Sandy Smith Goes To School

Garden Study School Course I Sept. 22-23, 2008

At the last District IV meeting , I was delighted to find out that MGC and District IV was hosting a Gardening Study School right in Midland, Mi. There are 4 classes through the fall 2008 to spring 2010. At the conclusion participants can be Certified Garden Planners. More important for me was the idea of learning all I can about the plants I want to grace our property. So I signed up. Then I sent for our books,

LIVING WITH PLANTS: A GUIDE TO PRACTICAL BOTANY (Schumann, Ehrle, & Pippen) and SECRETS TO GREAT SOIL (Stell) and I subscribed to National Gardener. (That is a requirement for those of us taking the tests to get certified.) We all received a syllabus and our assigned reading ahead of time.

When Monday Sept. 22 came, I was up early and drove to Midland for my first Garden Study Course.

I registered when I arrived and the day began with a continental breakfast and mingling with the other gardeners while we all found seats. To our pleasant surprise one of the co-chairs, Bethany Goodman, made the rounds with lovely homemade tote bags for our books. We each enjoyed finding just the right one. There were gardeners from all over the state of Michigan--some in the city, some in the country, some Master Gardeners, and all of us looking forward to learning more.

The first instructor was Chuck Martin a horticulturist from The Dow Gardens. His class on Basic Botany for Gardeners was very interesting and informative but it was also entertaining. We learned about the physiology of plants and also what it takes to grow healthy plants. It was a morning filled with science and fun.

The delicious soup and salad lunch was catered. We enjoyed wonderful fresh salads with our choice of portabella mushroom soup or tomato basil soup. Then we had fresh fruit for dessert.

The afternoon started with Dr. Alan Syverud teaching us all about soil from the particles that comprise it, the nutrients we need to add to it and the importance of testing the soil before adding anything. I thought that this was very detailed and I am glad that we have MSUE for help. Dr. Syverud is in the Midland office of MSUE and invited us to call or visit him anytime. We all knew the difference between “dirt” and “soil” when Dr. Syverud had finished his presentation.

The ladies who spoiled us at the breaks, breakfasts, and lunches provided us with a tasty, refreshing break.

Next on the program was Abby Miller, from The Dow Garden. She helped to take the mystery out of growing houseplants. If I never remember all of what she said, I will remember that the #1 reason houseplants die is from over watering! But as she continued I learned about light, temperature, humidity, and location. She moved on to choosing the right plants, pots, growing mediums, grooming plants, and pests that enjoy plants as much as we do.

The day ended with a review session for the test we would take the next day. I went home with my head full and a night of studying ahead.

The next morning was foggy as I drove to Midland. I was looking forward to this day because we were going to go on a walking tour of downtown Midland this afternoon. I was even more pleased as the day unfolded.

We started out in the meeting room with Chris Owen, Horticulturist and Instructor at MSU. Chris is a specialist in propagation of plants and she has never met a plant she didn’t want to propagate. She had a hands on presentation and began with seeds and how to grow them. We were treated to poppy seeds to take home with us. After our break, we all piled into cars and went to Chris’s garden for our Propagation Activity. As we watched, Chris dug up examples underground stems, roots, leaves and above, ground structures. She demonstrated how to divide them all and then demonstrated techniques for layering, takings cuttings and dividing plants. Her beautiful garden made a wonderful laboratory for learning and she was generous to all of us. Chris invited us to help ourselves to all the plants she had divided during her class and we all took something home for our gardens. I added some of her Bee Balm to my friendship garden and the poppies will create a colorful spot in the front of our house.

On the drive back to our classroom, we stopped at Dahlia Hill to admire the beautiful garden and the new sculptures that are eye-candy for us gardeners. They have so many varieties and colors on the terraced hill that I couldn’t pick a favorite. I loved them all. Then back to the church meeting room for our delicious box lunch.

The after lunch class was a Tour of Downtown Midland with City Horticulturist, Stephanie Szostak. She is the designer of the city plantings as you enter Midland, the downtown, the farmers market, municipal buildings, the downtown, and the pots that grace Midland. She oversees the purchasing, planting and maintenance of all the beds too. It is a huge job and she does it very well. This year had a theme with the dragon sculptures all over town. Her theme was Fire & Smoke and all the planters and beds had red, yellow, orange for the fire and some deep purple for the smoke. The results were breathtaking. We enjoyed the tour and she pointed the various plants for us. Stephanie answered lots of questions about the various plants and why she chose certain ones for special areas. It was a beautiful day for a walk downtown.

We arrived back at the church for our exam. There were 3 exams of 20 questions each and it was an open book, open note exam. So after all the information and fun, we settled down to work on the exam.

One class down, 3 to go. I am looking forward to the coming classes. The new information I learned has fired up my enthusiasm for gardening as well as my knowledge of what my plants need to be healthy and I am sure my plants and flower beds will appreciate that.