May 6, 2021 - The Smith County Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Horticultural Education Committee will be hosting a spring landscape seminar Friday, May 28 from 9:00 AM - 12:00 noon at the Tyler Rose Garden Center. The program is $20 and will address dealing with dead or damaged plants from the recent Big Freeze as well as beautiful new and proven plants to replace them with.
The seminar will be followed by the formal dedication of the newly designated Tyler Botanical Garden, located in the south area of the Tyler Rose Garden.
Allen Owings, retired horticulturist emeritus with the LSU Ag Center will present, “Super Trees, Super Shrubs, and Super Flowers,” featuring a wide range of Louisiana Super Plants all terrific performers in the East Texas landscape. Greg Grant with Texas A&M AgriLife will present “Rising from the Ashes—What to Do with Your Landscape Plants After the Big Freeze.”
Owings is Professor Emeritus – Horticulture, LSU AgCenter. Dr. Owings provided statewide extension service programming for nursery growers, landscapers, and garden centers, retiring after 26 years of service. He now works with Bracy’s Nursery in Amite, La., and Clegg’s Nursery in Baton Rouge in the areas of education, outreach, social media and new plant production. Dr. Owings holds degrees in plant science from Southeastern Louisiana University and horticulture from LSU. His PhD in horticulture is from Mississippi State University. His many awards include the achievement and distinguished service award from the Louisiana and National Agricultural County Agents Associations. Dr. Owings has also been recognized for contributions to the multi-state efforts of the Texas A&M Earth-Kind program.
Grant, Smith County Horticulturist with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is author of six gardening books including Texas Home Landscaping, Heirloom Gardening in the South, The Rose Rustlers, and Texas Fruit and Vegetable Gardening. He has degrees in floriculture and horticulture, both from Texas A&M University and has also worked for Louisiana State University and Stephen F. Austin State University. Grant has introduced a number of successful plants to the nursery industry and was awarded the Lynn Lowery Memorial Award by the Native Plant Society of Texas for horticultural achievement in the field of Texas native plants.
Pre-registration is not required. The cost is $20 payable at the door by cash or checks only. The formal dedication of the Tyler Botanical Garden is free and open to the public and will take place immediately following the seminar at 12:15 pm at the entrance to the Shade Garden near the Heritage Rose Garden.
The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Horticulture Education Committee hosts tours, seminars, and workshops to promote Earth-Kind horticultural practices in Smith County. For more information contact 903-590-2980 or for more information on local educational programming, go to smith.agrilife.org.
