Enhance gardening skills in new program

By Mandy Smith

Fellows Riverside Gardens

Do you delight in your garden’s abundance of flowers throughout the summer? Or do you want to lessen your garden’s impact on the planet? Or are you simply yearning to connect more with plants and gardening? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then one of the new courses through The John and Doris Andrews Horticulture Certificate Program at Mill Creek MetroParks may be the perfect fit for you.

The Andrews Horticulture program gives you, the home gardener, the knowledge and skills to select plants and to successfully tend to your home landscape. The curriculum assists you in developing the gardening techniques best suited for Ohio gardens. Learn through lectures, engaging labs outside at Fellows Riverside Gardens and hands-on volunteer work. Enjoy learning from local and regional experts, such as Sabrena Schweyer, Doug Oster and Denise Ellsworth, and sharing your experiences with other gardeners.

Each course is concentrated within four sessions to be accessible to a broader audience and fit into busy lives. In order to complete a course, each lecture and lab must be attended, along with eight hours of garden-related volunteer work at Fellows Riverside Gardens. The volunteer aspect allows one to develop additional hands-on knowledge and skills, as well as to provide community support to one of the Mahoning Valley’s gems. When all requirements are met, participants will receive a certificate of completion for the course.

The two courses starting at the beginning of May are The Fundamentals of Green Gardening and Summer Flower Gardening in Ohio and Western Pa. The Fundamentals of Green Gardening course covers ways to take your home landscape to the next level of stewardship. Sessions include ways to maintain an eco-friendly garden, exploring innovative design, and learning about integrated pest management, native plants and pollinator gardening. Summer Flower Gardening in Ohio and Western Pa. digs deep into building a palette of flowers that will enhance and create definition for your home landscape. Sessions include basic preparations for summer flowers, an in-depth look at perennials for our region, and how to create designs for annuals and container gardens. Each course costs $45 for Mahoning County residents and $55 for nonresidents.

Scholarships will be available through the Friends of Fellows Riverside Gardens. Information is available at www.friendsoffellows.org or by calling 330-740-7116, ext. 213.

The Andrews Horticulture program is graciously sponsored by the John S. and Doris M. Andrews Education Endowment through the Friends of Fellows Riverside Gardens.

Deadline for registration is April 18.