At MSU Garden Day, participants’ imaginations will run wild, with new ideas to make their gardens a work of art.
The all-day event, which will start at 8 a.m. Friday at the Wharton Center, features workshops and keynote speakers Elsa Bakalar and Felder Rushing.
“People come here to get ideas to create their own art form,” said Sandy Allen, the event coordinator and the Department of Horticulture program coordinator.
Garden Day, which is hosted by the Department of Horticulture, started in 1982 with programs and garden tours and was formalized in 1993. Allen said feedback was positive from last year’s participants.
Allen said segments on garden design and the use of water in ponds or fountains were added to the format.
Participants can attend two one-hour workshops from a choice of 16 workshops, including organic gardening, ornamental grasses, landscape design and native plants.
Beverly Baten, East Lansing City Council member, said MSU’s workshops have helped her develop her own green thumb.
“They offer so much in the beauty of their gardens,” she said.
Baten started the gardening group “Shady Ladies” to do volunteer gardening to enhance the city’s beauty. Baten said MSU’s horticulture professors and workshops have aided in the group’s gardening adventures.
“The university has been very helpful to the gardening community,” she said.
Horticulture Greenhouse Manager Doug Badgero said the horticulture department chooses speakers who are entertaining and knowledgeable in gardening.
“We try to draw on the gardening public.”
Bakalar has written for Horticulture magazine, The Boston Globe and Newsday. She’s the author of the book, “A Garden of One’s Own.” Her speech Friday is titled “Partners in Beauty: Combining Annuals and Perennials.”
Rushing hosts gardening programs on television and radio and writes a garden column. His most recent books include “Scarecrows: Making Harvest Figures and other Yard Folks” and Better Homes & Gardens’ “The New Junior Garden Book.” He will present “Yard Art the Good, the Bad, the Unbelievable” on Friday.
The event is open to the public. The registration fee is $75. To register, call 355-8362.
