KCB to Host First Annual Garden Symposium

481259_430916106981907_790102635_nGreater Covington Center, Bogue Falaya Hall

This Saturday January 26th Keep Covington Beautiful will host a Garden Symposium at the Greater Covington Center. The symposium is designed to educate citizens of Covington on native gardening. Dr. Charles Allen, a senior Botanist with Colorado State University stationed at Fort Polk, will present “Flora of Southeast Louisiana: A Paradise of Rare and Unusual Plants”. Dr. Allen is a retired Professor of Biology from the University of Louisiana in Monroe and a charter member and past President of the Louisiana Native Plant Society. Nellie Neal, known as “The Garden Mama” to her radio audiences, will present “Heirloom Plants Worth Reviving for Today’s Gardens”. Neal writes and speaks from a solid educational background coupled with a lifetime of experience. She is a member of the Garden Writers Association and author of several books including ‘Getting Started in Southern Gardening’ and ‘Organic Gardening Down South’. Suzanne Turner, FASLA, is professor emerita of landscape architecture at the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture at LSU where she taught for almost twenty-five years. She is presenting ‘A Brief Overview of 19th Century Southern Gardens’ and ‘Review of “The Garden Diary of Martha Turnbull, Mistress of Rosedown Plantation”‘, a book which she recently co-authored. Lastly, Linda Orton is a lifetime member of the Memphis Area Master Gardeners Program, a past Vice President and Treasurer of the MAMG, co-founder and President of the Mid-South Hydrangea Society. She will be presenting a lecture on Hypertufa Making, followed by a hands-on demonstration.

The Symposium will begin at 8:30 am with a welcome and introductions, and will pause for a break and light refreshments. Tickets are $25 per person, with an additional $5 fee to make your own hypertufa. For registration forms please visit www.keepcovingtonbeautiful.org.