Barry County Master Gardeners will host their annual fall garden workshop on Sept. 21 at the First Baptist Church Family Life Center, located at 602 West St. in Cassville.
Doors will open at 9 a.m. and the program will begin at 9:20 a.m. The workshop will feature local venders, plants for sale, door prizes, and food and refreshments. There will also be three presenters with interesting topics.
Mel Williams, a member of the Master Gardener group, moved to the Ozarks a few years ago after a career in agronomy that took him all around the world. He has been busy planting an orchard, elderberry patches, blueberries and many other things. Williams is modest, but he has become quite an expert on growing elderberries, which are gaining in popularity in this area. He is going to share his methods of propagating and growing elderberries in the Ozark setting.
Lissa Teague spoke on the topic of saving seeds at the last fall workshop. The audience found her to be extremely knowledgeable and entertaining.
She lives nearby in McDonald County and has become a passionate advocate for sustainable living. Her presentation will focus on seed saving as an art and a necessity that ensures the continuity of plant varieties and enhances biodiversity.
People can find Lissa on Facebook at ‘The Vintage Tomato and Busy Bee.’
Susan Martin also has a passion — Japanese Maples. She became a Master Gardener in 2001 and is a member of Barry County’s neighbor group, Master Gardeners of the Ozarks. Her love for Japanese Maples began with a visit to the Japanese Gardens in Portland, Ore. She soon became a serious collector and now has more than 150 trees with 83 different varieties.
She will ‘entertain’ workshop attendees with the topic ‘Japanese Maples, Why Every Garden Needs One….or More.’
In addition to these speakers, the workshop will have a mini session on fall planting. There will also be a time for the audience to ask questions about any garden topic.
Pre-registration for the workshop is with the Barry County Extension by email at barryco@missouri. edu or by calling at 417-847-3161.
The cost of the workshop is $10 if preregistered. Walk-ins are welcome and will pay $12.
