CSU Twilight Garden Series Offers Three Summer Programs for Front Range Gardeners

Topics of interest to Front Range gardeners are the focus of the 2012 Twilight Garden Series, which will feature three informative presentations in Fort Collins in June.

Issues addressed include watering that’s both effective and conservation-minded; gardening in Colorado’s harsh conditions; and successfully growing fruit.

The series is offered annually by the Colorado State University Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture; CSU Extension; and the Gardens on Spring Creek, a community botanic garden run by the city of Fort Collins.

The Twilight Garden Series is an outreach effort that provides Front Range gardeners with research-based knowledge and strategies for success.

Each presentation will feature three guest speakers who are experts in their fields.

The Twilight Garden Series is open to the public. The presentations will be outdoors, rain or shine. Cost to attend is $5 per session, or $10 for all three sessions.

Each program will begin at 6:30 p.m., with on-site registration preceding at 6 p.m. Refreshments and door prizes will be provided.

For more information about the Twilight Garden Series, call (970) 491-7019 or visit www.hla.colostate.edu.

The following presentations are scheduled:

• June 12: Watering Wisdom
At the CSU Plant Environmental Research Center, 630 W. Lake St., Fort Collins
Talks included:
o Drip Irrigation – David Whiting, CSU Extension state coordinator for the Colorado Master Gardener Program and assistant professor in the CSU Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture
o Sprinkler Adjustment – Tony Koski, CSU Extension turfgrass specialist and professor in the CSU Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture
o Irrigation 101: How Much? How Often? – Eric Olson, city of Fort Collins water conservation coordinator

• June 19: Challenges of Gardening Along the Front Range
At the CSU Plant Environmental Research Center, 630 W. Lake St., Fort Collins
Talks included:
o Weather Patterns for the Colorado Front Range – Nolan Doesken, senior research associate in the CSU Department of Atmospheric Science
o Soil Amendments – Jean Reeder, Colorado master gardener and retired U.S. Department of Agriculture agricultural research service specialist
o Surefire Perennials – Jim Klett, CSU Extension landscape horticulture specialist and professor in the CSU Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture

• June 26: Fanciful Fruit
At the Gardens on Spring Creek, 2145 Centre Ave., Fort Collins
Talks included:
o Space-Saving Espaliers: Pruning Fruit Trees for Small Spaces – Tom Throgmorton, Throgmorton Plant Management
o Fruit Trees for the Front Range – Scott Swartzendruber, Fort Collins Nursery
o Big Doin’s with Small Fruit – Sue Oberle, On the Vine Urban Farm and CSA

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