Friday May 2 - Sunday May 4, 2014
Introducing the first Secrets of the Season
Workshop:
Spring Care and Revelry in the Perennial Mixed Border
At the Bennerup Garden, Berlin, Connecticut
Even if a garden makes you happy just as it is, there are things
you can do in spring to make the whole season easier and the garden
more lush. The beds benefit from your attention in the spring and
repay you with reduced needs in summer. It's also a wonderful time
to rearrange or expand a perennial garden. This workshop is a hands
on chance to learn both basics and secrets of the season from pros
with a century of experience. (Two related sessions make it a whole
season of secrets. See July 18-20 and October 3-5.)
Cheryl
Bennerup of Sunny Border Nurseries in Berlin, Connecticut
invites you to
garden with her and friend Janet Macunovich in the 3 acre
Bennerup garden. You'll learn techniques and be able to practice
them in areas in sun and shade, mixed borders as well as annual,
vegetable and alpine beds, working with plants of newest vintage as
well as long heritage. (A quick tour of the
gardens...)
What we will we do and learn:
• cutting back,
• pruning,
• weeding,
• dividing,
• problem diagnosis and solutions,
• design*,
• and much more we cannot list here...
... because this is the real deal. You will be working right
alongside pros in one of the best gardens in the country, right
with us to make the plan and then flex as we must to address the
practicalities of nature.
*Those who love new plants -- us! -- will have special fun in
design, as one of the
objectives Sunny Border nursery Director Pierre Bennerup has set
for this garden is to display and trial the newest of the new
perennials.
Right: Pierre, his passion for and contributions to the
perennial garden were recently covered in American Gardener
magazine. Take a peek!
The Bennerups work together on their gardens: A dream, a
discussion, a delight to be around to see it happen!
The schedule
Friday welcome and warm-up (optional): 5:30 -
8:00 pm at the Bennerup garden. Refreshments, tour, meet the
instructors and other gardeners, and start formulating your best
questions and dreams for Saturday.
Saturday workshop
Strategy session, explanations and demonstrations,
9 - 10:30 am
Small group hands on activities,
10:30 am - 12:30 pm
Luncheon and discussion of tactical corrections,
12:30 - 1:30 pm
Small group activities, 1:30 - 3 pm
Wrap up review, questions and divvying of any "spoils", 3 - 4
pm
Sunday self guided tour of area horticultural
attractions
10 am - 4 pm, a fun and idea-ful tour of lovely, innovative
gardens small and large.
Right: Lunch is included. Can't beat enjoyable time with
friends over good food as a chance to learn even more about what
we've done.
To register
Friday welcome and warm-up: $40.00 Optional.
Saturday workshop: $175.00
Sunday self-guided tour: Free. Optional, but we must be notified
in advance if you will make the tour.
Registration does not include the cost of your travel to or
lodging in Berlin. Berlin is 30 minutes southwest of Hartford.
There are lovely, reasonably priced, places to stay nearby. A list
of accomodations will be provided with your registration
confirmation. Contact us if you would like the accomodations list
in advance.
Register now by sending an email with
• your name,
• mailing address,
• the number of people in your party,
• telephone number,
• any special dietary needs and
• whether you plan to attend the optional Friday and Sunday
sessions.
Email that to BerlinWorkshop@GardenAtoZ.com. Simple as that. We
will send you a bill!
What you should bring:
Tools. One of the best things about working with other gardeners
is the chance to see and try different tools. Some of the
instructors' hand tools will be available for trial and general use
but we strongly suggest you bring your favorite hand tools, such as
a spade, fork, trowel, pruning tools and weeder.
Gardening clothes, including a light rain jacket and warm jacket
or sweatshirt.
Rain can alter our activites, and in the case of an electrical
storm we take our work indoors, but we may be outdoors in a light
rain. Temperatures are generally cool to very comfortable in Berlin
in early May so plan to layer with a sweatshirt or jacket.
Right: We layer up because we love to be out there, the day
warms quickly and time that goes by cannot be replaced.
A quick tour of the Bennerup
gardens
Green greeting as you pull in.
Skirt the door, detour through the cool shade, peek toward
the pool, then go see what's ripe in the kitchen garden.
It's hard to stop and only peek in at the gate to the formal
garden, no matter the season. (Below: left, October; right,
May.)
In the spring the woods are full to bursting with
leopardsbane (Doronicum caucasicum, below, left) and other
beds are readying themselves for a later show.
It's a plant collectors' garden. Everywhere, plants you know
and many you don't, each in its niche.
This is a garden to enjoy and one with endless secrets to teach
us!