More than 800 slated to attend beginner’s gardening course in North Texas
Writer: Gabe Saldana, 956-408-5040, gabe.saldana@ag.tamu.edu
Contacts: Daniel Cunningham, 972-952-9223, daniel.cunningham@ag.tamu.edu
Martha Cavazos Fipps, 972-547-7335, mcavazos@mckinneytexas.org
DALLAS — A regional gardening course for beginners, to be held Jan. 12, has already garnered more than 800 registrants from around the world, organizers said.
The Newcomer’s Guide to Gardening takes place at the Collin College Conference Center, 2400 Community Ave., McKinney. The free learning event, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., will cover the fundamentals of successful, sustainable gardening, organizers said.
Presentations by Texas A&M AgriLife experts and others include an overview of North Texas soils, vegetable gardening, butterfly gardening, watering wisely, the Earth-Kind gardening method and a lecture on the “Top 100” plants for the region, said Martha Cavazos Fipps, an organizer of the event and environmental education coordinator with the City of McKinney.
The Newcomer’s Guide to Gardening is hosted by the City of McKinney with 15 public and private partners including Texas A&M AgriLife Research and the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.
“We have really assembled the most relevant topics, the best speakers, expanded marketing and a great venue for this class over the last three years,” Fipps said about the annual event.
She said registrant numbers have jumped from about 130 to more than 800 since 2016. Attendees originate from 40 states and 24 countries, including Argentina, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, India, Kenya, Philippines, Nigeria, Spain and Japan among others.
AgriLife speakers from Dallas and Collin County will provide instruction alongside public and private sector experts of horticulture and water resources at the event.
“It’s one of the most comprehensive beginner gardening courses out there,” said Daniel Cunningham, horticulturist with AgriLife’s Water University public outreach program in Dallas.
“You will get knowledge you can put into practice at home right away no matter where you come from in the world.”
Go to https://tinyurl.com/beginnergardening2019 for a list of all speakers and topics and to register for the free morning course.
