16 Jan 2016 2016 Arkansas Flower and Garden Show: Celebrating 25 years of gardening
by Jan Spann
The Arkansas Flower and Garden Show has been delighting attendees for years, and the 2016 show will be even bigger and better as it celebrates its silver anniversary.
For 25 years, we’ve learned about the latest gardening products and heard from state and national experts in various fields of horticulture and gardening.
This year’s show starts on Friday, Feb. 26, and runs through Sunday, Feb. 28, at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock. Drummer-turned-landscape architect Billy Goodnick brings his knowledge and humor to kick off the silver celebration at 10:30 a.m. Friday with the presentation “Crimes Against Horticulture: When Bad Taste Meets Power Tools.” He’ll have a second presentation at 1 p.m., “Design Like a Pro: Demystifying the Art of Garden Design.”
A new twist for this year’s celebration is a Garden Party from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday on the main floor. Captiva, an indie band from Kansas City will get this party started as local chefs cook up mini-demos for noshing. Also offered are drink specials to get your feet moving, a photo booth and lots more fun activities for adults and children (there may be a floral headband going home with you).
If you’re ready for more fun Friday evening, Goodnick will host a special guided “walkabout” of the show’s gardens, offering insights on design and answering questions from the group. “We all can have a garden that’s beautiful, serves their needs and treads lightly on the planet,” he said. “Sustainable landscape design is a serious subject, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun along the way.”
Goodnick has served more than two decades as the city landscape architect for Santa Barbara, Calif. He’s a columnist, award-winning blogger, author and in-demand speaker nationwide.
Arkansas Master Gardeners love to see Jane Gulley as a presenter because they know she is knowledgeable and humorous. She takes the stage at 11:45 a.m. Friday with “How to Build 5-Star Hotels in Your Backyard for Butterflies and Birds.” Gulley is a Pulaski County Master Gardener and serves as co-chair of the Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center native gardens. Gulley’s bald eagle conservation program became a nationwide model and led to her induction into the Arkansas Outdoor Hall of Fame.
Two other speakers for whom state Master Gardeners clamor are Arkansas’ First Lady of Gardening Janet Carson and Dr. Gerald Klingaman, professor emeritus of horticulture, University of Arkansas, and operations director for the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks at Fayetteville. You’ll find these two speakers on the Saturday seminar lineup.
Sunday offers two hands-on learning workshops for children. Starting at 11 and repeated hourly, Master Gardener and former science teacher Betty Baxter will focus on birds: why they migrate, how wings work, how they communicate and much more. During the 30-minute session, children will assemble a nesting bag, simple bird feeder and a suet cupcake from materials provided at the workshop.
On the half-hour starting at 11:30 and repeated every hour until 3:30, teacher and Master Gardener Debbie Howell will show children how to observe and learn about insects in gardens. Do they sleep? Why do some bugs die on their back? Can they hear? Most insects living around us are helpful contributors to our gardens, and kids will leave this session with activities to continue at home.
Many AFGS guests don’t realize that proceeds from the Arkansas Flower and Garden Show provide educational scholarships in horticulture-related fields to students in Arkansas colleges and universities as well as funds for the Greening of Arkansas Mini-Grant Program, which helps communities beautify areas within their borders.
AFGS partners include the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Extension Office and Arkansas Master Gardeners under the UA umbrella, Farm Bureau, the Arkansas Federation of Garden Clubs and the Arkansas Florists Association.
Show hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Show ticket options include single-day tickets at $10 and three-day passes at $15. Children ages 12 and younger get in free. Vendors include garden tools, equipment, plants and garden décor, as well as landscaping services and outdoor living experts. Learn more at argardenshow.org.
A Conway resident, Jan Spann has been gardening for 20-plus years and has been involved with the Faulkner County Master Gardeners for 11 years. She and her husband, Randy, have five children and eight grandchildren.
