January 4, 2008

Program to teach attractive, low-maintenance landscaping

The Lower Maintenance Landscaping program, sponsored by the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service and University of Illinois Extension, will offer tips to help participants achieve beautiful results with a limited investment of time. Registration for the Jan 29 program will begin at 6 p.m. (EST) at the Beef House in Covington, Ind.

Dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m., and guest speakers will begin their presentations at 7:15 p.m.

"The program is intended to teach participants that they can have spectacular plants that don't require a whole lot of maintenance," said Jim Luzar, Purdue Extension educator in Montgomery County. "We want home gardeners to know that they really can improve their landscapes, even if they don't have very much free time."

The first session, "Landscaping with Low Maintenance Plants," will feature Mark Davidson of Davidson Greenhouse.

"Mark has more than 20 years of experience in landscape construction," Luzar said. "He will talk about adding new landscaping projects, and he will offer pointers on doing so with low maintenance."

Don Bickell, conservationist and outdoor writer, will present, "Using Native Prairie Plants for Reducing Your Gardening Time," which will focus on the use of native plants to cut down on the amount of time spent gardening.

"There are many plants native to Indiana that thrive in this environment with little effort," Luzar said. "Don will use his past experience with native plants to teach program participants how to establish these plants in their own landscapes."

In addition to home gardeners, master gardeners also are invited to attend and can earn advanced master gardener credits.

The program cost is $20 and includes the meal. Participants should register in advance by contacting Purdue Extension Montgomery County at (765) 364-6363 or toll-free at (888) EXT-INFO by Jan. 22. The $20 registration fee is payable at the door the night of the program.

For questions or to request a brochure, call Purdue Extension at (888) EXT-INFO, or e-mail Luzar at luzar@purdue.edu.

Writer: Jennifer Cummins, (765) 494-6682, cumminsjs@purdue.edu

Source: Jim Luzar, (765) 364-6363, luzar@purdue.edu

Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu
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