AgriLife Extension, others to offer Saturday Summer Seminars at Zilker Botanical Garden
AUSTIN – The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Travis County Master Gardeners and others will present three Saturday seminars this summer at Zilker Botanical Garden, 2220 Barton Springs Road in Austin.
“These seminars will cover gardening and horticultural topics as well as gardening photography and should be of great interest to the public,” said Daphne Richards, AgriLife Extension horticulturist for Travis County.
She said the Saturday Summer Seminars are free, but participants must pay the Zilker Park entrance fee, which is $2 per adult, $1 for children ages 3-12 and seniors age 62 and over, and $3 for non-Austin residents.
All seminars will take place from 10 a.m.– noon. The seminar dates and topics will be:
— June 20 – Best Culinary Herbs for Austin: Travis County Master Gardener Judith Craft will talk about the best herbs to grow in the Austin area. If time allows, she will lead a walk through the herb garden at Zilker. Judith became a Master Gardener after retiring and has been the primary volunteer in the herb garden at Zilker Botanical Garden for the past 10 years. She has been a member of the Austin Herb Society for 25 years.
— July 18 – Pond Basics – The Big, Bad and Beautiful: This seminar shows the steps of building a pond in your backyard and the best tips for success. Jeannie Farrier, Austin Pond Society board member and also a retired teacher, has been creating ponds for over a decade. Her most recent pond holds 10,000 gallons.
— Aug. 8 – Photography in the Garden: Learn how to take plant pictures with impact through proper composition and lighting. This seminar begins with an overview of film and digital cameras, lenses and composition. Participants are asked to study their camera owner’s manual prior to the seminar. This seminar will be presented by Sam Myers, a long-time photographer and Master Gardener specializing in presentations on beneficial insects and plant photography. In 2009, he was selected as Photographer of the Year in the Travis County Master Gardener photo contest.
For more information, contact the AgriLife Extension office for Travis County, 512-854-9600, or go to http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/travis/local-extension-resources/calendar-2/.