March Garden Day: A Celebration of Gardening!
Sponsored by the West Michigan Nursery and Landscape Association
Saturday, March 13, 2021
March Garden Day 2021 Virtual
This year will look much different than the typical March Garden Day, but we are excited to offer a great round of speakers and an online auction for fundraising! We rounded up the speakers that we weren’t able to offer back in 2020 and will be offering them on the Zoom platform for a very reasonable $30 fee. Upon completion of your online registration, you’ll get links to sign up for each of the individual talks. There aren’t very long breaks for the show so that we can offer all the speakers to all in attendance. Since you’ll be watching from the comfort of your own home, you can eat or take a break whenever you like. We are planning to offer recordings to all who register online so that viewers can go back to hear things they might have missed or focus on topics that were of particular interest.
8:45am – Welcome, Session 1
“Undervalued Native Plants” with Matthew Ross. Matthew Ross is the Director of Continuing Education at Longwood Gardens. Matthew will share his insight into the lesser known and grown native plants from spring ephemerals, to marginal plants to vibrant colored fall favorites. Learn about the importance of finding these plants in the wild to better understand their niche within the ecosystem and ultimately what types of conditions they prefer.
10:00am – Session 2
“Shade Perennials: What Kind of Shade do You Have” with Barb Bolgoyen.
Barb has been working in the West Michigan green industry for almost 40 years. She is a passionate, self-proclaimed ‘Plant Geek ’currently working for the leading wholesale perennial grower right here in our backyards of Zeeland, Michigan. Join Barb as she will showcase some excellent perennials, including some new and under-used plants that thrive in many types of shade gardens.
Snapshots: A Taste of Short & Sweet Possibilities
“What about Bulbs” with Ryan Stehouwer, Vandenberg Horticulture – 11:00 – 11:25am
“A Tale of Dwarf Conifers: Little Known Secrets”, with Paul Surian, Co-owner and Head Propagator for Blue Horizon Nursery & Gardens, Grand Junction, MI – 11:30-11:55am
“New and Unusual Vegetables for the Home Garden” with Gregory Dunn, owner of Blackbird Farm, Coopersville, MI – 12:00-12:25pm
“Understanding Ground Water in Ottawa County”, with Paul Sachs Director of Planning and Performance Improvement for Ottawa County, MI – 12:30-12:55pm
House Plant Talk Sponsored by Jonker’s Gardens – 1:00 – 1:25pm
1:30pm – Online Auction Closes
1:45pm – Session 3:
“Lessons from Great Gardens” with Matthew Ross. Matthew is a passionate advocate for public gardens with a special affinity for the underappreciated and unheralded gardens. Matthew will present some of his favorite gardens with ideas and concepts that can be used in your own home garden setting. Learn the tips and techniques behind some of the most elaborate and intricate garden displays and the intentional re-creation of nature that span the full regiment of garden themes.
This is the second year that March Garden Day was ‘green’. All paper, food waste and drinkware were biodegradable and composted by Spurt Industries. All paper and cardboard was recycled, water bottles were eliminated and replaced by water stations and biodegradable cups. Our total non-recyclable waste and compost was less than a small office waste basket.
Thanks also to Gardens Alive! Farm, Evergreen Acres,and Hortech for providing plant material, growing space, and expertise to make the beautiful indoor landscape and auction. Members who showcased in the Expo included Grand Haven Garden House, Bartlett Tree Experts, Landscape Design Services, Specialty Gardens, Jonkers Garden, Weesies Brothers Farms, Blackbird Farms, Chips, and Blue Horizon Nursery. The Bookman and MSU Extension also had booths.