Shake off the winter blues and get in gear for springtime with a full day of garden inspiration. Enjoy the comradery of other enthusiastic gardeners as you pick up new ideas from seasoned experts during the Inspired Gardener, Symposium and Silent Auction on January 25. Come join us!
The Inspired Gardener, Symposium and Silent Auction, takes place on Saturday, January 25, 2020 in Day Hall, and is presented by the Atlanta Botanical Garden and Georgia Perennial Plant Association.
Saturday, January 25, 2020
8:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
$94 (Garden and GPPA Members $84) – Boxed Lunch $12
Online registration for the symposium is now closed. Walk-up registration will be available on-site on Saturday.
View the schedule of exciting gardening topics and knowledgable speakers below:
Playing in the Dirt in the Ripley Garden
Janet Draper, Horticulturist, Smithsonian Gardens
For over 20 years, Janet Draper has been inspiring people to look beyond the common when planting their gardens through her inspirational plant combinations in the Mary Livingston Ripley Garden; part of Smithsonian Gardens located on the National Mall in Washington, DC.
Propagation Inspiration
Ethan Guthrie, Horticulture Manager, Atlanta Botanical Garden Gainesville
Every inspired gardener at least dabbles in propagation at some point in their gardening journey, often with varying rates of success. Ethan Guthrie will introduce you to some of the basic dos and don’ts of seed and cutting propagation, offering tips that will help increase your confidence. Get helpful hands-on tips to get up and running trying your hand at propagating, and learn more about the Atlanta Botanical Garden Gainesville’s successful propagation operation.
Design Evolution of the Gravel Garden
Lisa Roper, Gravel Garden and Ruin Horticulturist, Chanticleer
Lisa will discuss how form, texture, color and rhythm are carefully considered. She will also cover planting techniques, the importance of editing constantly to tame plants that seed in enthusiastically, and the technique of using photography to inform her design decisions.
Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden
Jessica Walliser, Horticulturist, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Columnist and host of KDKA Radio’s The Organic Gardeners
Using information assembled for her award-winning book, Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control, Jessica shines a light on the methods needed to attract pest-eating beneficial insects, such as ladybugs, lacewings, and parasitic wasps, to the garden – and keep them there. She describes over a dozen species of beneficial insects found across North America and accompanies the lecture with beautiful images of the predators themselves and their favorite host plants. You’ll never look at bugs the same way again!
A Tree for Every Garden
Jamie Blackburn, Manager, Arborguard Tree Specialists
Trees are typically one of the main structural elements of most gardens in the Southeast. Even the most astute gardener may only get one chance to select the best new tree for their site, especially in today’s smaller garden spaces. Proper cultural and aesthetic considerations are therefore critical, and this presentation is designed to give practical information and ideas about some of the best trees for this region. Native, exotic, big, small, showy, edible… there is a tree for every garden!