HOLLIDAYSBURG -?Gardening enthusiasts are invited to attend a series of gardening classes held in cooperation with Hollidaysburg Borough and Penn State Cooperative Extension.
Tom Ford, Blair County Extension director, teaches the classes.
The series of classes are free and open to the public. In return, participants are asked to volunteer 18 hours at the Discovery Garden throughout the growing season from May to October.
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Courtesy photo
Tom Ford instructs participants during last year’s garden series at the Discovery Garden at Legion?Park, Hollidaysburg.
Participants will receive a certificate of completion.
After the classes are over, the volunteer work days are scheduled on Thursday mornings throughout the growing season.
A minimum of three to four volunteer hours per month from May through October will be expected. This is only one morning a month.
Volunteer assignments include spring cleanup, planting, weeding, deadheading, guiding garden tours and helping with special events.
Other opportunities are available for volunteers interested in providing educational activities for Hollidaysburg Area School District students, individuals participating in the horticultural therapy program of Skills and other community groups.
Class topics will include:
Session I: Plant Health Care Begins with Soil Quality. Ford will discuss how gardeners can improve soil fertility through the use of cover crop, compost, and organic fertilizers.
Session II: Plant Health Care Starts with Plant Selection, Planting, and Maintenance. Ford will discuss how to expertly select, plant, and maintain landscape plants.
Session III: Plant Health Care: Using Integrated Pest Management Techniques in Landscape Settings. Ford will discuss how to apply IPM practices/techniques in your garden and landscape.
Session IV: Plant Health Care: Application of Horticultural Best Management Practices in Landscape Settings. Ford will demonstrate how gardeners can employ best management practices through hands-on activities at the Discovery Garden in Hollidaysburg.
Each session will be held in a classroom setting, except for the last one, which will be held at Discovery Garden in Legion Park for hands-on gardening experience. This intensive, limited-enrollment program will be held from 9 a.m. to noon April 7, 14 and 21 at the Hollidaysburg Borough Building and 9 a.m. to noon at the Discovery Garden.
Discovery Garden was built as a memorial to Courtney Claton, a Hollidaysburg resident. It is a project of the Skills Foundation. Being handicap accessible, people of all backgrounds and ages can visit the garden for beauty, horticulture, solitude, discovery and inspiration.
To register for classes or for more information, call Patti Duron at the Hollidaysburg Borough Office at 695-7543, ext. 308.
The registration deadline is April 1.
