The Town and Country Garden Club of Newtown will host Lorraine Ballato on Wednesday, October 11, at 7 pm, at Newtown Senior Center.

The senior center is at 8 Simpson Street. Those planning to attend the garden club’s program that evening should use the main entrance marked Newtown Community Center.

Ballato’s program will be “Shrubs, the New Perennial.” The program is free and all are welcome.

Shrubs now come in sizes from 12 to 24 inches, just the right size to take the place of perennials in borders and gardens. They can also provide color with interesting foliage, flowering, and almost zero maintenance. That means more time to do other things instead of all those chores.

Ballato will discuss new shrub introductions and discuss how to begin phasing gardens over to these beauties with a promising future.

An expert horticulturist and hydrangea/plant expert, Ballato’s love affair with plants comes through in her lectures, social media writings, magazine articles and photographs, which can be found in Connecticut Gardener, Edible Nutmeg, and elsewhere.

She is an instructor at The New York Botanical Garden, where she is regarded as the resident hydrangea expert. She also teaches classes in the Connecticut Master Gardener Program as well as for the Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut.

The Town & Country Garden Club is a small energetic club which has been a staple of Newtown for almost 60 years. In addition to offering similar monthly programs, members design and maintain three of Newtown’s main traffic islands, are involved in many community and volunteer events, actively support the protection of Newtown’s environment, offer scholarships to local students, and much more.

The club is actively accepting new members. To learn more contact Denise Rod at denisemarierod@yahoo.com, visit tcgardenclub.org, or find the club on Facebook (Town and Country Garden Club, Newtown Conn.).

Reservations are not needed for public programs but additional information may be available through the contact options above.