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Thursday, Feb 23^rd to
Sunday, Feb 26^th, 2012

Thursday, Friday, Saturday 10AM - 8PM
Sunday 10 AM - 6 PM

Connecticut Convention Center
100 Columbus Blvd., Hartford, CT

Seminars

Sal Gilbertie

Sal Gilbertie supplies parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme and every other herb under the sun, more than 400 varieties to nurseries and greenhouses throughout the northeastern United States.

But to Gilbertie, herbs are more than the heart of a successful business.  Gilbertie on the forefront of the herb movement for over 40 years is renowned as one of the country’s leading experts in herbs.  He continues his mission to spread the good news about herbs throughout America.

Robert Buettner

1. In business since 1960 with shop located in East Hartford, CT
2. CT Florist of the year 2010
3. Instructor of Floral Design MCC
4. Member of Board of Directors CT Florist Assoc.
5. Member of FTD
6. Member of “Flowers for Kids” program.
7. Active at the Hole in the Wall Camp
8. Scuba diver & long distance bicycle rider.

Baroness Maureen Haseley-Jones a.k.a The English Lady

Maureen Haseley-Jones, aka The English Lady, is a member of a family of renowned horticultural artisans, whose landscaping heritage dates back to the seventeenth century. She is one of the founders, together with her son Ian, of the well-known and established The English Lady Landscape and Home company located in Essex, CT. Maureen and Ian are much sought after designers and garden experts. Her “cheeky, self-effacing style” as the “garden guru” on WRCH Lite 100.5 FM radio has earned her a wide fan base over the last ten years. 

Maureen lectures throughout Connecticut on a broad range of landscape design and environmentally holistic related topics.  She writes provocative columns for newspapers and magazines and hopes to have her book detailing her adventurous life in and out of the garden published next year. Home Living Connecticut Magazine referred to Maureen as “one of Connecticut’s best known landscape designers and radio personalities.”

Beginning in 1648 Maureen’s family were tenants at Powys Castle in Wales and worked on the landscape for William Herbert 1st Marquess of Powys and thereafter for the Herbert family into the early nineteen hundreds.  Refining their craft on all areas of the castle landscape including the terrace gardens, Orangery terrace, Water garden and formal gardens. The gardens at Powys are considered by many landscape experts to be the best example of eighteenth century gardens in Britain today.  Maureen learned her design skills from her mother and grandmother and honed her construction skills while working in the family business in the U.K. Her formal horticultural training was at the world-renowned Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in Surrey. The New York Times said of her “one of life’s unexpected experiences was discussing manure with a baroness.”

Maureen has an honors degree from the London Guildhall School of Music and Drama and was on the English Stage for two years.  She also qualified to race on a Formula One team in Europe.  Maureen came to the United States as a stewardess on TWA Airlines and later became a production consultant on the CBS soap opera “Guiding Light” in New York City.  Connecticut Magazine found Maureen “anything but tweedy.”

Baroness Maureen Haseley-Jones is partnered son Ian J. Sveilich, an inheritor of the family’s talents and renowned legacy.  Under their auspices over the past twenty years, the Company grew and together this dynamic team has designed inspiring indoor rooms and breathtaking landscapes large and smallthroughout the northeast.

They believe that everyone deserves a wonderful eco-conscious environment in which to live both indoors and out, respecting all budgets, enjoying the process as well as the finished product.  As Ian says to clients “it is the feeling you get that truly matters.”  

Read more about Baroness Maureen 

Steve Silk:

The Crazy, Mixed-up Border: An Eclectic Approach to Using Trees, Shrubs, Annuals, Tropicals, Edibles and Perennials

This kitchen sink approach to garden making welcomes representatives from every corner of the plant kingdom. No leaf is left unturned in this search for the best and brightest of forms, foliage and flowers, which are then combined to create garden vignettes whose beauty lasts from Spring through Fall. This is a style that celebrates change and experimentation.

Steve Silk became interested in plants more than 20 years ago, during extended travels in tropical South America and Southeast Asia. Some of the tropical plants seen during his journeys, along with hundreds of other plants from all parts of the world, now grow in his ever-expanding Farmington, Connecticut garden. Steve’s gardening year begins with the sowing of more than 1,000 seedlings and ends with the planting of as many bulbs.

After 15 years as an award-winning photographer and travel writer at the Hartford Courant, Steve moved in 1996 to Fine Gardening magazine, where he was Managing Editor and later spent 10 years as a Contributing Editor. He now spends most of his time writing about, photographing, and re-inventing his own back yard. His photography has garnered two Garden Writers of America awards for best portfolio. He collaborated with Sydney Eddison on  “Gardens to Go” (published by Bulfinch ) a book about container gardens. Steve and Sydney also worked together on  “The Gardener’s Palette: Creating with Color in the Garden,” (published by Contemporary Press). Steve has appeared several  times on HGTV’s “Gardening by the Yard.” He is a past President of the Connecticut Hardy Plant Society and is currently President of the Connecticut Horticultural Society.

Paul Split

Paul has been part of the Green Industry since 1971. He has been principal of Walden Gifts and Nursery.  Paul is the Director of Horticulture at the Comcast Center for the Performing Arts, a teacher, lecturer and nationally recognized horticultural consultant. Paul has served as judge at the New England Flower Show, Rhode Island Flower Show, and the Central Massachusetts Flower Show. He is an instructor for the Massachusetts Horticultural Society Master Gardener's Class and the Natick Community Organic Farm. 

Paul Lectures at the Boston, Rhode Island, Philadelphia and Worchester Flower Shows. Paul proudly practices what he teaches – low maintenance,sustainable and affordable landscaping and gradening.     www.paulsplit.com                                         
 

Peter Picone, lifetime Connecticut native, has been working as a wildlife biologist for over 25 years and will share his insights on creating seasonal habitat for songbirds using native plants.

Have you ever wondered where the Northern Cardinal or the Downy Woodpecker rests at night ? What does the American Goldfinch really eat in the wild: does it only eat thistle from a feeder? What do songbirds like the Scarlet Tanager or Wood thrush feed on in the fall when the frost hits and there are no more insects to eat? What variety of foods does the Wild Turkey feed on in your neighborhood? Is the Wild Turkey dependent on food from your feeder? In the dead of the winter, what do our resident songbirds feed on ? What plants provide winter food sources at a time of food scarcity? What kinds of trees do Mourning Doves select for nesting in early spring? When you choose a plant for your property are you considering its “ecological function” and how it enhances wildlife habitat?

Come to Mr. Picone’s lecture and you will learn that you can make a difference for wildlife in your surroundings by the plants you choose to plant and their arrangement.

Jim and Basia

Jim Conroy, Ph.D., The Tree Whisperer®, earned his doctorate in Plant Pathology from Purdue University and spent 25 years as an executive in top ag-chem companies. Now, he is an authority on Nature-based communication and a global expert who holistically heals stressed trees, plants, and ecosystems with his own bioenergy-healing approach. As creator of Tree Whispering®–a holistic, hands-on, earth-friendly, no-product, and sustainable solution–he shows people how to restore tree and plant health by healing internal functionality.

Teaching globally, Dr. Jim is also on faculty at Omega Institute. As co-founder of the Institute for Cooperative BioBalance, he is dedicated to bringing the principles and practices of co-existence with all of Nature’s Beings into people’s daily lives. www.TheTreeWhisperer.com , www.CooperativeBioBalance.org, and www.StrengthenForests.com.

Basia Alexander, The Chief Listener, is a catalyst for positive change and a leader in the new field of Conscious Co-Creativity. As an expert Nature communicator, Basia leads workshops and produces innovative curriculum. She is also an educator at the Omega Institute. Basia has led and supported environmental outreach efforts and writes on topics of health, personal transformation, creativity, and spirituality. As co-founder of the Institute for Cooperative BioBalance, she directs its educational and philanthropic initiatives. www.TreeWhispering.com .

Kerry Ann Mendez:

Owner of Perennially Yours in Ballston Spa, NY, is dedicated to teaching people of all ages the art of low-maintenance perennial gardening and landscaping. As a garden consultant, designer, writer, teacher and lecturer, she focuses on time-saving gardening techniques and workhorse plant material as well as organic practices. 

Over 10,000 people have attended her lectures. She has been in many national magazines including Horticulture, Fine Gardening, Garden Gate and Better Homes and Gardens' Garden Ideas & Outdoor Living plus her gardens have been in several published gardening books. 

She has been a featured guest on HGTV and was the perennial host for Capital News 9’s In The Garden television segment as well as info segments for Channel 13. She is the garden columnist for Life@Home magazineand writes freelance pieces for regional and national magazines. As a presenter for Horticulture magazine’s 2010 & 2011 national webinar series, her webinars attracted thousands of gardeners from around the country. In July 2010, she was one of four panelists (the only American) at world famous Adrian’s Bloom’s European Press Day in England. Mendez has conducted over 1,000 home garden and landscape consultations in Upstate New York and New England. She is a self-taught gardener with over 25 years of experience and a ‘passionate perennialist’ that enjoys mixing humor with practical information. Mendez’s first book, The Ultimate Flower Gardener’s Top Ten Lists, was released in March 2010; thousands have already sold. Her second book, Top Ten Lists for Beautiful Shade Gardens was released in March 2011 and is on a similar bestseller track. She is a member of the Perennial Plant Association, national Garden Writers Association, North America Rock Garden Society, and a federated garden club. For more about Kerry Ann Mendez and Perennially Yours, please visit www.pyours.com.  

Mar Jennings:

Four Seasons of Design with MAR JENNINGS

Mar Jennings shares the insights and creative design solutions he used in creating his nationally recognized home and garden. Vivid images show the essence of Mother Earth captured in design elements, color, textures and placement this explosion of  eye candy  blurs the lines between indoor
design concepts and outdoor living spaces.  Mar's comprehensive lecture delves into his reasons, actions and design principals. You'll understand how Mar quickly became one of America's top lifestyle experts.

LECTURE INFO:   
Join us this year with lifestyle expert, author and TV Host Mar Jennings, as he explores with you some of the best ideas for creating a fabulous, stress-free garden and home inspired by Mother Nature all while maximizing your outdoor living space. Have a low budget or need to stay in a budget? No problem, as Mar offers his personal resources and secrets that will motivate you like never before.  A wealth of information awaits you. This informative presentation will transport you via a photographic essay through the seasons, seeing a garden and home through Mar's distinctive eye for style and beauty. Join Mar for a virtual private tour of his enchanting Westport, Connecticut home, gardens and vine-covered garden studio. All your senses will be awakened by Mar's casual luxury approach to making all things functional, beautiful and attainable to do.  You will have fun, learn and pass it on.  Be sure to bring your note pad, as you don't want to miss a thing. Experience for yourself how life on Mar's is possible with Mar Jennings himself!

Find yourself needing a bit of Mar now?  No problem, check-out his dynamic web site: marjennings.com for a glimpse of what to expect from this truly spectacular time you will be spending with Mar.

Mar Jennings
Northeast Living-Host
CT1 Media-Lifestyle Expert/Host
BetterTV-Home & Garden Expert
QVC-Garden Expert for Cottage Farms
Ask.com-Garden Expert 

Harriet Zbikowski

Sun, Soil & Soak - The Foundation for a Successful Vegetable Garden.  Growing your own vegetables has never been more popular!  Join this green revolution and start eating delicious food right from your own back yard.  Have fun, save money, eat healthy and get your exercise.

Harriet Zibikowski is the designer and founder of Foxgloves, LLC   She has a Masters in Landscape Architecture from Cornell University and has gardened professionally throughout her life. 

Tovah Martin
  

Carol King:

Carol King (N.N.S.*) Platt is a free lance garden and lifestyle writer and is a former contributing editor at House & Garden. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Traditional Home and many local publications.

She takes as her topics the classic themes of great literature, that is to say, Life, Death, Sex, and Rhododendrons. Carol lectures regularly about garden design and flower arranging and designs gardens throughout Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island.

Carol is the past chair of the Landscape Design Council of Connecticut, and is a member of The Connecticut Unit of the Herb Society of America and the Wallingford Garden Club. Carol was voted one of People, Places and Plants’ top ten New England garden writers.
 
Carol lives and gardens with her husband, Rosarian and Rhododendron guy, Ted Platt, at Rose Cottage in Wallingford, Connecticut.
                                    
(*No, Not the Singer)
www.carolkingardens.com
 

Tom Christopher

Thomas Christopher, has been reporting on gardening and the environment for 25 years and is the editor of Timber Press’ recent guide to sustainable gardening, “The New American Landscape”. 

He has written for a wide range of publications, including The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, and the Daily Telegraph.  

A graduate of the The New York Botanical Garden’s School of Professional Horticulture, he also consults on the design and installation of low-maintenance, environmentally friendly lawns.
  

Lorraine Ballato, a Connecticut based horticulturist, wears many hats: lecturer, garden writer and horticultural consultant.

She has been writing regular gardening columns for over 10 years for Housatonic Publications, reaching over 15,000 homes in northwest Connecticut.  She is a regular contributor to Edible Nutmeg, Connecticut Gardener, and other horticultural publications and currently writes a monthly gardening column for Brookfield magazine.

As a member of Great Garden Speakers, she regularly delights her audiences with talks on everything from hydrangeas to roses to marauding deer.

Lisa Napolitano has, for over a decade, co-hosted the call-in radio show “Garden Talk with Len and Lisa” on WTIC 1080 AM broadcast out of Hartford, CT.

Lisa is an Accredited Nursery Professional, has gardened organically for more than 25 years and ran a small ornamental plant nursery for 7 years employing organic methods to keep the plants healthy and vigorous. For 2 humor-filled hours each week, “Garden Talk with Len and Lisa”, gives the listening audience insight into organic gardening and offers natural solutions to their gardening dilemmas.

Visit them on the web at: www.gardentalk1080.com or see what’s happening on their “facebook” page by searching “Len and Lisa Gardening”.

Donna R. Ellis:

Donna Ellis is a Senior Extension Educator in the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture at the University of Connecticut, where she has worked for 22 years.  She has a B.S. degree in Plant Science from the University of Rhode Island and an M.S. degree in Plant Science from the University of Connecticut. 

Donna is part of the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program and conducts IPM training programs for nurseries and garden centers.  She teaches a course at UConn on agricultural and horticultural plant pests and is involved with educational outreach and applied research programs for insects, weeds, and plant pathogens, with an emphasis on invasive plants and biological control.  Donna initiated a Beetle Farmer Program in 2004 to train volunteers to raise beneficial insects as biological control agents for the invasive plant purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria).  Together with the Beetle Farmers, more than 1.9 million beneficial beetles have been introduced in Connecticut for control of this invasive species.  Since 2009, Donna has collaborated with other scientists to release beneficial weevils for biological control of another invasive plant, mile-a-minute vine (Persicaria perfoliata).

Donna serves as Co-Chairperson of the Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group (CIPWG), a statewide organization whose mission is to provide invasive plant education.  The Working Group convenes biennial symposia on invasive plants.  She is also a member of the UConn Ornamental Plant Extension Team that presents two annual plant conferences, the Perennial Plant Conference for professional horticulturists and the Garden Conference for garden enthusiasts of all levels.

For more information, please visit the following websites:

Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group (CIPWG):  www.hort.uconn.edu/cipwg

UConn Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program:  www.hort.uconn.edu/ipm

UConn Beetle Farmer Program:  www.purpleloosestrife.uconn.edu

Contact information:
Donna Ellis
Senior Extension Educator and Co-Chair, Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group
 
University of Connecticut
Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture
Email: donna.ellis@uconn.edu

Douglas W. Dingman:

Douglas Dingman is a microbiologist/molecular biologist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) in New Haven, CT.  He earned his B.S. (1975) and Ph.D. (1983) in microbial physiology from The University of Iowa.

Following postdoctoral research study at Tufts University (Boston, MA), Dr. Dingman joined the Department of Entomology at CAES (1987) and transferred to the Department of Biochemistry and Genetics in 2003.  His research focuses on the entomopathogenic bacterium Paenibacillus larvae, the cause of American foulbrood in larvae of the honeybee (Apis mellifera), and how this microbe effects honey bee populations. 

Dr. Dingman is a member in the professional organizations, The American Society for Microbiology, Society of Invertebrate Pathology, Sigma Xi, International Bee Research Association, Connecticut Beekeepers Association, and Eastern Apicultural Society.

January 2011