NDSU Extension Master Gardeners to host conference in July

The North Dakota State University Extension Service Master Gardeners will team with the North Dakota State Horticultural Society to provide a joint horticultural conference in Grand Forks, on July 28-30.

In keeping with its theme, Gardeners Gone Wild, the conference will feature talks on native plants, pollinators and rain gardens, as well as a prairie tour. More traditional horticultural topics such as landscape design, herbs, garden photography, shade gardening and composting also will be covered.

The keynote speaker is Heather Holm, a landscape designer and consultant specializing in pollinator landscapes and native landscape restorations. Holm studied horticulture and biology at the University of Guelph in Canada, and for the past 20 years, she has worked as a horticulturist and landscape designer in the Great Lakes and Mid-America regions. She is an environmental educator and frequent presenter at conferences in the Midwest and Northeast. Holm also writes about pollinators and beneficial insects for Houzz, a home and garden social media website.

“This conference will appeal to gardeners of all ages and experience levels,” says Esther McGinnis, NDSU Extension horticulturist. “Partnering with the North Dakota State Horticultural Society has enabled us to offer an expanded menu of gardening speakers.”

The conference is open to the general public, but Master Gardeners and members of the North Dakota State Horticultural Society will receive a slight discount.

The conference schedule and online registration can be found at https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/mastergardener/gardeners-gone-wild-mg-conference

For more information about Gardeners Gone Wild or the North Dakota State Horticultural Society, contact Janell Martin at ndshs@outlook.com.

For more information about the NDSU Extension Master Gardener Program, contact McGinnis at esther.mcginnis@ndsu.edu.