37th Annual Landscape and Garden Day

37^th Annual Landscape and Garden Day

“Reclaim, Reseed, Regrow: An Adventure in Urban Horticulture”

Saturday, September 9, 2017

9 am to 3 pm

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ICC Horticulture Land Lab, East Peoria Campus

Free Parking and shuttle services from Lots A2 and B2
Handicapped Parking in Lot G

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.

·        Seminars and demonstrations

·        Winners of this year’s All-America Selections in display gardens

·        Displays by local nurseries, clubs and landscapers

·        Potager Garden

·        Pizza Garden

·        Kids-only area for playing in the dirt

·        Become a Plant Hero in the kids area and participate in a nature scavenger hunt

·        Putt for Plants for golf enthusiasts

·        Taste-testing in the vegetable garden

·        Plant sale by ICC Horticulture Program students

·        Plant clinic with local master gardeners

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.