The day-long gardening symposiums sponsored by Horticulture magazine have been a winter tradition here in Madison and a much-anticipated breath of spring for local enthusiasts. I have notes, plant lists and handouts from them going back to the mid-90s. This year’s event was advertised in the December/January issue of the magazine but abruptly cancelled. It's likely the first of other changes we’ll see at the nation’s oldest gardening magazine (founded in 1904), which was acquired recently by F&W Publications, according to the Business Courier of Cincinnati.
Luckily for those of us who live in the upper Midwest, Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison didn’t miss a beat and has smoothly transitioned into the role held by Horticulture. OBG and will offer its own “Midwest Gardening Symposium: Incredible, Edible Gardens” on the exact same date as the cancelled event: Feb. 19.
Olbrich is partnering with Allen Centennial Gardens on the UW-Madison campus and its new director, Ed Lyon, to put on the daylong event at Olbrich. Most recently Lyon was the executive director of Rotary Gardens in Janesville.
Flowers and vegetables meld together in this container planting at the edge of the water feature in Olbrich's Sunken Garden.
The Midwest Gardening Symposium “is a great opportunity to collaborate with Allen Centennial Gardens,” emphasized Olbrich’s director, Roberta Sladky, when I visited the gardens just before Christmas. She also noted that the “mainly Midwestern” event promises to be a fun day as well as offering participants “cutting edge ideas.” Comparing the emphasis of the event and the speakers these two local institutions have pulled together, I think participants actually will be getting a much better program — at a better price — than Horticulture was offering.
Some of the hottest topics in the garden world (and in the news itself) will be on tap at “Incredible, Edible Gardens” including Fritz Haeg’s international “Edible Estates” project that began in Kansas. This architect/artist proposes replacing front lawns with productive edible landscapes — an idea that more people may be willing to embrace in this economic climate. Haeg has a book on the subject, “Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn,” and is turning up everywhere from the New York Times to the Whitney Biennale to L.A.’s Dwell on Design.
Veggies can double as dramatic foliage plants like this Swiss chard.
Haeg will be joined by Jennifer Bartley, a specialist in kitchen gardens in the elegant French potager tradition who will demonstrate ways to incorporate them into residential landscapes; David Cavagnaro who’s a professional photographer and gardener at Seed Savers Exhange will share 25 years of experience growing heirloom varieties; Janet Macunovich, a Michigan landscape designer, will emphasize ways to add more color to the garden while Mark Dwyer of Rotary Gardens will show how to incorporate veggies into the smallest city plot without having to give up sunny perennial beds.
The Midwest Gardening Symposium: Incredible, Edible Gardens appears to be the beginning of a perfect partnership between these two great Madison gardening and learning institutions. I hope to see you there next month! We can all have a meet-up in Madison before the official Garden Bloggers' Spring Fling 2009 in Chicago May 29-31.
EDIBLE ESTATE PROJECT
The first application of Fritz Haeg's Edible Estate project was in Salina, Kansas, close to the geographic center of the United States.
MIDWEST GARDENING SYMPOSIUM
"Incredible, Edible Gardens"
Thursday, February 19
8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
General public: $119
Olbrich members: $99
Horticulture students and Master Gardeners: $99 (must show current student or Master Gardener ID)
Lunch is included in the fee
To register, call 608-246-4550
Registration deadline: Feb. 16
Location: Olbrich Botanical Gardens, 3330 Atwood Ave., Madison, WI 53704
On the Web: www.olbrich.org
PRESENTATIONS:
Jennifer Bartley: Designing the New Kitchen Garden
David Cavagnaro: Back to the Future: Heirlooms for the Midwest Gardener
Mark Dwyer: Ornamental Edibles
Fritz Haeg: Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn
Janet Macunovich: Local Color
EDIBLE ESTATES PROJECT
Stan and Priti Cox offered their typical suburban front lawn as a working prototype for the first application of the Edible Estate project in Salina, Kansas. This picture shows their front lawn in full edible garden growth while the picture directly above shows their front yard before planting.
Parts of this post previously appeared under my byline in The Capital Times in a slightly different form.
Comments