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1. Composts: Evaluation & Use in Production and in the Landscape
Dr. John Spargo - Director, UMass Soil & Plant Tissue Testing Laboratory
Compost materials are an important tool for modern, sustainable plant production and landscape management. Attendees will learn about the qualities of compost, how to understand a compost analysis, when and where to use composts effectively.
2. Revolutionary Garden Centers – Snapshot of “Tour De Fleur”.
Dave Volante, Volante’s Farm, Lynn Bower , Stonegate Garden, Peter Mezitt, Weston Nursery and Michelle Harvey, Lakeview Garden Center
Join us for a snapshot of four innovative garden centers in Massachusetts. Volante Farms in Needham just completed their new year-round farm stand, Stonegate Gardens in Lincoln has never stopped innovating and improving an already spectacular store, Weston Nurseries new venture in Chelmsford appraches year two with a list of lessons learned and new projects ready to go and Lakeview Nurseries, Lunenburg is this years Northeast region winner of the 100 Most Revolutionary Garden Centers by Todays Garden Center Magazine.
3. Annual Trial Gardens at Elm Bank
David Fiske, Director of Trial Gardens, Massachusetts Horticultural Society
David will take us on a walking tour of the annual trial gardens, one of the many gardens on the grounds of Elm Bank. Annuals are tried in two ways, AAS trials and our own Performance trials at Elm Bank. The AAS trials consist of plants grown from seed from AAS and are trialed and judged by the AAS guidelines. The trial plants are compared to plants that are AAS award winners and have to be as good as or better than these comparisons. Scores are given form all the Trial Judges and added up and if they get a high enough score they win the award in that category. The categories are Bedding Plant Trial, Flower Trial, Vegetable Trial, and Cool Season Bedding Plant Trial. The Performance trials are done for plant breeders that want their seed or vegetatively propagated plants trialed here at Elm Bank to show consumers, home owners or professionals how they grow and look in the garden beds or containers. Most of the plants are new varieties and have never been seen before. Reports are made out at the end of the season and sent back to the participants. Trials gardens have been at Elm Bank for over 10 years.
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1. Impacts of the Asian Longhorn Beetle on Energy Use in Cities
Dr. Ben Weil, Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts
An infestation of the Asian Long-horned Beetle (ALB) has initiated an extensive tree removal program in Worcester, Massachusetts. This provides a natural, controlled experiment to quantify the energy use impact of trees in a real-world setting. Starting in August 2008, approximately 30,000 trees have been removed. Large-scale tree removal completely transforms the landscape and energy use. Ben will report on their research findings. Learn about how this has impacted energy use with recommendations for the future plantings.
2. Alternative Planting Methods for Trees in the Nursery and What Buyers Should Know Dr. Cathy Neal, University of New Hampshire Extension Specialist and Dr. Dan Lass, University of Massachusetts Resource Economics
Even if you don’t grow trees, you need to know how production systems affect roots and tree quality! In 2010, the University of Massachusetts and the University of New Hampshire began a three year project to evaluate the economics of alternative nursery production methods in the New England area. Now in year three, Cathy and Dan will discuss research results to date, of three different tree production methods: field grown (B&B or bare root trees); pot-in-pot; and in-ground fabric containers. Cathy will include the pros and cons of balled and burlap, pot in pot and fiber pots from the nursery to the landscape. In addition to the trials, planting cost differences and summaries of survey results will be presented.
3. Perennial Gardens at Elm Bank
Gary Koller, Koller and Associates and Fred Dabney, Quansett Nurseries
Gary specializes in residential garden design. His award winning gardens have been featured on tours of The Perennial Plant Association; The American Society of Landscape Architects and The Garden conservancy. He is retired from the Arnold Arboretum where he served as Assistant Director for Horticulture for over 20 years. Fred Dabney owns and manages Quansett Nurseries in South Dartmouth which he began in 1980. Quansett Nurseries consists of fifteen acres, where a large variety of annuals, herbs, perennials, ornamental grasses, groundcovers and vegetables are grown. Fred has served on many boards and committees for the green industries including president of the Massachusetts Flower Growers Association. In August 2007, Adrian Bloom planted a demonstration garden at Elm Bank, both to illustrate his design principles and promote his plants. The Elm Bank garden is just over an acre in size, yet was largely built in a weekend by several hundred volunteers. Join Gary and Fred for a walking tour of the garden revealing creative designs and herbaceous perennial plant material. The garden is often used as a teaching tool for landscapers and garden retailers and you will see why!
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1. QR Codes Project at Elm Bank
Katherine Macdonald, President and Executive Director, Massachusetts Horticultural Society
Ms. McDonald will speak on using technology to improve visitors’ experience and education in the garden while supporting the green industry. Mass Hort has partnered with Hortycodes, a firm in Cincinatti, Ohio, to bring QR Code (Quick Response Code) technology to the Gardens at Elm Bank. The Bressingham Garden, designed by Adrian Bloom, is the beta test for plant labels with QR Codes and a program, “Nursery Connect,” designed to connect the public garden visitor with plant cultivation information as well as a nursery where the plant can be purchased.
2. Case Studies of Landscape Designs in Massachusetts
Laura Kuhn, Laura Kuhn Design Consultation, Amy Martin, Amy Martin Landscape and Tom Wilhelm, A Blade of Grass
Three incredible designers and plant people will share secrets of their designs and the plant material that was used in those designs. Here what designers have to say about the plants they love and those they don’t.
3. Scouting for Pests in Landscapes
Bob Childs, Extension Entomologist and Randy Prostak, Extension Weed Specialist
Join UMass Extension staff for a walk at Elm Bank and learn how to make IPM practices work more efficiently. Randy and Bob will show how to scout for and give solutions to many common pest and cultural problems.
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