May 2010

While the spring weather is still unpredictable, we can all hope it will cooperate long enough for us to get out in the garden and get our hands dirty. If you need help, a little encouragement, or just a good reason to visit the gardens, we have plant sales coming up and classes where you'll learn different techniques and principles of planting. Don't let the cold, wet weather keep you down. Let's get the growing season started! Click here for a printable schedule of this year's classes and other events.


Annuals in the Landscape
By: Jerry L. Goodspeed
 
Annual flowers are amazing.  They bring instant color into any landscape and bloom from the time they are planted in May till the first hard freeze in the fall.  Lately a number of new and exciting annuals are finding their way into nurseries and garden centers.  No longer are we restricted to petunias and marigolds.  Now we plant cool annuals like purple heliotrope, pink lisianthus and red gomphrena.
 
Not only are there new annuals available, but they can be used in so many different ways in the landscapes.  Annuals are the easiest and best plants for hanging baskets, containers, spot color in a small bed, or in a mass planting that can be seen from space.  One question we are often asked is, "How do you design using annuals?"  In an effort to help answer this question, we are offering a class on the basics of designing with annuals and a workshop on creating hanging baskets.
 
The class is free to the public and will be offered Thursday, May 13, from noon to 1 p.m. at the Ogden Botanical Garden, and Saturday, May 15, from 11 a.m. to noon at the Utah Botanical Center.  The class will teach how to create a fantastic annual bed using the skeleton, tendon and flesh theories.  It will also explain design and color principles. 
 
The hanging basket workshops will be offered three different times on Thursday, May 13, at the Ogden Botanical Gardens and twice on Saturday, May 15, at the Utah Botanical Center.  The cost is $25 for members of the gardens and $35 for the public.  Each participant will learn the basics of creating a beautiful hanging basket and will take home their own creation.  Additional baskets will be $20 each. 
 
Not only are the classes educational but also really fun.  We hope to see you there.


Click here to register for a workshop near you!
Featured Photo by Kristy Clark

lgoos
Each month, we would like to feature a nature picture from you.  To submit your favorite outdoor photo, and for a chance to win a gift from the gardens, email it to ubc@usu.edu.
pruningUpcoming Events
Spring Celebration Evening of Discovery
"Friends of the Garden" Members Only
Plant Sale and Silent Auction
 
Come spend an evening at the Utah Botanical Center's newly opened Wetland Discovery Point and let us thank you for supporting the Gardens during the past year. As a member, you will have the opportunity to preview and purchase from a large selection of heirloom tomato and pepper starts, annuals and perennials.  The silent auction proceeds will go toward the future construction of new gardens for you to enjoy. Click here to become a member online or purchase your membership at the Spring Celebration Evening of Discovery.
 
When:            Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Time:              6-8 p.m.
Where:           Wetland Discovery Point
                        Utah Botanical Center
                        676 S. 50 W.
                        Kaysville, Utah               
 
Ogden Botanical Gardens Plant Sale
 
When:           Thursday, May 13, 2010
Time:             Noon-6 p.m.
Where:          Ogden Botanical Gardens
                       1750 Monroe Boulevard
                       Ogden, Utah
 
Utah Botanical Center Plant Sale
 
When:           Saturday, May 15, 2010
Time:             8 a.m.-2 p.m.
Where:          Utah Botanical Center Greenhouse
                       725 South Sego Lily Drive
                       Kaysville, Utah
 
 
Annual Bed Design
Dorinda Jones and Susie Jones, annual bed designers for the Ogden Botanical Gardens, will conduct a class on how to design a beautiful annual bed for your landscape.  You will learn how different annuals can produce different desired effects.  Their simple method will have you designing beautiful beds that will make your yard the envy of the neighborhood.  This class is free to the public and pre-registration is not required.
 
When:           Thursday, May 13, 2010
Time:             Noon-1 p.m.
Where:          Ogden Botanical Gardens
                       1750 Monroe Boulevard
                       Ogden, Utah
When:           Saturday, May 15, 2010
Time:             11a.m.-Noon
Where:          Utah Botanical Center Greenhouse
                       725 South Sego Lily Drive
                       Kaysville, Utah
 
Hanging Basket Workshop
Participants in the hanging baskets class will learn how to design, plant, and maintain hanging baskets and containers for their landscape. Participants will make and take home their own 14-inch hanging basket.  We will have a number of different colorful annuals to choose from and the best potting soil that can be found.  Fee for the class is $25 for Friends of the Garden members and $35 for the general public Click here to register. Participants will also be able to create additional baskets for $20 each.   
 
When:             Thursday, May 13, 2010
Time:               10-11:30 a.m., 1-2:30 p.m. or 6-7:30 p.m.
Where:            Ogden Botanical Gardens
                         1750 Monroe Boulevard
                         Ogden, Utah
When:             Saturday, May 15, 2010
Time:               9-10:30 a.m. or 12:30-2 p.m.
Where:            Utah Botanical Center Greenhouse
                         725 South Sego Lily Drive
                         Kaysville, Utah

Click Here for more classes!
Click here for Gardening Basics
Still need help with spring pruning?
Click here.
Quick Links

Contact Us
Utah Botanical Center
725 South Sego Lily Drive
Kaysville, UT  84037
phone: (801) 593-8969
ubc@usu.edu

Ogden Botanical Gardens
1750 Monroe Boulevard
Ogden, UT 84401
phone: (801) 399-8201
The "Friends of the Garden" Membership Program helps ensure that your gardens keep growing. Your support helps as we develop more demonstration gardens and green space for our future. Click here for more information on becoming a member. 


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