Jewels In The Garden Conference Set June 6 In Tyler

 

“Jewels in the Garden,” a conference planned for more than a year by Smith County Master Gardeners, will be held June 6 at the Tyler Rose Garden Center, 420 Rose Park Drive, Tyler.

 

The conference has taken on special meaning for the Master Gardeners, as Sue Adee, one of the original Smith County Master Gardeners and conference planner, died on Jan. 9, said Jean Smith, Smith County Master Gardener, Tyler.

 

Master Gardeners is an educational and volunteer program offered by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.

 

“We used the theme of Jewels in the Garden to encourage our speakers presentations to explore new as well as native plants that are true gems in the garden,”Smith said. “Sue was the driving force behind the upcoming conference and plans were underway more than a year ago. She was always envisioning new ways to educate Master Gardeners and the public on good gardening practices as well as all the new things going on in the world of horticulture.”

 

Registration is $25 through May 15, $35 thereafter. Lunch is included. To preregister, print out and mail the form at http://bit.ly/1OUEfxD to Pat Welch, 19461 Sandhill Lane, Flint, TX 75762. Make checks payable to “SCMG.”

 

For more information, contact Welch at 903-530-4496, or Keith Hansen, AgriLife Extension horticulture agent for Smith County and one of the program planners, at 903-590-2980, k-hansen2@tamu.edu.

 

The keynote speaker will be Nicholas Staddon, director of New Plants for Monrovia Nursery Inc. His topics will be “Great Ideas for the Modern Garden with True Gems and Jewels for your Garden,” and “New to You and More — A Garden Adventure.”

Other speakers and their topics include:

 

— Tom LeRoy, retired AgriLife Extension agent for Montgomery County, “Landscaping with Fruits and Vegetables and Other Delicious Garden Beauties.”

 

— Steve Huddleston, senior horticulturist at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, “Using Native and Passalong Plants in the Landscape.”

 

The indoor program will be followed by tours of the four gardens adjacent to the Rose Garden Center that were designed and are maintained by the Smith County Master Gardeners – the IDEA, Heritage, Shade and Sunshine gardens.

 

Sometime this summer, a bronze sculpture will be installed in the IDEA garden in memory of Adee, Smith said. The sculpture is a gift from John Adee and the Smith County Master Gardener Association.