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List of program schedule during our 2019-2020 season:
March 16, 2020 – Cancelled
Vinnie Simeone, Great Gardens of the World
Since 1998 I have had the pleasure to travel to some of the most breathtaking gardens in the world. The countries visited include Canada, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. This lecture provides detailed information on a wide variety of unusual and exotic species of plants, picturesque views of natural and cultivated areas and helpful information on garden design and popular trends. Come along with me for a train ride through the Canadian Rockies, a hiking trip into the wild bush of New Zealand, a whale-watching expedition to Cape Town and a visit a 15th-century abbey in jolly old England. Don’t miss this unique and inspiring journey around the globe!
BIO:
Vincent has worked in the horticultural field for over 27 years. He received an AAS degree in ornamental horticulture from SUNY Farmingdale, Farmingdale, New York and a BS in ornamental horticulture from the University of Georgia, Athens, GA. While at Georgia, Vincent studied under well-known professors Dr. Michael Dirr and Dr. Allan Armitage. Vincent also obtained a Masters Degree in Public Administration from C.W. Post- Long Island University in 2003. Vincent has specialized expertise in woody plant id, culture, use and selection of superior varieties. Vincent is an experienced lecturer, instructor and horticultural consultant. He has spoken to many groups nationwide and has appeared on several garden shows including Martha Stewart Living and HGTV. Annually Vincent presents an average of 50 horticultural lectures, workshops and tours to garden clubs, plant societies, professional landscape, nursery and arboricultural trade associations and academic institutions. Topics range from plant, identification, woody plant selection and use, historic landscape preservation and general plant maintenance and care. Vincent teaches horticulture classes at New York Botanical Garden. Over the last fifteen years, Vincent has assisted Allan Armitage with garden tours through Southern England, Northern France, Southern Germany, Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Vincent is very active in local and national organizations including The American Public Garden Association, New York Hortus Club, New York State Arborist, ISA Chapter, Long Island Arboricultural Assoc., Long Island Holly Society, American Rhododendron Society-New York Chapter, Nassau Suffolk Landscape Gardeners Assoc., and the Long Island Nursery and Landscape Assoc. Vincent serves on several committees including the Gold Medal Plant Award Committee and the LINLA Landscape Awards Committee and is the former chairman of the APGA Plant Collections Committee. For the past 23 years, Vincent has worked in public horticulture at Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park in New York where he is the Director. At Planting Fields Vincent has helped to coordinate several large horticultural and educational symposia and special events including several national flower shows and conventions, landscape preservation conferences, tree conferences and conferences to promote new garden trends in the field of horticulture. He has written and contributed to various gardening articles for magazines and newspapers including the Long Island based newspaper, Newsday. Since 2005 he has published five books: Grow More With Less: Sustainable Garden Methods, Great Flowering Landscape Shrubs, Great Flowering Landscape Trees, Great Landscape Evergreens and The Wonders of the Winter Landscape. In 2010 Vincent contributed to a first-ever textbook on public garden management. Also in 2010, Vincent was named Man of the Year by the Long Island Nursery and Landscape Association. In 2014 Vincent was awarded the centurion award by Farmingdale State College as the top 100 alumni over the past century. In 2015, he was awarded the distinguished arborists award from the NYS Arborists-ISA chapter and he will have his 6th book published, Gardeners Guide to New York and New Jersey.
February 17, 2020
Brad Miller, Care of Bonsai
This program will focus on the basics of bonsai and how to use nursery stock that you may find anywhere and turn it into a bonsai. This is the most cost-effective way to create more mature bonsai for the best price.
Topics Covered:
Plant selection (best types suited and what to look for. Indoor vs outdoor)
Pruning ( differences between conifers and broadleaf)
Wiring ( types and uses)
Container selection
Soils
Watering and light
Bio: I grew up in Rock Hill SC where I developed my life of nature romping through the woods with my dog looking for snakes and turtles. I got my BS In Biology from Winthrop University. My focus of study was Animal Behavior, Evolution, Anthropology and Geology. Towards the end of my studies I came to realize how integral Botany is to all of life. A ceramics class elective lead me to make my first bonsai pot. I always loved cooking and my ex-wife is a chef. It was difficult to find a job after September 11th so I worked in restaurants and had the chance to help on a client’s organic estate. The fire was lit! I dove into the horticultural world. I got my master gardener certification and began work for Anderson’s Red Barn Nursery. In 2005 I started work at Campbell’s Greenhouses in Charlotte. Every year I planted many seeds and a large seasonal market garden for local chefs. Many failures and many successes. I enjoyed my 14 years at Campbell’s being the tree, shrub, perennial and bonsai specialist. Meeting and serving many of you. In May 2019 I started my own adventure Wulfenmoor Creative Horticulture. Combining my passion for the natural world I hope to educate and provide specialized products and services as a “Freelance Horticulturalist”. I am currently working for local farms Piedmont Iris Farm and Queen Hemp Company as well as catering to my clients and developing my land for the future.
January 27, 2020
Tom Hanchett: From Independence to Myers Park: How John Nolen shaped Charlotte’s landscape
In 1905 a young student in the fledgling field of landscape architecture ducked out of his final exams at Harvard to take a train south to Charlotte. “First important landscape work” he wrote in his diary. That initial commission to design the city’s first public park, Independence Park, led John Nolen to create the Myers Park neighborhood — and nearly 400 other projects nationwide.
Historian Dr. Tom Hanchett came to Charlotte in 1981 to research Myers Park and other older neighborhoods for the Historic Landmarks Commission. He wrote the nomination of the neighborhood to the National Register of Historic Places and recently has produced an extensive history of Independence Park for Mecklenburg Park & Recreation. Recently retired from the Levine Museum of the New South, Tom is now Historian-in-Residence with the public library.
December 2, 2019
Get Set For A Jolly Good Time – A favorite holiday tradition with some new twists and a 93rd Anniversary!
9 am – 12 noon – Help set up the Mint Museum Randolph Lobby for the holidays. Come anytime. Light refreshments served.
9 am – 12 noon – Holiday Fresh Wreath Making Workshop (Ivey Room) with Christina Nail, CGC member and owner of Darling Dogwood Events and Floral – SOLD OUT.
6 pm – 7 pm – Enjoy a glass of wine or cider as you enjoy the holiday decorations and shop the UMAR Holiday Pop-Up Shop! Support this non-profit which guides artists with developmental disabilities to discover their talents with paintings, floral designs, topiaries, and other artistic delights. 100% of the proceeds will go to UMAR. (Heritage Gallery and Ivey Room).
7 pm – 8:30 pm – Join a Charlotte Garden Club friend, supporter, and simply talented floral designer, Jeff Drum, show how to make holiday centerpieces and arrangements by Bringing the Outside In. Watch Jeff work his magic. There will be several arrangements available for sale. (Van Every Auditorium)
November 18, 2019
Jay Sifford, My Garden, My Teacher
The first part is a photographic tour of my garden and the reasoning behind it. The second part deals with both the design lessons and the life lessons that my garden has taught me.
A good garden is a metaphor for life and, if we listen, can affect the direction and the quality of our lives. I do tend to approach garden design from these perspectives: art, philosophy, psychology, spirituality, story-telling, magic and horticulture.
BIO: Jay Sifford is a garden designer based in Charlotte, NC. He describes himself as an artist, a magician, a story-teller and a horticulturist. He believes that everyone can have a great garden and that a great garden is much more than just a collection of plants. Jay uses philosophical, psychological and spiritual principles to design magical and immersive gardens that create a perfect retreat for reflection and regeneration.
Jay wrote weekly articles for Houzz for three years. His work has been published in Southern Living, Country Gardens, Fine Gardening, and Garden Design. Jay’s personal garden will be featured in an upcoming book by Karen Chapman called “Deer-Resistant Design”.
October 21, 2019
Bradley Roberts, Conifers of the Southeast
Bio: Bradley earned an Associate’s Degree in Ornamental Horticulture from Horry-Georgetown Technical College in 2008. After serving his internship at Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, Bradley went on to become the Director of Horticulture at Lockerly Arboretum in Milledgeville, Georgia. He has also worked on the horticulture staff at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, and Moore Farms Botanical Garden in Lake City, South Carolina, before returning to Brookgreen Gardens. Bradley currently works at the Norfolk Botanical Garden as the Curator of Herbaceous Plants. A native of Horry County, South Carolina, Bradley has an affinity for southeastern natives and is an avid conifer enthusiast who has served as the Vice President and President of the Southeast Region of the American Conifer Society.
September 16, 2019
Steve Bender a.k.a Southern Living Magazine’s The Grumpy Gardener!
Steve Bender is Senior Writer at Southern Living and has been with the magazine since 1983. In addition to producing, writing, and editing gardening articles geared to a beginning gardener audience of more than 2.5 million subscribers, he edited The New Southern Living Garden Book, The Southern Living Landscape Book, and The Southern Living Garden Problem Solver, and co-authored the award-winning Pass-along Plants. Steve also writes regularly for his blog, “The Grumpy Gardener” (1.6 million-page views per year), the Grumpy Gardener Facebook page (13,000 likes), and SouthernLiving.com (12 million views/month). He has won many Quill & Trowel awards from the Garden Writers of America and in 2005 was presented the Horticultural Communication Award by the American Horticultural Society. He holds a B.A. in History form Washington College in Chestertown, MD and a Certificate in Ornamental Horticulture from the Institute of Applied Agriculture at the University of Maryland.
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