A day to celebrate Giving Garden

Whether it's help starting seeds, questions about bugs decimating your eggplant or tips on starting a school garden, the Chicago Botanic Garden is the place to be Sunday.The Daily Herald's Giving Garden celebration at the Glencoe garden offers answers for those queries and more.Starting at 11 a.m. and continuing until 4 p.m., garden experts from across the area will offer advice and lessons designed to make gardeners more productive -- particularly when it comes to produce.The Giving Garden's aim is to deliver fresh, nutritious produce to area food pantries, and area gardeners are the key.Here's a lineup of activities throughout the day:bull; Noon. Need some help getting your garden started? Jennifer Brennan and Scott Thalmann of Chalet Nursery in Wilmette will present "Veggie Planting 101" outlining the basics of getting a vegetable garden started.bull; 12:30 p.m. "Organic Gardening." Mike Bollinger explains ways to use nonchemical methods in the garden. Bollinger manages the Chicago Botanic Garden's Green Youth Farm, a program where teenagers learn about and work on an organic farm.bull; 1 p.m. "Extending your garden season." This is a walking tour of the fruit and vegetable garden led Katie Prochaska of the botanic garden's staff. Her tour helps address ways to grow food for more than just a few months each summer.bull; 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. Mary Ellen Diaz of First Slice Caf#233; is the Garden Chef speaker. Her cafe is an innovative program delivering restaurant-quality meals to home subscribers, while maintaining a community-supported kitchen for people in need.bull; 2 p.m. "Designing a Kitchen Garden." Connie Bailey from The Growing Place in Naperville will show you how to choose your plants wisely. It's all about picking food you like to eat and making sure it grows well in this climate.bull; Noon, 1 and 2 p.m. "Fall Frolics" is a Native American storytelling program for children on ecology presented by Dennis "Swiftdeer" Paige and Chicago Parent magazine."Ask the Pros" is a lineup of garden-related experts, including all of those who presented seminars, and runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.Participants this year include:bull; Volunteers from St. Andrews Lutheran Church in Mundelein will show how they transformed an empty lot into a 2,400-square-foot garden to help food pantries.bull; Children, parents and teachers who helped create a huge vegetable garden at Woodland Elementary West School in Gages Lake will share their story and answer questions about how other schools can follow suit.bull; Sam Darin, the Chicago Botanic Garden "Tool Guy," will discuss which are the best tools to use and how to keep them in great shape.bull; Russel Higgins, a bug specialist with the University of Illinois Extension Service, will bring his voluminous display of insects and answer gardeners' questions.bull; Chicago Botanic Garden staff member Nancy Clifton will have a booth presenting a display on compost between 1 and 5 p.m.Also participating:bull; Carolyn Ulrich, editor of Chicagoland Gardening magazine.bull; Northern Illinois Food Bank.bull; Greater Chicago Food Depository.