Please note: This event is canceled due to inclement weather predicted for Saturday, Jan. 24. Refunds will be automatically processed.
Contact classes@atlantabg.org if you have any questions or concerns.
Speakers
Todd Lasseigne
Executive Director, Bellingrath Gardens & Home
Horticultural Hits and Misfits for New and Old Gardens
In today’s world, plant choices seem unlimited. From native plants to exotic wonders, drought tolerant and resilient plants to finicky but oh-so-good delights, the world is our apple (or crabapple). Where should we turn? What should we do? Join Dr. Todd Lasseigne on a lively talk looking at the world of horticulture through his work down in the Alabama Gulf Coast to bring back the historic Bellingrath Gardens to its glories by embracing a broad plant palette and new ideas.
Dr. Lasseigne has served as Executive Director Bellingrath Gardens and Home since September 2020. Over the past five years, he has worked with staff and the Board of Directors to create a new master plan, rejuvenate the 30-year “Magic Christmas in Lights,” and invest nearly $3 million toward new initiatives and deferred capital maintenance projects. With new energy and excitement and a vibrant staff, BGH is enjoying record attendance numbers not seen since the early 2000s. Bellingrath Gardens & Home is Alabama’s oldest public garden, first opening to the public in the spring of 1932. Todd is a highly respected plantsman, horticulturist, and public garden leader. He lives with his wife Heather and four cats in Grand Bay, Alabama.
Mark Weathington
Director, JC Raulston Arboretum
Natives with a Twist
Gardening with native plants does not mean your garden needs to look natural. Check out some plants that will have your gardening friends drooling with envy!
Mark Weathington is the director of the JC Raulston Arboretum and professor of the practice in the Horticultural Science Department at North Carolina State University. His work furthering the mission of the JCRA – to share their passion, plants, and knowledge – takes him to exotic spots around the world from Uruguay to Vietnam, New Zealand and Alabama searching for plants to diversify the landscape. Mark is the author of Gardening in the South, the Complete Homeowner’s Guide, and gardens in his limited spare time with his puppies Harvey and Gus and near his wife Mary.
Dottie Myers
Landscape Architect
Growing Old in the Garden
Dottie will explore the issues of our own aging and how it relates to the garden as well as how to deal with the gardens aging themselves.
Dottie Myers has been practicing in Residential Landscape Architecture for 42 years. Throughout the years, she has lectured frequently and was given the Communicator of the Year Award by the Georgia Green Industry. Dottie also hosted a call in Gardening Show on WGST Radio for 3 years in the late 1990’s called “Digging in the Dirt with Dottie.” Another passion for Dottie has been teaching, and she has taught landscape design classes at the University of Georgia, Gwinnett Tech and Atlanta Botanical Garden. She has spent the last several years maintaining many of the gardens she designed and installed in the past.
Moe Hemmings
Community Outreach Manager, Atlanta Botanical Garden
Evolution of the Atlanta Botanical Garden’s Edible Garden
Join Moe Hemmings on a journey of the Atlanta Botanical Garden’s Edible Garden over the years. We’ll look at the beginning phases, planting design, and trials and triumphs, highlighting selections of edible plants that have stood the test of time, extreme weather and the ever-curious visitor. Throughout this retrospective, Moe will highlight success stories that you can emulate in your home garden.
After graduating from Virginia Tech with a degree in Horticulture, Moe began her career at The Living with the Land Greenhouse at the Walt Disney World Resort, allowing her to pursue gardening with an emphasis on food and children. Disney provided an excellent opportunity to grow her joy of working with food and getting the next generation excited about plants, a love she brought with her to the Atlanta Botanical Garden.
Initially, Moe’s duties included the design, planning, development of signage, and maintenance of the vegetable plantings in the Children’s Garden. This was the first of many roles she’s had during her career at ABG. Moe has served as the Senior Horticulturist for the Edible Garden, Educational Horticulturist for the Lou Glenn Children’s Garden, and after taking time away from the Garden to pursue a Master’s Degree in International Education from the University of Leicester, UK, Moe returned to the Garden as the Community Outreach Manager. Her current role seeks to expand the Garden’s support of urban agriculture, environmental sustainability, and community engagement around local food systems.
Jay Sifford
My Greatest Design Secrets
Hear Jay’s personal discoveries from 20 years of garden design. Learn how to create a magical, immersive and profound space versus “decorating a yard.” He’ll share tips on rhythm, lines, shapes and light; creating theater using scrim, and the power of emotion.
Jay Sifford is a garden designer, writer, speaker, and frequent podcast guest who believes great gardens are built on four cornerstones: art, magic, story, and horticulture. He has a love affair with plants, but also approaches garden design from a psychological, philosophical and spiritual standpoint. Named “North Carolina’s Most Outstanding Landscape Designer 2021” by LuxLife magazine, he has won numerous awards by Houzz, and a Perennial Plant Association Award of Merit in 2024 for his personal garden. He has been featured in Fine Gardening, Southern Living, Better Homes & Gardens, and Country Gardens as well as in several books. Jay cultivates a 300-square-foot courtyard garden in Davidson, NC, and a mountain escape in the western part of North Carolina where he nurtures a sunny, stylized meadow atop a septic field and a shade garden underneath a canopy of mature rhododendrons.
Plant Sale Vendors
Symposium FAQs
When can I shop the plant sale?
So as not to disturb the presentations, attendees may shop the plant sale 8-9 a.m., during the lunch break, and after closing remarks.
Will the symposium be recorded?
Yes! Once the recording is ready, access will be emailed to the roster and it will be available to view online for 14 days.
What are the lunch options?
Upon registration, you can add a boxed lunch from Proof of the Pudding for $20. The boxed lunch sandwich options are: chicken salad, turkey, or vegetarian wrap. If you’d like to purchase food at the Garden, you may do so at Quick Café or Longleaf Restaurant. You may bring your own sack lunch if you wish.
What is the parking fee?
If you are a Garden member with a multi-visit parking pass, you may use it. If you do not have a multi-visit parking pass, you may add a $10 parking voucher to your registration. Standard parking rates apply if you are not using a multi-visit parking pass or prepaying for parking, and more information can be found here.
If you include a parking voucher in your registration, you’ll pick it up at the registration table the morning of the symposium.
Contact
If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact classes@atlantabg.org.