Speaker Series

This area is your opportunity to get in-depth information on a variety of gardening topics from a variety of local experts. All How to Clinics are at the back of the Equiplex Building on the demonstration stage and are FREE for show visitors.

 

 

Cherie Andrews - How To Attract Pollinators to Your Garden

The sight and sound of birds, bees and butterflies are a welcome addition to your garden. Learn what type of flowers they prefer, what type of landscaping is helpful to them and what predators to be aware of. Cherie and her husband Art started gardening together over three decades ago. 18 years ago Art decided honey bees would be a great garden addition to improve pollination. His initial hobby of two hives slowly expanded. Now the “hobby” has become a full time job. Their 250 hives produce honey for their farm & retail store, as well as for numerous Calgary and area restaurants and farmers markets. Chinook Honey Company is just south of Okotoks and is open year round for visitors to learn about honey bees and all the amazing products made from natures liquid gold.

 

 

Learn easy methods on how to turn your lawn into a low-maintenance perennial flower and shrub bed.Laureen's lifelong passion is beautifying landscapes in ways that enhance the natural environment. Since 2006, she has been running her own landscape design, installation and compost tea spray business: Eco-yards in Calgary.

Her book Eco-yards: Simple steps to earth-friendly landscapes is being sold world-wide. 

 

 

Chef Andrew Hewson - How To Handle Your Harvest  Plan your garden like a menu. Plant things you like to eat and would like to save. Learn ways of extending the bounty through different methods of preparation and preservation and how to incorporate these items into your home cooking. Andrew has been a chef for 16 years in Vancouver, New York, England, Philadelphia and Calgary. He is currently a Culinary Instructor in SAIT Polytechnic’s School of Hospitality and Tourism. Chef Hewson has lead a project to build a large culinary garden as part of the School where students now have the opportunity to plant, grow, harvest and cook their ingredients. Chef Hewson is involved with local food policy projects, is also part of the steering committee for Slow Food Calgary.

 

 

Start from the beginning: where Alliums stand in the plant family. Where most of them are found. How to plant the bulbs and how to use Ornamental Allium in the garden. Henk has always been in farming, he became interested in bulbs/rhizomes in the beginning of the eighties in Holland, specializing in Gesneriaceae and building up quite an extensive collection in his greenhouse. Over the years his research and experience has resulted in a collection count now of around 200 different kinds of Allium.

 

 

Gord Koch - How to Grow a Green Roof  Have you ever thought about the idea of having a live vegetative roof? Would this work on your home, garage or garden shed roof? Learn about the benefits of this innovative sustainable landscape process and what types of systems and materials are available for small scale applications. Gord Koch is an Instructor at the Olds College School of Environment and is in his 11^th year delivering courses in the management, design and implementation of traditional and sustainable landscape applications. Prior to joining Olds College, Gord spent 25 years managing the design and installation of large scale public and commercial landscape projects. Gord will also be a featured presenter at Olds College 2012 Hort Week. Gord has been an accredited Green Roof Professional since 2009.

 

 

Dawn Vaessen - How To Choose The Perfect Perrenial for Your Garden  If you want to grow bright, beautiful plants that are low maintenance, but have no clue how or where to begin, Dawn will offer insight and instructions to create a colourful and vibrant prairie garden. Dawn Vaessen is the author of “Perfect Perennials for the Prairie Gardener". In 2006 Dawn completed the Master Gardener training program at the Calgary Zoo under the tutelage of horticulturalist and radio personality Jeff DeJong. Alongside Namaka Ridge Tree Farm, dawn developed successful gardening seminars in 2007. Dawn lives in Calgary, though she still considers herself a farm kid from Landis, Saskatchewan.

 

 

Janet Melrose - How to Create a Community Garden  Find out how to create a community garden in your neighbourhood in 2012 by attending this short How To session. Topics covered will include strategies and tips for: determining your community’s interest and buy in; forming a Garden leadership and membership; time lines & procedures; access to resources and help; funding opportunities; tips for Garden design and building and how to celebrate your successful Garden build. Janet is a lifelong Gardener working towards registration as Horticultural Therapist with the CHTA. She is also a Master Gardener with the Calgary Zoo.Owner of Calgary’s Cottage Gardener. Janet takes great pleasure in being the Garden Animator for the Calgary Horticultural Society and developing Horticultural Therapy programs.

Sunday April 15th  -  1:15pm to 2:00pm    

 

 

John Duncan - How To Use What's New in 2012   Do you want to see what’s new for the 2012 growing season.  John takes a full color tour on the new plants that will be walking the green carpet this season.  Some must haves for every garden.  John will also discuss some over looked plants along with some of his favorites. Horticulture has been John’s passion for as long as he can remember.  As a young child, his parents took him along as they went from nursery to nursery, looking for plants for their garden. It was this passion, instilled in him early on, that brought him to Olds College where he graduated with a Diploma in Horticulture Production with a major in Greenhouse Management. John has been the greenhouse Manager for Greengate Garden Centres Ltd. for the past 8 years.

 

  

Click Here for 2012 How To Clinic Schedule

 

 

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