It's Easy Being Green

This weekend my wife and I were looking for some free things to do with the baby where perhaps, a little fussiness on her part would be allowed.  We made some stops on our errand list and then headed over to the open house put on by the Southwest Indiana Master Gardeners at their demonstration gardens.

Looking through the historical kitchen garden at the gazebo taking center focus in the Southwest Indiana Master Gardeners Demonstration Gardens. It's located in Evansville, IN at the former site of an old state hospital, now long gone.

The event is an opportunity for the Master Gardeners to showcase their skills and chat with people interested in learning the hobby of gardening.  Wherever I’ve lived, I’ve found the Master Gardeners to be the “go-to” resource for the best information on how to make your garden grow in the particular region you’re at.  They can offer insights into local pests and diseases, what grows best and what you shouldn’t waste your time on and maybe new things to look out for.  Master Gardener programs generally work in partnership with the local agricultural extension office which provides another amazing source of gardening info.

The demonstration gardens feature many All-America Selection Winners, not only in the flower features but also fruits and vegetables. I took notes on the varieties that seemed to be thriving so I can try them out in my own garden next season.

Not only did we get to wander through several different garden styles like a water garden, rain garden, butterfly and bird garden but they also had several different vegetable and fruit demonstration gardens as well.  One of the goals was to showcase two different ways to grow your own food, either organically in raised beds or in normal garden plots.  They also showcase many All-America Selections; plants that are nationally tested and proven locally for the past 75 years.

The berry demonstration garden showcased a plot of strawberries, blueberries and another plot of vining berries. Blackberries and raspberries were trained to climb up the arbor that separated the two plots from each other.

It was great being able to walk through the demonstration gardens and get some ideas for our gardens of the future and the advice dished out by the Master Gardeners was great too.  Now I’m considering taking their classes this fall and becomming a Master Gardener myself.

Popularity: 3% [?]