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January 12, 2006
A Highland Fling
“Undaunted,” “driven,” passionate,” these are not the themes of a seminar on writing romance fiction. They are, however, some of the themes that will appear in this year’s Arizona Highlands Garden Conference. Each year, the Master Gardeners of Gila, Coconino, and Yavapai Counties organize and present the Arizona Highlands Garden Conference (AHGC). The AHGC location rotates between the three counties and this year it will be held at the Cliff Castle Conference Center in Camp Verde on October 18 and 19. This is the fifth year of this wonderful conference and we will have three nationally recognized speaker/authors and several regional experts. These dedicated Master Gardener volunteers have assembled a first-rate conference.
The harsh challenges of gardening in northern Arizona bring together gardeners and experts who are truly inspired and dedicated to enjoying successful gardening the Arizona highlands. The conference will open on Monday October 18 with a keynote presentation on Plant Driven Design by Lauren Springer Ogden and Scott Ogden. Lauren Springer Ogden is a horticulturist and landscape designer of the new Water-Smart Garden at the Denver Botanic Gardens and author of two award winning books: Undaunted Garden and Passionate Gardening. Scott Ogden grew up in Dallas, Texas and studied geology before pursuing a career in horticulture and garden design. He is also a well-published author with Gardening Success with Difficult Soils: Limestone, Alkaline Clay, and Caliche, Garden Bulbs of the Southwest, and The Moonlit Garden to his credit.
The keynote speaker on Tuesday October 19 is by ornamental grass expert John Greenlee. The title of his talk is: Creative, Fragrant, Romantic Meadows and Natural Lawns. His book, The Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses, was published in 1992. Since then, John Greenlee has appeared on several television gardening shows and has designed public and private gardens throughout the United States including the Getty Museum, the Norton Simon Museum, the San Diego Wild Animal Park, and the savannahs at Walt Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida. He has also won several prestigious landscaping awards and owns a wholesale nursery with three locations in southern California.
Several other well-known regional speakers will also be presenting at the AHGC. Some of them include: Lindsay Schram, Organic Grower/Yavapai County Master Gardener; Barry Golden, Owner of Golden’s Iris Garden in Diamond Valley; Jack Kelly, Pima County Horticulture Agent; Dennis Swartzle, Mountain States Wholesale Nursery; Terry Mikel, Maricopa County Horticulture Agent; Dr. Curtis Smith, New Mexico State University Horticulturist and maker of the PBS Series Southwest Yard and Garden; and many others.
An added bonus this year is the pre-conference garden tour in the Village of Oak Creek.
The cost of the conference is $90 per person for both days if you register by September 27. Lunches are included with registration. Each attendee will receive a conference notebook filled with information and tote bag filled with seeds, catalogs, magazines, and other treasures. Several sponsors, including our own Flagstaff Native Plant & Seed, have made generous contributions of financial support and door prizes. Vendors and non-profit organizations will also have displays and items for sale.
The agenda, sponsors, vendors, and registration materials are available on Yavapai County Extension’s web site (cals.arizona.edu/yavapai/). Click on the Highlands Garden Conference link. Or call 928-774-1868 ext. 17 and a brochure and registration form will be mailed to you. And thanks go to Jeff Schalau, Yavapai County Extension Agent for providing us with his press release.
By Donna Reese
The author has received training through the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension’s Master Gardener program and is a Master Gardener volunteer for Coconino County.
Posted by maxmaddy at January 12, 2006 5:28 AM