From the Ground Up: Gear up for gardening at Winter Gardening Fair

Whether you are a seasoned gardener or just thinking about starting your first garden this growing season, there is an upcoming garden event that you won't want to miss. It's an annual event, and I attended my first Winter Gardening Fair four years ago in 2012. It's such a great day and a fantastic opportunity to learn about a wide variety of gardening topics, taught by both local Master Gardeners and professionals in the horticultural industry.

Four years later, I'm helping to coordinate the Winter Gardening Fair, and it's sure to have some workshops you'll find interesting and useful. Linn County Master Gardeners are holding the event March 5 at Coe College. Cost is $59. Keynote speaker Susie Vanderlip will talk to the entire group of attendees in Sinclair Auditorium. Vanderlip is a nature photographer, author of several books and a national butterfly expert. She'll talk about blending science and art in the garden.

There are more than 70 workshops that cover a wide range of topics such as uses of honey, composting basics and community supported agriculture (CSA). There are many speakers talking about topics ranging from common tree problems in Iowa, to ash tree alternatives, to seed starting at home to help you get a jump on the gardening season.

There are hands-on classes for creating fabric birdhouses or creating a bee house. Take a fairy garden workshops, and find out information about what it takes to create a successful butterfly garden. And don't forget indoor plants - there's a bonsai workshop as well as sessions to help with your indoor 'landscaping” problems. And it's all in the same day.

Other workshops will give you a chance to learn about straw bale gardening, home greenhouses, attracting birds to your backyard, and creating a pollinator environment in your home garden. There are sessions focusing just on plants and flowers - day lilies, roses, succulents and the new perennials for 2016.

Lunch is included at the Coe cafeteria, plus you can take time to talk to horticultural organizations and vendors who will have displays at the fair. Browse and chat with other gardeners, all looking forward to spring (just around the corner.)

You never know what you'll discover at the Winter Gardening Fair - come out and join us March 5, and see what you can find. For complete details about the fair and registration, visit here.

' For gardening questions, call the Linn County Extension Master Gardener Hortline at (319) 447-0647.