HortiCULTURAL Landscapes Symposium features storytelling through public gardens – April 14
The Friends of Allen Centennial Garden present their third annual spring horticulture symposium, a full day of exceptional lectures by four leading industry experts in public gardens. This year focuses on the art and the science of storytelling through public gardens and will take place on April 14 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Mendota Room of the Dejope Residence Hall at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
There will be four distinguished speakers including Peter Hatch, Emeritus Director of Gardens and Grounds at Monticello, estate of Thomas Jefferson. Monticello’s 1,000-footlong terraced vegetable garden became an experimental laboratory, an Ellis Island of new and unusual vegetable novelties from around the globe. This garden resulted in a revolutionary cuisine in the kitchen at Monticello. Restored in 1984, the garden—and Thomas Jefferson’s legacy—continue to inspire the farm to table movement today.
“Peter is a dynamic speaker, bringing history to life through his horticultural stories. The legacy of Thomas Jefferson influences gardens to this day, including the popular farm-to-table movement,” says Ben Futa, Allen Centennial Garden Executive Director.
Other speakers are Shari Edleson (Penn State Arboretum), Ian Simpkins (Vizcaya) and Jeff Downing (Mt. Cuba Center). Each will tell a unique horticultural story from their garden with a focus on their own communities’ natural and cultural commonwealth.
“We are thrilled to welcome this stellar line-up of experts. Each understands the importance of recognizing and integrating the “culture” in horticulture, connecting people to plants and one another,” Futa says.
New this year, symposium participants have the opportunity to interact with the speakers through an evening at One Alumni Place, adjacent to Alumni Park on Friday, April 13 from 4 to 6 p.m. Hosted in partnership with the Wisconsin Alumni Association (WAA), participants will learn about the personal and professional evolution of each speaker. Tickets to this preview experience are free with purchase of a ticket to the main event on Saturday, April 14. Tickets to the preview must be claimed in advance; tickets are limited. Visit www.supportuw.org for more information on preview tickets.
Sponsors of the event include Avant Gardening and Lanscaping, Madison Area Master Gardeners, Madison Block and Stone, Purple Cow Organics, Madison Trust for Historic Preservation, Mendota Lake House and Lanscape Forms.
Tickets for the symposium go on sale January 15 to Friends of Allen Centennial Garden (FACG) members and January 21 for Madison Area Master Gardeners members. Tickets open to the general public on Feb. 1. Registration is $110 and will be accepted until March 27. Register here: horticulturalsymposium.eventbrite.com. FACG members and UW–Madison students receive a reduced rate.
For more information on the HortiCULTURAL Landscapes Symposium, contact Ben Futa, Executive Director of the Allen Centennial Garden at bfuta@wisc.edu.