Spring Gardening Days 2023
- Saturday, March 25, 2023, 9:00 AM - 1:30 PM
- Saturday, April 1, 2023, 9:00 AM - 1:30 PM
On March 25th and April 1st, join the Master Gardener Volunteers for six workshops to learn about various aspects of tending to your garden. Every spring, Master Gardener Volunteers across the state hold educational workshops where they dive deep into starting or maintaining your garden. This year you can sign up for the following courses:
March 25th in Hudson, NY. View the March 25th course descriptions.
- 9:00 AM Gardening for Pollinators with Timothy Kennelty
- 10:30 AM The Family Planting Playbook with Shelley Haefner
- 12:00 PM Creating a Cutting Garden with Maureen Mooney
April 1st in Acra, NY. View the April 1st course descriptions.
- 9:00 AM Guarding the Garden From Deer and Other Wildlife with Teresa Golden
- 10:30 AM Garden Design with Joan Satterlee
- 12:00 PM Build Your Own Worm Bin! with Devon Russ
Registration Links
Hudson March 25th Registration
Course Descriptions March 25th - Hudson, NY
Gardening for Pollinators
Time: 9:00 am
Registration deadline: 3/24/2023
Presented by: Timothy Kennelty
Description: Pollinators including bees, butterflies, moths, flies and beetles provide an ecological service that is essential to the health of our environment. Yet, with habitat loss, climate change and the increase of invasive species, the threat to pollinators has never been greater. This talk will introduce the basics on pollinators, as well as the plants you can incorporate into your garden to support them.
Bio: Tim Kennelty is a Master Gardener and Master Naturalist volunteer through Cornell Cooperative Extension, and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Columbia Land Conservancy. He is also the co-host of CCE Columbia and Greene weekly Master Gardener podcast, Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley. Tim has gardened in the Town of Taghkanic for more than 30 years and has developed a passion for preserving native species and combating exotic invasive plants.
The Family Planting Playbook
Time: 10:30 am
Registration deadline: 3/24/2023
Presented by: Shelley Haefner
Description: If you’ve ever wanted to garden successfully ( and get your kids involved!) this is the workshop for you! The family planting playbook is designed to help take the intimidation out of gardening while helping you increase family engagement and participation. Join me for a workshop that will equip you with confidence, growing tips, engagement resources, and guidance for a successful growing season! Create a haven of healthy edibles, fun discoveries, and an opportunity to learn and grow together!
Presenter Bio: As a recent Master Gardener graduate, Shelley brings extensive knowledge of growing perennials & edibles, attracting pollinators/birds to your garden, as well as design and coaching experience. As a Columbia County resident for most of her life, she has been on a gardening mission to teach others along the way. She is a plant enthusiast and student of the garden, always willing to share her experiences and enthusiasm with the local and extended community. She states: “When you’re always digging deeper into the relationships between insects and flowers, plants and soil, humans and nature, you open up many interactive ways to ‘play’ and ‘learn’ in the garden.”
Creating a Cutting Garden
Time: 12:00 pm
Registration deadline: 3/24/2023
Presented by Maureen Mooney
Description: Have you had fantasies of having huge and colorful flower bouquets in every room of your home? You can create a separate low-maintenance garden that will provide you with beautiful blooms from spring to the first frost. Come learn about some of the best and most popular annuals and perennials to grow. You will learn about site selection, growing requirements, and resources.
Bio: A Master Gardener for 10 years, Maureen has had a passion for growing vegetables/herbs, and flowers since childhood. A retired nurse, she loves to grow and dry flowers for bouquets or wreaths to share with others. She grows her veggies and flowers organically and year-round there is always something to harvest.
Course Descriptions April 1st - Acra, NY
Guarding the Garden From Deer and Other Wildlife
Time: 9: 00 am Registration deadline: 3/31/2023
Description: Wildlife plays an essential role in balanced ecosystems. However, wildlife management may be necessary when too many of a particular species impact the landscape. This session will help you to learn how to mitigate the impact of deer, groundhogs, rabbits and other wildlife using fencing, repellents and wildlife-resistant plants.
Presented by: Teresa Golden
Bio: Teresa Golden has been a Master Gardener Volunteer since 2015. Currently residing in Greene County, she is an experienced gardener of flowers and vegetables and is stewarding acres of woods as a landowner in Catskill and a Master Forest Owner Volunteer. As part of her contributions to Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) of Columbia and Greene Counties, she is a co-founder and contributor to the podcast, Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley. She also serves on the Planning Board for the Town of Catskill.
Garden Design
Time: 10:30 am Registration deadline: 3/31/2023
Presented by: Joan Satterlee
Description: Gardening is both science and art. With this class we will discuss creating a more satisfying garden with a minimum of additional work. Included are basic topics such as maintenance, design essentials and simple creative tips.
Bio: Joan Satterlee has been a volunteer Master Gardener for almost 25 years as well as an active member of a local garden club. Landscape design classes, sponsored by the Federated Garden Clubs of New York State, have been attended in various locations in the State leading to a certification in landscape design.
Build Your Own Worm Bin!
Time: 12:00 pm Registration deadline: 3/31/2023
Presented by: Devon Russ
Description: We will talk about the importance of composting, and especially about how to compost with worms. And then we will make worm bins that you can take home! Your new worm bin will be stocked with worms and ready to turn your kitchen scraps into worm castings, which will do wonders for your garden soil. Worm composting is an indoor project. It is an easy way to compost kitchen scraps year-round, even in the winter when you may not want to make trips to an outdoor compost heap. Worm bins are perfect for small spaces and fun for kids.
Bio: Devon Russ has been gardening on the Mountaintop in Greene County for over 30 years. She loves to plant flower gardens, vegetables, native wildflowers . . . and lots and lots of trees! Devon always composts whatever organic material is available, and her composting worm friends help with all those planting projects.
Last updated March 7, 2023