The 21st annual Home Gardeners’ School will be held on Saturday, March 12, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Penn State Berks Campus, Perkins Student Center. The all-day event features a keynote address, multiple gardening lectures and workshops, lunch, a raffle of garden items and a garden fair.
“This is a dream day for anyone interested in plants and gardening, and a wonderful way to connect with other like-minded people,” said Beth Finlay, Master Gardener Coordinator for Penn State Extension.
The featured speaker will be Kirk Brown, lecturing in the first person as the historic gardener John Bartram. A graduate of Cornell University, Brown is also president of the Garden Writers Association. Following his keynote talk, he will be teaching a breakout session on landscape design.
Participants at the Home Gardeners’ School will have choices of multiple topics at each of three educational time slots during the day. In addition to the Kirk Brown lectures, they may choose among courses on orchids, pruning, organic gardening, butterflies and moths, backyard berries, hydrangeas, installing drip irrigation systems and more. Two workshops, Making a Hypertufa Container and Worm Composting, are offered for an extra fee.
The Home Gardeners’ School is sponsored by Penn State Extension in Berks County, the Penn State Berks Horticulture Department and the Berks County Horticulture Club. The school’s horticultural education is applicable to gardeners of all levels.
Registration includes a boxed lunch. The deadline to register is March 4. Registration forms are available at the Penn State Extension Office at the Berks County Agricultural Center, 1238 County Welfare Road, Suite 110, Leesport; by calling 610-378-1327; or via e-mail, dzk2@psu.edu.
The Pennsylvania State University encourages qualified persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact us at 610-378-1327 in advance of your participation or visit.
