On Wednesday, September 2, MassHort and the Perennial Plant Association are teaming up to offer a day-long seminar titled, ‘Creating a Garden for Multi-Season Interest’. They’re bringing in some of the best writers, down-to-earth speakers and creative plantsmen in the business to Elm Bank, and you’re invited to listen, learn and ask questions.

The speakers include Adrian Bloom (of Blooms of Bressingham); Stephanie Cohen, who has earned the title of ‘the Perennial Diva’; William Cullina of the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden; ‘Victory Garden’ host and writer Roger Swain, Weston Nurseries’ Wayne Mezitt, and MassHort’s own Joe Kunkel.

Adrian Bloom starts things off by talking about the practical and inspirational factors for success in a garden. His thesis is that we all know that perennials and grasses have a changing role to play through the seasons but how often do we consider their placing and potential impact in combination with other plants? Elm Bank’s Bressingham Garden is a study in how to make the a garden’s impact greater than the sum total of its plants.

Award-willing author and garden designer Stephanie Cohen will focus on the autumn garden. The lushness of summer need not be followed by a whimper in the fall. Ms. Cohen will show examples of perennials and grasses that peak in autumn, berries and fruits, bark, and glorious color adorning trees and shrubs. You’ll walk away with an understanding that ‘Fallscaping’ ought to be a part of every garden’s design.

Bill Cullina may well be the world’s most engaging garden writer. Books about perennials fill the shelves of every store, but Cullina’s newest offering in his series on plants, ‘Perennials: A New Look at an Old Favorite’, breathes new insights into a familiar subject. He will present the “psychology of perennials” – their needs, wants, and potentials. By starting at the roots, moving up the stems, leaves and flowers, Bill will provide both new and seasoned gardeners with a strong foundation for a lasting relationship with perennials.

In the afternoon, horticulturalist Roger Swain will address the subject of garden tools. His view is that hand tools – the trowels, spades and other implements that extend our reach and power – may have evolved for evolution’s sake rather than for the benefit of the user. His presentation will be a tour through the evolution of familiar garden tools emphasizing the importance of matching not only the tool to the task, but fitting it to the user’s hand and body.

Swain will be followed by veteran New England plantsman Wayne Mezitt, who will focus on the interplay between woody plants and perennials. Mezitt, whose family has bred many of best known rhododendron and azalea in use in the northeast today, will offer practical advice on flowering shrubs that push the beginning and end of the gardening season in New England.

The day’s final speaker will be veteran nurseryman and MassHort executive director Joe Kunkel, who will speak on plant evaluations at Elm Bank. Commercial plant breeders from around the world send Elm Bank hundreds of cultivars for evaluation. Kunkel will highlight the plants that have stood out among their peers in the New England Trial Garden and the Bressingham Garden. He’ll talk about how homeowners can use regional trial gardens to narrow the list of attractive cultivars to a group that not only looks good in a pot at a garden center, but that will thrive in a back yard.

The program runs from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The fee for those who register before August 25 is $95. The price rises $20 after that date. Lunch is included in the cost of the program.

To sign up download the program and registration form or call 614-771-8431.
Early registration ends August 25.