6th Annual Garden Show SPEAKERS

LA PORTE COUNTY EXTENSION MASTER GARDENERS

 

 

Susan Betz

Susan Betz is an author, garden communicator, lecturer, and conservationist specializing in herbs and native plants. She has been actively growing and using herbs to educate the public about gardening and the natural world for over 35 years.

She is an Honorary Master Gardener and a member of the International Herb Association, Garden Communicators, the Ecological Landscape Alliance, and the National Garden Bureau. Susan is a life member of the Herb Society of America and received The Society’s Helen D. Conway Little Medal of Honor in 2018. She is a charter member of HSA’s Native Herb Conservation Committee, the Society’s sustainable garden initiative.

Susan currently serves on HSA’s Notable Native Herb program and is a contributing author to HSA’s native herb fact sheets published annually. She is the author of Magical Moons & Seasonal Circles, Stepping into The Circle of the Seasons, Neighboring with Nature/Native Herbs for Pleasure and Purpose. Herbal Houseplants Grow Beautiful Herbs -Indoors, For Flavor, Fragrance & Fun.

Magical Moons & Seasonal Cycles: Garden Phenology

9:00-10:00 a.m.

“Anyone in close sympathy with flower and tree and shrub and has a general acquaintance with Nature’s moods could tell the time of year without any reference to a calendar.”

Gertrude Jekyll Home, and Garden, Magazine

Phenology explores the timing of natural periodic events in the plant and animal world influenced by the local environment, especially weather, temperature, seasonal cycles, and climate. Plant and animal life cycles are predictors of reoccurring events in nature. Examples include the first dates of budding and blooming flowers, insect hatching, bird migration, and fall color. Solar calendar planting dates can be misleading.

Phenology is a botanical tool that relies on the personal observation of seasonal phenomena of your landscapes and the importance of understanding the sequence and patterns of behavior and life cycle events between and among local wildlife and native and common ornamental plants. By tracking changes in the timing and cycles of seasonal events, scientists, gardeners, and nature lovers can better understand climate change and its effects on our local ecosystems.

Drawing from her decades of gardening experience and nature study, Susan will discuss using “nature’s calendar.”  How, by using phenology, you can plan and schedule seasonal tasks in your garden and take preventive measures to control and prevent unwanted weeds, insects, and plant diseases.

 

Jack Pizzo

Jack Pizzo, MS, PLA, ASLA, ICN is founder and principal of The Pizzo Group of companies.

Jack leads a team of talented landscape architects, ecologists, consultants, contracting, and nursery professionals working throughout the US to create and manage sustainable landscapes as well as create and restore ecosystems.  He also serves on the boards of conservation organizations and prescribed fire groups. The Pizzo Group team has garnered over 160 industry awards for their work. He is an alumnus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

“Restoring the Ecosystems of NW Indiana and SW Michigan:  From the Garden to the Horizon”

10:30 – 11:30 a.m.

We have all heard the buzz about “Nature.”  Let’s just cut through the fluff and get to the heart of why it is good for all and good business

 

Dr. Spencer Cortwright

Spencer Cortwright was raised near, but not in, the Brookfield Zoo. He studied ecology at Washington University in St. Louis and further pursued these studies resulting in a PhD from Indiana University. Further training as a post-doctoral scholar was performed at the University of Michigan. Spencer has been teaching ecology, restoration ecology, and zoology at Indiana University Northwest since 1992. Spencer studied amphibian ecology for over a quarter of a century and now has studied and performed restoration ecology for nearly a quarter century!

“The Gem of Chicago Wilderness: Ecology & Restoration of the Greatest (a Great) Ecological Area in the U.S.”

12:30 – 1:30 p.m.

The ecological value of any natural area is largely determined by the number of different plant species living there. This results because the greater the variety of plants can support a greater variety of animals and other life forms. It turns out that the Chicago area is one of the most botanically diverse areas of the U. S. even though it has 9.5 million people and no mountains that allow for greater diversity of plants! This presentation richly illustrates how it came to be that our area is so diverse, features of many of our natural habitats, and needs that are essential to maintain and restore this impressive diversity.

 

Dolly Foster

Dolly Foster has been a Master Gardener for 24 years, an Indiana Accredited Horticulturist for 21 and a Certified Arborist since 2008.

For the past 24 years, Dolly has been presenting lectures on many gardening topics. She spent two years as an adjunct faculty member of the Joliet Junior College Agriculture/ Horticulture Department and 18 years in the Parks and Recreation industry as staff horticulturist for two park districts.

She has been butterfly gardening from the very beginning of her gardening career. Her passion has led her to raising monarch and swallowtail butterflies for 16 years. Her garden at home has been a Monarch Waystation since 2011. Dolly also designed and managed the Oak Lawn Community Garden.

The Time is Now to Begin a Butterfly Habitat in Your Garden

2:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Now more than ever butterflies need our help to thrive. Our home gardens stand as bridges from one natural habitat to the next. So, the time is now to begin a butterfly habitat in your garden! More pollinator gardens, even small ones, will provide them a larger ranging area to feed.

Learn the best native butterfly attracting plants and how to plan your garden to provide food, cover and host plants for caterpillars. Learn about what butterflies are common to this area and the plants they need. The caterpillar/butterfly life cycle is also an integral part of planning a butterfly garden and will be covered. Join a new conservation movement! Raising caterpillars at home will also be discussed briefly.

Founded in 1998, the purpose of the LaPorte County Extension Master Gardeners Association, a non-profit organization, is to promote the art, science, education and pleasure of gardening in the Community, in cooperation with Purdue Extension, LaPorte County, Indiana.

PURDUE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION

LA PORTE COUNTY OFFICE

2857 W. State Road 2, Suite A
La Porte, IN 46350
219-324-9407
Kathy Ulman – Secretary

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Purdue University Is An Equal Opportunity/Equal Access/Affirmative Action Institution

© 2021 La Porte County Master Gardeners

Founded in 1998, the purpose of the LaPorte County Master Gardener Association, a non-profit organization, is to promote the art, science, education and pleasure of gardening in the Community, in cooperation with Purdue Extension, LaPorte County, Indiana.

REFERENCE LINKS

PURDUE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION 

LA PORTE COUNTY OFFICE

2857 W. State Road 2, Suite A
La Porte, IN 46350
219-324-9407
Tina DeWitt – Secretary

Purdue University Is An Equal Opportunity/Equal Access/Affirmative Action Institution

© 2021 La Porte County Master Gardeners

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