The Casper Journal :: Casper's Community Newspaper

Natrona County Master Gardeners will be presenting the 13th Annual Master Gardeners Spring Garden Conference on Saturday, March 29.

The event will be held at the Agricultural Resource Learning Center, 2011 Fairgrounds Road, from 8:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.

Master Gardeners again have joined with some of the area’s most renowned specialists for a day of lectures and presentations.

Mark Hughes’ topic will be “The High-Plains Arboretum n- Wyoming’s Best Kept Horticultural Secret.”

For the past 14 years, Hughes has served as the community forestry coordinator for the Wyoming State Forestry Division. He administers several statewide tree programs, including community forestry grants, community tree inventories and the “Tree City USA” program, as well as education and community forestry planning.

Mike Kintgen will speak on “Rock Gardens for Four Seasons of Interest.” Since a young age, Kintgen has been interested in plants, particularly rock alpine plants, which led him to intern and work at Rhododendron Species Foundation in Denver and the Chicago Botanic Gardens.

Kintgen is currently the horticulturist for the Rock Alpine Garden and South African gardens at Denver Botanic Gardens.

The keynote speaker will be Panayoti Kelaidis, plant explorer, gardener and public garden administrator associated with the Denver Botanic Gardens, where he is director of outreach and has designed plantings.

Kelaidis will speak on two topics: “Better Plants for Wyoming Gardens” and “Creating a Western Garden.”

He has made collections of the high mountain flora from South Africa and the Andes, the Himalayas and throughout Europe and Turkey. His plant introductions are available through Plant Select ® (a plant introduction program he co-administers with staff from Colorado State University).

He has written more than 300 articles, lectured in 100 cities and seven countries. Committed to both the art and science of horticulture, Kelaidis has been featured on television, in newspapers and in magazine articles.

In addition, Master Gardeners will be conducting tours of the Agricultural Resource Learning Center grounds during the lunch hour.

The registration fee for the conference is $30 for early registration (by March 24) and $45 for registration after March 24. The registration fee includes coffee breaks and a lunch.

Make checks payable to Natrona County Master Gardeners, and mail to Spring Gardening Conference, Attn: Priscilla Williams, 2011 Fairgrounds Road, Casper 82604.

If you have any questions, call 235-9400, send fax to 265-0419 or log on to http://www.natronacounty-wy.gov.

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