McHenry County College Gardenfest to feature moss garden expert
Learn new gardening tips with a one-hour lecture on "The Sievert Moss Gardens - From 1970 until Today" by moss garden expert and author Dale Sievert, who is the keynote speaker at the 2019 McHenry County College Gardenfest. The Gardenfest is from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 6 at McHenry County College, 8900 U.S. Route 14, Crystal Lake.
Sievert, who grew up on a dairy farm in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, began constructing his gardens in 1970 and added mosses in 2005. Sievert will outline the nearly five-decade evolution of his award-winning moss gardens. He will also reveal how his style and thoughts about gardening have changed over the years. He writes for Sukiya Living magazine. His gardens appeared in Country Gardens, Chicagoland Gardening, and The American Gardener magazine. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in agronomy and a Master of Science in economics. He taught economics at Milwaukee Area Technical College for 29 years and simultaneously operated a part-time nursery/landscape firm.
A new highlight this year is the Gardening With Family session from 8:30 a.m. to noon, where kids ages 8-14, who are interested in growing plants, will have the opportunity to start seeds and transplant seedlings in the MCC Greenhouse and take home their own plants. Supplies and morning refreshments will be provided. Cost is $20 for one adult and one child or $30 for one adult and two children.
Gardenfest is an annual educational event co-sponsored by McHenry County College and the University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners in McHenry County.
A total of 18 breakout sessions presented by industry experts, U of I Extension educators, Master Gardeners and MCC instructor will cover myriad different gardening topics offered in four one-hour segments.
Other Gardenfest topics include: "Starting Your Vegetable Garden: Basic How To's for Beginners," "Monarch Mysteries, "Cooking with Herbs, "Weed ID and Control," "Successful Backyard Apple Orchards," "Best New Plants for 2019" and many more.
Lunch is included in the $45 fee for general admission and $25 for MCC horticulture students. Registration deadline is Friday, March 22. Registration is accepted the day of the conference for an additional $5 fee.
Registration forms can be downloaded at www.mchenry.edu/gardenfest. Forms can be faxed to (815) 479-7775. For information about Gardenfest 2019, email conferencecenter@mchenry.edu or call (815) 479-7570.