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Show $ V I k ' I U B n D r " ' n . ,- J.lj,l7 )' - f :..?v;. ;V,I....; :,,vv''... , , WM imJm SU :!- . H ' A-'- f mtfmiMn ii f'i 1 Debbie Amundsen (left) stands behind U one of the dozens of annual flower beds D at the Utah State University Botanical I Gardens. The gardeners plant a variety I of flowers as tests for seed companies. I How ii p prdin grow? i Labor Day weekend open house 1 C By SUSIE DAVIS Located in Farmington just off Highway 89 is the Utah State University Uni-versity Botanical Gardens. Displayed there are hundreds of ornamental ornamen-tal flowers, plants and shrubs for the public to see. This weekend, on I Saturday, Sept. 1 , these flowers and beds will be showcased from 9 a,m. until 3 p.m. USU master gardeners, garden volunteers and staff will be available to answer any questions. To be a master gardener, one must take three years of the master I gardening class taught at the greenhouse complex from January to April, pass the test and graduate. Each year those in the class are asked ask-ed to volunteer 40 hours. These volunteers have helped groom the gardens for the open house. At the open house, there will be lectures, activities and displays for the public. At 1 1 a.m. Dr. Sherm Thomson, plant pathologist, will lecture on "Common Disease Problems in the Home Landscape." Anyone having questions about any of their plants should bring a sample to Dr. Thomson, who will be at the open house all day. He will try to help the public with specific questions on plant disease. Visitors to the gardens can also bring weed samples, since there will be a weed display too. At 12:30 there will be a bonsai demonstration by the Utah Bonsai Society. At 2 p.m., Dr. Larry Rupp will tell about "Xeriscaping--Landscaping with Water Conservation." A USU master canner will be available to answer questions on food preservation. The Utah Bonsai Society will have a display as well as the Utah Rose Society. Davis County 4-H Youth Ambassadors Ambas-sadors will be represented also. Shawn Olson will be stationed at his vegetable demonstration garden showcasing various gardening methods. Again this year will be melon tasting, guided tours, a slide program pro-gram in the greenhouse complex, a weed identification display. Dried flower arrangements, potpourri, herb vinegar and T-shirts will also be on sale. KALL and KSL will broadcast their garden shows live from the ..gardens. The Utah State University Horticulture Research Farm has been evolving since 1954 and probably will never stop changing. The garden provides a unique setting for research and information dispersement to the public through the Davis County Home Garden Extension Office located on the grounds. Displayed here too are the many plant specimens that do well in our area. Pamphlets are offered at a nominal fee, a newsletter is available at request, questions are answered free by horticulturists. Aside from the educational aspects of the gardens and the extension exten-sion office, the grounds are beautifully kept. Arranged in attractive beds, ornamental plants and shrubs are labeled for the public, and tours are available all year round, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The greenhouse complex is also available to show how to grow plants and flowers in a greenhouse in the winter. At the garden, hundreds of varieties of flowers and plants are featured. In the rose garden there are ten rows of 11 different varieties in each row. Visitors can examine over 200 varieties of roses alone. There is a perennial garden featuring plants which come up each year. The annual garden is planted differently each year and set with a backdrop of mature shrubs and trees. There are marigolds, different varieties of petunias, snap dragons and many other annuals featured. All annuals are grown from seed in the greenhouses at the gardens. Many are started as early as January. Much of the work in the greenhouses is done by volunteers from the master gardening program. pro-gram. A wonderful herb garden is being featured this year. Many varieties of herbs are being grown interspersed with pretty ornamentals ornamen-tals such as lobelia and salvia. A master gardener, Gerri Spesert was See GARDENS on page B-2 Donna Rigby, (below) and Marjean Ellington, (right) are both Master Gardeners that enjoy working at the gardens. These fourth grade students from Knowlton Elementary (middle) are just one of the many groups tour guide Susan Murphy has taught. i live from the v Farm has been ging. nd information Nl Home Garden I : is available at 1 1 l) nd shrubs are Ij jljt louse complex f& l and plants are Cil ff X) varieties of jfLsfiwn&T 1 come up each vffl f 1 1 my j ar and set with (ii J- 1 W at the gardens. ""''""'"''X Jhi retry omamen- ft '1 k I s s if ' sfi ' s; J I i I . . . ,v ' AP K : I x: - 1 V-- x?.' Kv h Wa mi HBHiH 1 "-- jl i . .V '-, A?A: t - L L - Gardens Continued from Page B-1 hired part time to create this wonderful herb garden. Spesert has chosen to plant many varieties of herbs. And each herb has several types represented. There are basil, lavendar, dill, chives and many more. They were also grown from seed in the hothouse. Represented are culinary herbs for cooking, medicinal herbs and fragrant herbs, used for potpourris and fragrances. To be seen also are the native garden, the daylily collection, and the shady garden with many new varieties of fibrous and tuberous begonias being tried this year by Debbie Amundsen, assistant horticulturist. hor-ticulturist. There is the vegetable garden, and an island bed including All American Selection flowers which is a designation seen on plants and seed packets indicating plants that grow well in America. Bill Varga, director of the gardens and teacher at Utah State University, Uni-versity, oversees the horticultural garden. This is the 13th open house in which he has been involved. He spends 50 percent of his time with Utah State and 50 percent with this research garden. Amundsen, a transplant from Illinois, has been in Utah 11 years and at the gardens four years. She effectively runs these gardens, juggling the master gardening program, keeping the trail gardens going, go-ing, the greenhouses producing what they need, providing tours and making sure people are helped with their horticultural problems, and overseeing the planting and maintenance of the gardens. So if you want to see a new type of low growing yarrow in pastel colors, an ornamental pepper plant with tiny waxy peppers, the new shady garden, the large variety of vinca or taste a delicious crimson sweet watermelon, drive to the botanical gardens and take advantage of the Labor Day weekend open house, to be held Saturday, Sept. 1. The open house will not be held on Labor Day; it will be held Saturday Sat-urday only. And it's free! So come and enjoy. |
