ILLINOIS CENTRAL COLLEGE TO HOST 37TH ANNUAL LANDSCAPE AND GARDEN DAY SEPTEMBER 9

               Illinois Central College’s 37^th Annual Landscape and Garden Day offers a variety of special programs and activities specifically designed for families with young children as well as the usual favorites for local gardening enthusiasts. This year’s theme is “Reclaim, Reseed, Regrow: An Adventure in Urban Horticulture”. The free event is set for Sat., September 9, from 9 am to 3 pm, at ICC’s Horticulture Land Lab on the East Peoria Campus. Free parking is available.

               The event features topics and demonstrations of interest to gardeners of all ages and experience levels. The newest winners of the All-America Selection, which include the best and brightest new flowers and vegetables available for next year’s home gardens, will be showcased.

               There will be seminars, exhibits, tours, discussions, and a plant sale featuring hostas and other perennials and woody plants grown by students in the ICC Horticulture Program.

Local Master Gardeners will be on hand in the plant clinic to identify and diagnose. Visitors can enjoy displays by area garden clubs, nurseries, and landscapers as well as check out this year’s featured All-America Selections Winners in the display garden.

Golf enthusiasts can enjoy the ever-popular “Putt for Plants,” and taste-testing will be available at the vegetable garden. Art at the Bodega will provide material and instruction for participants to paint a beautiful botanical piece of artwork for $10.

The day’s seminars include:

9:30 – 10:15 am: “Working the Economic Blueprint” – Dwayne Harris, Urban Agriculture Educator for The gitm Foundation (Gifts in the Moment) – Dwayne works in the south village of Peoria in the development of the urban agriculture training programs. His desire is to bring a love for the foods we eat to the families of Peoria. As a current resident of the south side of Peoria himself, he understands the challenges that many families face and that there exists a strong need for new life in the community, including job opportunities, healthy food access, and greater pride in the environment. As a true entrepreneur, he started in 2014 a program called Working the Economic Blueprint, which brought nearly 2,000 lbs. of beans, flour, brown sugar, brown rice, and a number of other staple goods to the community. Come, and learn about the work he is doing, and be inspired to do more in your local community.

11 – 11:45 am: “Don’t Settle for the Drab and Mundane” – Randy Wall, Retired Professor of Horticulture at ICC – This presentation will provide a glimpse of a variety of uncommon and unusual plants that will inspire creativity and provide a landscape wthat will be the envy of the neighborhood. The plants discussed will expand your “plant palette” and have proven survivability for central Illinois. The Focus will be on deciduous trees and shrubs not commonly found in the local garden center but are available from a variety of online resources.

1 – 1:45 pm: “Overwintering Insect Homes” – Kelly Allsup, University of Illinois Extension Horticulturists – Did you know that, with minimal investment, you can open a hotel? Insect hotels offers places for beneficial insects and pollinators to survive winter’s chill and to nest in spring and summer. Gardeners will rejoice when these garden employees eat the bad guys and pollinate the flowers. Kelly Allsup will teach you how to build your own hotel out of recycled materials and what kinds of insects you may expect to check in.

Lunch will be available from the Ag Club. The Hort Club will sell popcorn, lemonade and ice water.

For more information, contact the ICC Horticulture Program at (309) 694-8872.