Saturday, March 26, 2011

All-Iowa Horticulture Exposition

Ottumwa, IA - March 25 & 26, 2011

Nancy B and I went both days and sat in on quite a few seminars. While we were there, we saw a number of people from the hometown area namely Master Gardeners: Aleta, Cindy, Jan, Kim, Sheri, Julie and Kathy P as well as quite a few other great gardeners!
"Welcome!" with beauty to delight both the eyes . . .
. . . and the ears!

Master Gardener Jan.


The doors opened at 9:30 a.m. each morning.
Friday, March 25, 2011
At 10:00 a.m. Nancy and I attended "Growing Veggies and Herbs in Recycled Containers" by Keynote Speaker and Slow Gardening founder, Felder Rushing. 
The other choice was "Weather, Crops and Gardens" by Dr. Elwynn Taylor, ISU climatologist.

At 11:30 a.m., Nancy and I attended "The 'It' Garden" by Lisa Orgler, assoc. director of Reiman Gardens.
the other choice was "Biomass Crops for Iowa" by Dr. Emily Heaton, ISU biomass expert.

After a delicious buffet meal, everyone attended the Keynote Presentation: "Slow Gardening" by Felder Rushing*(click his name to see his website), a former Mississippi State Extension horticulture specialist and award-winning author of 15 books. 

At 3:00 p.m., Nancy and I attended "Garden Gadgets and Gimmicks for 2011" by Susan Appleget Hurst," *(click her name to see her website) but the other choice was "Floral Arranging" by Dr. Cindy Haynes.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

At 10:00 a.m., everyone attended the Keynote Presentation: "Creating Outdoor Rooms" by Rita Randolph.*(click her name to visit her greenhouse sites)

Lunch break was 11:00 with a special appearance by the ISU Insect Zoo in the Childrens' Garden in the Trade Show Hall.

At 12:00 p.m., Nancy and I attended "Growing Green Roofs in Iowa" by Dr. Jennifer Bousselot.*(click her name to visit web information)  The other choice was "Wonderful Wild Mushrooms" by Dave Layton, President of the Prairie States Mushroom Club.

At 1:30 p.m., Nancy and I attended "Planning a Kitchen Garden or Potager" by former Better Homes & Gardens editor, Susan Appleget Hurst.  The other choice was "Overlooked Trees and Shrubs" by Bob Hendrickson, affliliated with the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum. (click name to visit website)

The 3:00 p.m. presentations were "Lilies: Bulb to Bloom Basics" by Sue Williams, Iowa lily expert and judge, and "Managing Turf in the Midwest" by Marcus Jones, ISU PhD student and turf expert.

We were unable to attend either of the last sessions, but I'm sure either would have been excellent.  You might keep in mind that this is an annual Exposition.  If you were unable to attend this year, perhaps you'll be able to attend next year.

Iowa Arboretum display






I missed the opportunity for Many other photos - in the trade show and beyond...
photos of metal sculptures, whimsical sculpture, house plants and perennials, nurserymen and women, etc., etc.

I purchased a wren house and Nancy, a bluebird house.

I purchased a "Guard Snail" and Nancy "a Swinging Frog!"
But there were Two Cute Posies that were hard to resist!
:-)

We had a fun time. It might tide us over until we can really get out and get dirty! :-)

Tuesday, March 1, 2011