for many years during which she has held several offices including that of club president. As Flower Guild chairperson at St Louis Catholic Church, she oversees 4 teams of volunteers who produce all of the floral arrangements for the church and the altar. Dolores is a member of the Capitol City Judges Council, and has attended many training sessions taught by nationally recognized instructors in floral design. She has been a flower show judge for 9 years and is within a few months of becoming a Master Judge for National Garden Clubs Inc..
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3:30 pm
Growing Organic Herbs
 Cathy Slaughter has a BA degree from Sam Houston State. She and her husband Sam have been in the nursery business for over 25 years. They own Gabriel Valley Farms in Georgetown, and are part of Texas Organic Farmers & Growers Association, and members of Texas Department of Agriculture's Go Texas program. Their organically grown herbs, ornamentals and native plants are sold in a number of retail nurseries in the area. Cathy is a part of the newly established Herb Association of Texas, and has held several positions within the Austin Herb Society. www.gabrielvalleyfarms.com |
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| Sunday March 28, 2010 |
11:30 am
Basics of Organic Vegetable Gardening
 John Dromgoole is the owner of Lady Bug Natural Brand organic gardening products and The Natural Gardener, which was honored in 2008 with the national award of “Innovative Garden Center of the Year” by Garden Center Magazine. John has hosted America’s longest continuously running organic gardening radio talk show for 28 years, and will be broadcasting live from Zilker Garden Festival on Saturday and Sunday mornings. For more than 10 years, he has been a regular on PBS’s “Central Texas Gardener” and for 19 years on “Weekend Gardener”. John has won state, local, and regional awards including the much deserved, “Texas Legendary Promoter of Organics.” www.naturalgardeneraustin.com
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 12:30 pm
Heirloom Bulbs for Texas Gardens
Danny Fowler is a founding member of the Texas Flower Bulb Society and the owner of Texas Tulips. He studied at the University of Illinois and Universite de Paris, and has been a recognized designer in the floral arts for more than twenty years. He spends many hours volunteering with the EAGER Program for school age children sharing his horticultural expertise.
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1:30 pm
Growing Plumeria and Rock Rose
 Kurt Hudgeons is a Texas A&M graduate who changed careers, from auto painting to plantsman. His whole family is now involved with plumerias. They have 214 registered varieties, 50 of which are red. Cuttings from India, Thailand, Australia and Hawaii provided colors like Aztec Gold, Black Beauty, and Mango. Kurt also propagates 80 varieties of Desert Rose grown from seed. The secret of his success will be told to all. www.itsaboutthyme.com |
2:30 pm
Variegated Plants for Beautiful Landscapes
 Bob Beyer has an AAS degree in horticulture and has been a Certified Master Gardener since 2001. He is the Vice President of Publications for the Austin Area Garden Council and produces their E-newsletter, Down the Garden Path. He maintains a blog and an educational website called "Central Texas Gardening". Bob has been a contributor to the Austin gardening community, sharing his horticultural knowledge, and his passion for plants, and has featured his Avery Ranch home garden on several garden tours. Variegated plants suitable for Austin can add a new dimension of interest and color to your garden landscape. www.centraltexasgardening.info |
3:30 pm
Monarch Migration Through Texas
 Mike Quinn, former invertebrate biologist for Texas Parks and Wildlife, has been studying the Monarch butterfly for almost 20 years. He holds a masters degree in entomology from Texas A&M, and is the president of the Austin Butterfly Forum. He will discuss the annual migrations through Texas, 6 weeks in spring and 3 weeks each fall. He’ll also cover the plants every garden needs to attract monarchs to lay their eggs, feed the caterpillar and provide nectar for the adult butterfly. www.texasento.net |
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