These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...

Saturday was spent with some of my favorite people , Gardeners.  The Bluff Country Master Gardeners sponsored their 12th annual Spring into Gardening Workshop.  "Build it and they will come"... the workshop participants did come to La Crosse's WTC (Western Technical College) in spite of advisory wind chill warnings and snowy roads. Kudos to the Bluff Country Master Gardeners for a great workshop!

The day consisted of two Keynote morning presentations and 2 afternoon breakout sessions sprinkled with shopping breaks and lunch in between. If you have ever gone on an outing with a gardener you  know gardeners really like shopping for their home gardens and this workshop day was no exception.  There was also a silent auction with gardening items donated by vendors, Master Gardeners and other local patrons besides the vendors set up with their wares. Yours truly actually came home with a great basket bid on filled with homemade ornaments, soaps, a quilted spring table runner and coordinating candles. :O

Our day's keynote speaker was Ed Lyon of Madison's Centennial Gardens who spoke about sustainability and the locavore's interest in urban and community gardens in his first presentation. You may have noticed a greater awareness and interest as to where foods are grown, organic and heirlooms, quality, being 'green' and of course, food safety.

The second session concerned homeowner's low impact gardening regarding economic, social, physiological and health benefits and the plants we use, natives vs cultivars.

The usage of natives has added to the increasing problem of invasive species. I was baffled that certain plants I've incorporated in gardens are now considered invasive like Miscanthius grass, Sweet Autumn clematis and Japanese bloodgrass.  Larger invasive plants include Burning Bush and Japanese Barberry. Big OOPS. Who knew?  If planted already, keep an eye on these and if you see offshoots,  eradicate them before they smother out other species and if you haven't already used these, find alternatives. "Invasives continue to be issues. We all need to work toward being part of the solution, not part of the problem."

MG'er Tschumper (L) and Liz Beukema, presenter (center)

After lunch attendees had break out choices  between "Your Garden, an Extension of Your Living Space/ Fantastic and Underused Perennials for Western Wisconsin. " I attended the latter and have a list in case you are interested.

The second breakout was between Knee Deep in Monkeys, Protecting Tropical Forests for our Migratory Birds/ Rusts and Smut and Poop on a Stick. Once again I chose the latter. It was a long day and I have to admit that I was also 'pooped'.

Seeing beautiful photography of trees, shrubs and flowering plants fed our souls and was a temporary fix to hold us over until that deep frost leaves the ground since we'll be itching to get our hands into the soil especially here in the End of the Rainbow Valley...