Seminar focus on how gardens grow

Gardeners who would like to have gorgeous, healthy, and productive gardens are invited to the 13th annual day-long New Ventures Gardening Seminar on Saturday, March 16, at Northwood School, Minong.

The event hosted by the Spooner Garden Club, Northwood Community Ed, and the North Country Master Gardeners will inspire gardeners with presentations on roses, shrubs, plant hardiness, and plant diseases.

SGardeners will be able to attend all four sessions featured at the seminar:

• “Rusts and Smuts and Leaf Spots, Oh, My! Diabolical Diseases in the Home Garden”: Plant diseases can make growing vegetables, flowers, trees, and shrubs a challenge. Plant disease expert Brian Hudelson will give an overview of the types of diseases common in the home garden and how to produce healthier, more beautiful plants.

• “Tried, True, and New Shrubs”: Many new shrubs have been introduced over the last few years with a focus on adding color and compact size to the landscape. Kathy Zuzek, who previously worked in a woody ornamental research program, will explore some of those new shrubs along with older shrub cultivars that perform well in Zone 3 and 4 gardens. She also will look at how to select shrubs, what is appealing among the cultivars, and what is not so appealing in others.

• “Growing Roses that Thrive in the North”: David Zlesak knows roses — some of the roses he developed are already on the market. He will spotlight readily grown, proven cultivars and give tips on selecting and planting roses, helping them acclimate, aiding their survival over winter, pruning, and helping them combat diseases.

• “Getting Plants through Frigid Winters and Steamy Summers” Zlesak will explain what makes a plant “hardy” and how gardeners can help their plants flourish in a climate that can reach 100 degrees or more during the summer and plummet to -30 or -40 degrees in the winter.

The seminar will be held 9:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. March 16 with registration and vendor sales beginning at 8:45 a.m. Registration is required. The cost is $14, and check addressed to Northwood School can be mailed to Northwood School, N14463 Highway 53, Minong, WI 54859.

As is the tradition at the seminar, 4x6-inch photos of plants, area gardens, and visited gardens are welcome and will be displayed during the event. Photos that are 8x10 are also welcome for displaying. Attendees are invited to send photos with their registration (not e-mailed in), along with the photographer’s name and a description of the photo. The snapshots can be retrieved after the seminar if desired.

Vendors with any kind of garden-related products are invited, too. Space is limited and needs to be reserved in advance. For more information, contact Julie Hustvet, gardenseminar@charter.net, or Micki Brisky, 715-466-4692, ext. 323.

Tags: community, entertainment, events