Washington County Weekend Post

It's the opposite of Christmas in July, Gone Gardening in December. We get to take a sneak peek at the first ever Ozaukee Mas- ter Gardeners Spring Sym- posium. I met with Erin Schanen, who is president of the Ozaukee Master Gar- deners to learn about the event. Organizing this sym- posium is a major accom- plishment, as she's landed very talented and well known speakers. Erin is the editor of both Sailing Mag- azine, and a gardening blog. She is also, of course, a devoted gardener. "I began gardening with my mother as a kid," she said. "When I got out of col- lege, I had a few plants on my balcony. After I was married, I filled our little porch with potted plants. Then when we bought a house, I really went nuts. Of our one and a third acres, I guess half is gardens. I just keep adding new ones, most recently a vegetable gar- den. As I move further away from the house, I have to devise more and more anti-deer strategies. My mother is an Ozaukee Mas- ter Gardener, and after going to meetings with her, I decided I wanted to become one as well." Erin has spent six years on the board of OMG, and enjoys the organizational work she does as president. Part of the mission of master gardeners is educa- tional, and they typically host meetings with topics of interest to gardeners presented by guest speak- ers. Erin feels that over time, OMG has drawn from the same group of experts with the same subject mat- ter often. "I go to a lot of events all over, and I began to work on the idea of bringing in renown guest speakers to a large event. I presented the idea to the board several years ago and I've been planning it two years. I wanted speakers people aren't able to see around here, with top notch subject matter." Her coup de grace was landing Fer- gus Garrett, the head gar- dener at Great Dixter in Northern England, as keynote speaker. He is one of the most famous garden- ers in the world. "This is a once in a lifetime opportu- nity to see him here," said Erin. "I knew he spoke in the United States, and I thought I had nothing to lose in calling to see if he would come here." Great Dixter was managed by Christopher Lloyd, who made the gardens there what they are today. "It was a famous English country home following all the tra- ditional gardening stan- dards," said Erin. "Christo- pher Lloyd turned those rules on their head. Fergus was hand picked by Lloyd, and worked with him many years. Lloyd wrote that Fer- gus challenged him." Once she had landed Garrett, the other speakers chosen by Erin were easier to get on board, as being on the bill of fare with him is prestigious. Nick McCul- lough is a landscape design- er named Young Profes- sional of the Year, and was the featured guest at the 2019 Philadelphia Flower Show. He will speak about implementing a garden design. Diane Ott Whealy is the co-founder of Seed Savers Exchange and a pio- neer in the heirloom seed movement. She will speak on gardening with heir- loom varieties of both veg- etables and flowers. The Spring Symposium will take place on February 29, 2020, at the Cedarburg Performing Arts Center. Doors will open at 8:30am and the first talk will begin at 9:15am. Whealy and McCullough will both speak in the morning. Then attendees will enjoy a box lunch catered by Saz's. That will be followed by a silent auction, which is a fund-raiser for the pro- jects of Ozaukee Master Gardeners. (Among those are a 4-H Hort project, a therapy garden at LaSata Care Center and the Wash- ington County community garden in West Bend.) "We will have some great bas- kets to bid on," said Erin. "The value of each one is at least $100." The keynote speaker, Fergus Garrett, will have the floor in the afternoon and the sympo- sium should wrap up about 3pm. "I expect some people to travel some dis- tance to be here," said Erin, "So we wanted to wrap up fairly early." Tickets are available now. They're $65 and include the lunch plus a loaded gift bag for each attendee. A limited num- ber of VIP tickets are still available at $100 and include a plated lunch with the speakers and a VIP gift bag. To order, go to the OMG website and click on the tickets link. Tickets are also available through the Cedarburg PAC website, but their link is harder to locate. Tickets can be mailed or held at will call. Go to h t t p s : / / w w w. o z a u k e e mastergardeners.org to learn more or order tick- ets. The web site of the Cedarburg Performing Arts Center is https:// www.cedarburgpac.com. Since this is the holiday edition of the Post and because her keynote speak- er is British, Erin chose this beverage recipe. She noted Pimm's Cup is a very popular English drink. This version is tweaked. 4A • WASHINGTON COUNTY POST • SUNDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2019 GMTODAY.COM treat yourself to the best in local dining & entertainment MAYER LAW OFFICE, LLC 262-338-1415 252319002 262-338-1415 120 N. Main St., Ste. 360 West Bend www.mayerlawllc.com Dependable Representation at Reasonable Rates Solving Legal Matters for over 25 Years Divorce • Child Support • Placement/Custody Criminal • OWI Offenses • Traffic/Citations FREE Consultations 263088039 A scene Great Dixter, one of the most visited gardens in the world. The keynote speaker at the Ozaukee Master Gardener Spring Symposium is Fergus Garrett. Nick McCullough and Diane Ott Whealy are featured speakers at the Symposium. A special holiday blend: In Good Taste and Gone Gardening together Holiday Pimm's Cup 2 oz. Pimm's liquor 1 oz. lemonade 1 oz. cranberry or pomegranate juice 2 oz. ginger beer Fresh lemon Rosemary sprigs for garnish Fill a tall glass half full of ice. Pour in the Pimm's, followed by the lemonade and cranberry or pome- granate juice. Top with ginger beer and a squeeze of lemon. Stir to combine and garnish with a sprig of rosemary. 262-334-9542 266208005 www.americanmprwi.com 935 Schoenhaar Dr. West Bend 7651 Otten Dr. Kewaskum ALUMINUM SCRAP COPPER BATTERIES CARDBOARD PAPER IRON BRASS STAINLESS STEEL OLD EXTENSION CORDS ETC. Hours: M-F 7am-4:45pm Sat 7am-11:45am 25¢/lb Aluminum Can Price

• Cover