Highlighting JCMGA Experts Presenting at Winter Dreams/Summer Gardens

Last month began our Garden Beet series of three articles on the instructors and their presentations for the upcoming Winter Dreams/Summer Gardens Symposium October 28-29 and November 4-5. This month, I am going to shine a spotlight on JCMGA’s own Master Gardener experts who will be presenting at the symposium. I’m including Rachel Werling in this group, because she was the instructor for my class in 2016 and we made her an “honorary” Master Gardener. Although you may have heard presentations by each of them in the past, these Master Gardeners are developing NEW lectures for this symposium. We have a deep and talented bench!

Speakers:

Rachel Werling                                                                                 

• Title of presentation: Wildflowers to Know
• Description of presentation: We will have a virtual tour through some of our lovely Southwest Oregon habitats and see native blossoms in their native habitats. We will give pointers on where to see wildflowers, tools for identification, and suggest places to find these species for sale for your own garden.
• Short bio: Rachel Werling runs the OSU Land Steward program and Klamath Siskiyou Ecoregion Course of the Oregon Master Naturalist Program. She is president of the Siskiyou Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Oregon.

 

 

Lynn Kunstman

 

• Title: Why Natives? – Seven Steps to Restoring Biodiversity in Your Yard
• Description: Planting native plants is crucial to ecosystem health and to preserving and protecting life on earth. Plant choice matters and choosing native plants helps to restore and ensure vital ecosystem services in our landscapes. Based on the work of Dr. Doug Tallamy, this presentation outlines seven steps you can take to create healthy, productive gardens and help save our disappearing pollinators and birds.
• Short Bio: Lynn is a Master Gardener living in Medford Oregon. She has lived in the

Rogue Valley since 1986. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Management and a

Master’s Degree of Science in Education. A retired middle school science and special

education teacher, Lynn’s students at Ashland Middle School established the butterfly

garden there. Her first project upon retiring and moving from Ashland to Medford was

to mulch out all the lawns on her property. Lynn’s entire front yard in Medford is now

given over to wildlife: planted with edible trees and shrubs, and pollinator plants. The

back yard is planted in fruit trees, berries and vegetables for the humans. She is an

enthusiastic advocate of gardens planted with wildlife, pollinators and butterflies in mind.

 

Robin McKenzie                                                                                 

• Title of Presentation: Planning and Growing a Living Landscape: Gardening for Biodiversity
• Description: Save time and money by planning before you plant! With the right knowledge about native and ornamental plants, timing, seasonality, and basic design principles, it’s easy to transform any space into a pollinator and bird paradise, regardless of size. You’ll walk away from this information-packed class with step-by-step planning techniques for creating a garden that supports native and migratory pollinators and birds, while offering a beautiful, soothing vista for you and your neighbors.
• Short Bio:Robin McKenzie is a landscape designer in Talent, Oregon. Rockbird Gardens specializes in transforming typical lawns into living landscapes using native and ornamental trees, shrubs, and perennials. As an avid birder, Robin values insects as critically important parts of the ecosystem and encourages students to embrace gardening that brings all facets of life into the neighborhood. Robin tends her own official Talent Pollinator Garden as well as a Certified Monarch Butterfly Way Station.

 

 

Sherri Morgan                                       

• Title: Lawn Gone
• Description: Many of us grew up with lawns and have always considered them a major part of our landscapes. But we live in Southern Oregon, which has a Mediterranean climate, with four-plus months of little to no rain. Currently, we are in the third year of a significant drought, with water restrictions increasingly likely. Lawns are thirsty and do little to provide food or shelter to our native insects and vertebrates. This class will show how to easily remove the lawn. Then, we will discuss replacing the lawn area with plants that preserve a sense of space, but which are more appropriate for our climate and support the ecosystems in which we live.
• Short Bio: Sherri is a Master Gardener and 15-year resident of Jackson County. She has taught in the Master Gardener Practicum program since 2009 and currently is the mentor of the Native Plants Garden at the Extension (SOREC) in Central Point. Sherri has certificates in landscape design and construction and over the past several years has focused on designs that feature plants native to our area.

 

 

Shirley Wentworth                                                                   

• Title: Incorporating Herbs into Your Life
• Description: A discussion of herbs used as flavorings, infusions, scents, nutrients and in cooking that can be grown in the Rogue Valley. Shirley will talk about growing selected herbs and how to use them.
• Bio: Shirley has been a Master Gardener since 2013. She is the Garden Education Mentor for the Herb Garden at Extension and was the organizer of the Herb Study Group.

 

 

John Kobal       

• Title: Year-Round Vegetable Gardening
• Description: Why not take advantage of gardening year-round? With a little planning, you too can reap the benefits and enjoyment of eating your own fresh produce. Change what you grow with the changing seasons. Start your winter garden before cool weather sets in. Know what crops to plant and when to expect harvests. Interplant crops to anticipate changes in weather. Have a greenhouse or a heat mat? Start your seeds early.
• Short Bio:   John has 30-plus years of gardening experience. He relocated to the Rogue Valley in 2014 and became a Master Gardener in 2015. John has an extensive orchard, an in-ground garden and 18 raised beds used for growing vegetables. He has three worm bins which compost most kitchen scraps. John is a garden lecturer for civic organizations, interfaces with several local school gardening programs, is a Practicum instructor in the Master Gardener Training Program and hosts the garden lecture series at the annual Master Gardener Spring Garden Fair.