Monroe County Master Gardener Association

Story and photos by Gail K:

I would like to feature the Master Gardener College which took place on Sept 14 and 15th. The event was held @ Wayne County Comm. College; being so close to home, it allowed for a bit more affordability & flexibility for those who wished to attend any portion of the 3 day event. We had many members of our MCMG assoc. present, it was my first time to attend this event.

This week will focus on the last day; 8 hrs. featuring 2 keynote speakers; 3 break out sessions each participant chose the topic of their focus;opportunities to shop @ various vendors (and we did shop) and of course–FOOD & fellowship with so many others who enjoy gardening & many of us (not all, sorry Pat) won door prizes.

Following breakfast-Mary Wilson MSU MG program coordinator gave the opening statement and introduced the first keynote speaker Bill Culina Director & President of Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.

Mr. Cullina spoke on various aspects of plants, & insects. Plants are photosynthesis factories and the gardener is the manager of those factories. A notable fact: in response to a stimuli, a plant is cable of producing airborne smells-a chemical messaging system- detected by other plants alerting them to produce a defense mechanism. He shared a recipe for a preventative protein spray: 1 regular aspirin-ground up along with 1 tsp of mild dish soap mixed into 1 gal of water Spray on plants every 3 weeks prior to a known issue. The spray will cause the plant to increase its chemical response– helps ward off disease such as powdery mildew. He also spoke to the use of ultraviolet light vs daylight and how insects see @ night. Very good speaker, covering a lot of material.

Did I mention shopping???

The second keynote speaker for the day was Karl Gercens lll-Conservatory Horticulturist for Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. Mr. Gercens spoke to the design aspects he uses in the Conservatory. He has 800 volunteers and things change with each season & rarely repeat year after year. He spoke to the various plants they use & how they adapt them for their use…. Learned that Coral Bells grow better in potting soil, a wreath made of succulents.

References seedyourfuture.org and http://www.KarlGercens.com
Following his talk I added the Longwood Gardens to the list of places I want to visit ……..
DID I MENTION SHOPPING????

I SOMEHOW MISSED THE SILENT AUCTION DISPLAY BUT WINNIE FOUND IT

Many of our members won a prize throughout the 3 days—

BIG PRIZE WINNER!!!! Norma Buggy

The day was long- constant hustling and bustling as we tried to shop & eat; eat and shop and still get to our classes on time. I think everyone who attended enjoyed the day. I know that I did and give it a thumbs up. We all left with a wealth of knowledge to take out into the real world to share and put into practice in our daily gardening.

For all attendees we received 2 tote bags full of goodies for just attending. At the closing event, we learned that next JUNE in Pennsylvania there will be an INTERNATIONAL MASTER GARDENER CONFERENCE!!! Stay tuned…………information to come.