Saturday, February 3, 2024

The Perennial Plant Association and The Chicago Botanic Garden are partnering to present a perennial plant focused program planned as a hybrid event, which means an in-person AND virtual option are available. This annual Symposium is being hosted at Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, Illinois and is for the professional horticulture industry, garden enthusiasts, landscape designers, and people with a passion for perennials. Join us to learn from four expert speakers, enjoy a catered lunch, discover great plants, share ideas with other gardeners, and get inspiration for the 2024 growing season!

PROGRAM

8:00 a.m. Registration and Coffee                                  
9:00 a.m. Welcome

 

 

 

Chris Fehlhaber – Horticulturist, Chanticleer Garden                   
Chris's goal is to raise the public’s consciousness and appreciation of enriching, progressive horticulture. He believes we may all lead better lives by making the world a more beneficial and beautiful place.  Chris regularly writes, teaches, and speaks widely on plants and gardening.  He is the PPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Director and provides a garden and design consulting service. Chris holds degrees in Landscape Architecture-Natural Resources and Environmental Studies from the University of Wisconsin. 

Plant Community: Gardens as Social Infrastructure                          
Gardens should not simply be destinations and places of escape; they should be the places we live. To ensure a better future in uncertain times, enriching dynamic gardens must become ubiquitous. Our gardens must move beyond their fences and into our communities – making them accessible to everyone. Our world is a garden, it’s time we cultivate it.

 

 

 

Brent Horvath – President & Grower, Intrinsic Perennial Gardens, Inc.                   
As President and grower of Intrinsic Perennial Gardens, Inc., Brent is a third-generation gardener, second-generation nurseryman, and first-generation American. He literally grew up in the business, working for his mom and dad at their companies and then pursued a BS from Oregon State University, and in 1991, started growing finished perennials for the wholesale trade. Today, Brent has developed over 100 new perennials and holds over 60 plant patents. Intrinsic Perennial Gardens, Inc. lists over 500 varieties and sells many more. Main crops include ornamental grasses, sedums, geums, natives and plants for the greenroof trade. Brent’s book, “The Plant Lovers Guide to Sedums” from Timber press, was released in April 2014 which received a Gold award from GWA in 2015. In 2016 he was awarded the PPA Grower of the Year award. He also contributes plant articles to horticulture magazines like Fine Gardening on select subjects.

New and Underused Perennials and Grasses                          
Learn which new plants might stand the test of time and which old plants still deserve your attention. Sure, there are many great new plants every year, but which ones will survive and thrive in the garden for years to come!? A Plant breeder for 28 years and grower of perennials for 33 will share his favorites and hopefully some of yours, too.

11:30 a.m.  Catered Lunch

 

 

 

Erin Presley – Horticulturist, Olbrich Botanical Gardens                   
Erin left her heart at Olbrich Botanical Gardens while interning there in 2005.  After earning a bachelor’s degree in Horticulture from the University of Wisconsin-Madison she gardened for nearly a decade in the private sector before returning to Olbrich in 2014, where she tends the Herb, Woodland, and Pond Gardens. As the 2021 inaugural winner of the American Public Gardens Association’s Gerry Donnelly Future Leaders award, she is never shy when it comes to sharing her passion for gardening and has appeared on the PBS series  Let’s Grow Stuff,  Wisconsin Public Radio’s Garden Talk, Cultivating Place  with Jennifer Jewell , and is a contributor to Fine Gardening  magazine.

Sustainable Success at Olbrich Gardens: Translatable Tips to Take                          
At Olbrich Botanical Gardens, a free admission 16-acre public garden in Madison, WI, success is defined not only by creating gorgeous gardens, but also trialing and modeling sustainable techniques for other gardeners. Erin Presley, a horticulturist at Olbrich for 10 years, walks you through our best practices for attracting and supporting insect life, managing weeds, building soil, and saving water on a scale that is adaptable to whatever space you garden in. This honest appraisal also covers where we could be improving and looks to the audience for your tips, too.

 

 

 

Richard Hawke – Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Director of Ornamental Plant Research, Chicago Botanic Garden                   
He is responsible for the breeding, evaluation, and introduction programs, and has managed the plant evaluation program since 1985. Richard has a horticulture degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is an instructor for the School of the Chicago Botanic Garden, the author of Plant Evaluation Notes, and is an author and contributing editor for Fine Gardening. Richard received the Perennial Plant Association’s Academic Award for teaching excellence in 2005, and the Scott Medal and Award in 2023 from the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College. The Plant Evaluation Program received the Award for Program Excellence from the American Public Garden Association in 2008. Richard is currently president of the Perennial Plant Association. 

Proving Their Worth                          
New is important—as gardeners, it is what excites us and makes us drool over nursery catalogs and websites every winter. Unfortunately, being new does not necessarily mean good. Richard Hawke has spent his career trialing plants—many new plants are tested every year at the Chicago Botanic Garden for their overall performance. Do they have a good habit? Do they get diseases easily? Do they come back reliably after a harsh winter? Richard will share some “new” perennials that have done well in the trials in recent years.

3:00 p.m.  Closing Remarks

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

On-site Attendance Option at Chicago Botanic Garden                             
(Includes coffee, lunch, live program, admission and parking at the Chicago Botanic Garden, and a recording of the online program)           
$129 PPA and Chicago Botanic Garden Members | $169 Non-Members

Online Attendance Option                             
(Includes a live streaming of program and a recording of the program)           
$75 PPA and Chicago Botanic Garden Members | $95 Non-Members 

Registration Deadline Monday, January 29