UConn Sponsoring Conference For Home Gardeners

STORRS — The University of Connecticut will sponsor the “Conference for the Home Gardener” to be held at the University of Connecticut on Friday, March 9.

The all-day conference will offer exciting educational opportunities for home gardeners at all interest levels from the casual gardener to the garden enthusiast and even the master gardener.

This year’s featured speaker is Judy Glattstein, noted garden designer, lecturer and author of numerous gardening books. She will be speaking on “Consider the Leaf: Foliage for Garden Design.”

C. Colston Burrell, well-known garden designer, photographer and award-winning author, will be speaking on “More than a Pretty Face: Native Alternatives to Invasive Exotic Plants,” sponsored by the New England Invasive Plant Center.

Holly Shimizu is the executive director of the US Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. Herbs are one of her areas of special interest and have been since her early days as curator of the National Herb Garden. She will be speaking on “Using Herbs in the Garden.”

Steven Aitken, the managing editor of Fine Gardening magazine, will be speaking on “Designing with Containers.”

Warren Leach is a landscape horticulturist and co-owner of Tranquil Lake Nursery, Inc, a prominent grower of beardless iris and daylilies in Rehoboth, Mass. He will be speaking on “Surmounting the Site-Challenged Garden.”

There is a preregistration fee of $80 per person if postmarked on or before March 2. The fee is $90 per person if postmarked after March 2. Registration is limited and nonrefundable. Make checks payable to the University of Connecticut and send to Richard McAvoy, University of Connecticut, Department of Plant Science, 1376 Storrs Road, Unit 4067, Storrs CT 06269-4067.

Included in admission are a buffet lunch, parking, snacks and beverages during breaks, and the information packet with session summaries. There is also an opportunity to purchase selected autographed books, plus a wide array of gardening books.

Questions about the conference can be directed to Dr McAvoy at 860-486-0627 or richard.mcavoy@uconn.edu. Information is also available at www.hort.uconn.edu/2007garden.