SAN ANTONIO — Trends in garden design, backyard habitat and heirloom vegetables will be among the topics of the 1999 International Master Gardener Conference Aug. 19-22 here. The event, which expects to draw 1,000 Master Gardeners to the conference and another 2,000 garden enthusiasts to the trade show, will begin with a reception at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Aug. 19.
Roger Swain, host of the PBS television show “The Victory Garden,” will open the general session at 9 a.m. Aug. 20 with his talk “Save the World with Gardening.” English gardening will be the topic for Penelope Hobhouse, well-known author of numerous gardening books, at 10 a.m. that day.
On Aug. 21, Dr. Mark Plotkin, executive director of the Ethnobiology and Conservation Team in Washington, D.C., will discuss “Treasures of the Jungle” during the luncheon scheduled from 12:25-1:45 p.m.
Kent Whealy, director of Seed Savers Exchange and Heritage Farms in Decorah, Iowa, will talk about heirloom vegetables during the final general session at 9 a.m. Aug. 22.
The trade show will be open from 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Aug. 19 and 9 a.m.-6 p.m Aug. 20.
Eight clinics will be conducted on Aug. 20-21. Participants may choose from garden photography, propagating, using herbs, “Grow a Row for the Hungry,” digging for info on the World Wide Web, Junior Master Gardener activities, herbs and their uses and wine tasting. On Aug. 21, five half-day conferences will be offered in the San Antonio area. They include the King William area, Bexar County Master Gardener projects, Master Gardener Landscapes, Color Spot and Peterson Wholesale Nurseries and San Antonio retail nurseries. The plants of the San Antonio Botanical Gardens and the San Antonio Riverwalk also will be available for guided tours.
The conference is sponsored by the Texas Agricultural Extension Service and Master Gardener chapters in Bexar, Travis, Hayes and Nacogdoches counties. A form for registration, which is $145 per person, may be obtained by calling toll-free to the Bexar County Master Gardener office at (877) 456-4756. In San Antonio, call 225-5848. The conference Web site is http://mastergardener.tamu.edu.
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