(Posted March 9, 2017)
By Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor
Can you dig it?
The Madison County Master Gardeners are hosting a Garden Expo from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 1 in the Della Selsor Building at the Madison County Fairgrounds in London.
Admission is free. The event features educational programs, informational displays, vendors and children’s activities. Local master gardeners will be on hand to answer all types of gardening questions.
The Master Gardeners hold a plant sale each spring at Choctaw Lake and man a booth at the county fair each summer. The Garden Expo is a new venture for the volunteer group, whose mission is to teach research-based gardening practices to the public at large.
“We have limited opportunities in the county to interact with a lot of people. We’re 36 members strong now, so we thought, ‘Why don’t we try this?’” said Barbara Myers, a master gardener and expo co-chair.
The expo’s programs are as follows:
- 10:15 a.m.—“Bibbity, Bobbity, Boo.” West Jefferson resident Dan Kirts will share his expertise on how to grow giant pumpkins weighing hundreds of pounds.
- 11:15 a.m.—“All These Bugs are Driving Me Crazy.” Learn from master gardener Jane Kutzley the importance of pollinators to the food you put on your table.
- 12:15 p.m.—“If You’ve Got Shade, You’ve Got Room for Hostas.” Myers, a member of the Central Ohio Hosta Society, will talk about how to fit hostas into your landscape.
- 1:15 p.m.—“How Sweet It Is.” Nancy Hertlein, a master gardener and co-owner of Hertlein Honey, will demonstrate how, with a little work, you can have a thriving honeybee hive in your backyard.
- 2:15 p.m.—“Water, Water Every-where; Maybe I Should Save Some!” Want to do your part for the environment and save some money? Master gardener Harriet Dana will talk about rain gardens. Master gardener Russ Hessler will demonstrate how to make a rain barrel.
Children’s activities include a seed match poster, seed planting, and seed picture mosaic. Children and adults alike can make and take a fairy garden; the cost is $5.
Vendors who will be selling their wares during the expo include Davis Seed Store of London, Patchwork Gardens of Washing-ton Court House, Yonie’s Greenhaus of Plain City, Lohstroh Family Farm of London, Fairy Gardens, Terrariums and Miniatures of London, and Flowers by Design, Garden Art of Plain City. Addition-ally, the master gardeners will operate Ye Olde Garden Shoppe, featuring gently used garden tools, books and yard art. Food concessions will be available for purchase.
Among the organizations that will have information on display are the Master Gardeners, 4-H/Extension, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife, Madison Soil and Water Conservation District, Ohio Farm Bureau, Central Ohio Garden Railroad Society, Friends of Madison County Parks and Trails, Hertlein Honey, London Farmers Market, London Parks and Recreation, and Call Before You Dig.
“I think we’ve pulled together a great day. There’s a lot of knowledge and enthusiasm in our group. We’re really looking forward to this,” Myers said.
Mary Griffith, agriculture and natural resources educator at Madison County OSU Extension, is co-chairing the event with Myers. For details about the expo, call the Extension office at (740) 852-0975.
