Symposium addresses variety of garden interests

Oct. 12

Morning refreshments will be served at the workshop sites followed by a gourmet lunch in Genevieve Munson Trimble’s Ruins Gardens of Afton Villa. Participants are asked to register for one of the following offerings in the morning and another session in the afternoon. Everyone will gather at Afton Villa for lunch.

Morning workshops are from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., choose one:

• “Everything a Floral Designer Should Know!” — Presented by Lynette McDougald of Afton Villa at the Ruins Gardens of Afton Villa, 9047 U.S. 61 north of St. Francisville (Limit 100).
• “Rain Garden Design: Building Sustainability into Gardens and Grounds” — Presented by D.G. “Buck” Abbey, associate professor at the LSU Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture, at Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site, 12501 La. 10 (Limit 75).
• “Your Landscape: It’s What’s for Dinner” — Presented by Kyle Huffstickler, a landscape architect and LSU horticulturist, at United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, 9856 Royal St., St. Francisville. (Limit 75).
• “Who Cares About Tree Care?” — Presented by arborist Jim Culpepper, owner of Greener Trees Louisiana, at Wyoming Plantation, 5335 Commerce St., St. Francisville. (Limit 50).

Afternoon workshops are from 1:15 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., choose one:

• “Fear No Color!” — Presented by Flower Magazine founder Margot Shaw in Jackson Hall at Grace Episcopal Church, 11621 Ferdinand St., St. Francisville. (Limit 150).
• “Rain Garden Design: Building Sustainability into Gardens and Grounds” — A repeat of the morning session.
• “Your Landscape: It’s What’s for Dinner” — A repeat of the morning session.
• “Who Cares About Tree Care?” — A repeat of the morning session.

Oct. 13

Activities are at Hemingbough, off U.S. 61 south of St. Francisville, look for the sign. Registration is at 8:30 a.m. Get there early for refreshments on the terrace and to browse the book, plants and garden tool sales.

9:15 a.m. — Welcome and introductions with master of proceedings Neil Odenwald, former director of the LSU Robert S. Reich School of Landscape Architecture and one of the founders of the Southern Garden Symposium.

9:30 a.m. — “Time-Tested Treasures for Sophisticated Southern Spaces,” presented by Heidi Sheesley, owner of Treesearch Farms, a wholesale grower of plants for the Gulf Coast.

10:20 a.m. — “Martha Turnbull’s Rosedown Diaries,” presented by Suzanne Turner, who edited the diary which is a firsthand account of 19th-century plantation life and gardening.

10:50 a.m. — Break

11:10 a.m. — “Integrating Art and Science in Landscape Design,” presented by Jeffrey Carbo of Jeffrey Carbo Landscape Architects.

12 p.m. — Lunch

1:15 p.m. — “Welcome Home George Washington,” presented by J. Dean Norton, director of horticulture for George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate.

2:15 p.m. — Adjourn. Symposium volunteers will be on hand to assist guests with their silent auction and plant purchases.

2:30 p.m. — Afternoon tea at Evergreenzine, 11875 Ferdinand St., St. Francisville.