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Tablescapes Teaching Garden

Educational Seminars

Top horticulture experts and professionals from academia, business and garden centers are among the bevy of experts who will share insights at seminars held daily. Topics range from landscaping, annuals and perennials to planting techniques, organic gardening and much more.

Scroll past the the Photography Class information for a full 2012 Seminar schedule.

Masters Photography Classes with Allen Rokach

Daily Schedule:

Registration 8:15 - 9:00am
Morning session 9:00am - Noon
Lunch Break
Afternoon Session 1:30pm - 4:30pm

Introduction to Digital Flower Photography: Shoot It! Play with it! Enjoy It! (Sunday, March 11)

In this fun one-day workshop we will explore all the basics of digital photography to help you create stunning floral photos. We will spend the morning photographing at the Chicago Flower Show. Through demonstrations and hands-on practice you will hone your skills in 1) photographic seeing, 2) composition and 3) mastering the various settings on your digital camera to achieve the kind of image that will make you proud. We will spend the afternoon critiquing and editing the morning's shoot, and follow up by exploring after-capture techniques that can improve and enhance our images.

Who should attend: Amateurs and advanced amateurs

Creative Digital Flower Photography (Monday, March 12)

Today's digital cameras and imaging software are a photographer’s best friends, enabling us to create images that were impossible just a few years ago. This intensive one-day workshop will bring your work to the next level by showing you how to make the most of your digital camera and use after-capture techniques to express your personal aesthetic vision.

We will spend the morning photographing at the Chicago Flower Show. Through demonstrations and hands-on practice you will hone your skills in 1) close-up flower photography; 2) using a flash unit creatively; and 3) solving individual photographic problems in the field. We will spend the afternoon critiquing and editing the morning's shoot, and follow up by exploring advanced after-capture techniques that will show you the creative potential of your digital darkroom toolbox.

Who should attend: Advanced amateur photographers, artists and educators

Click here for more information.

To download the registration form click here. For questions, or to register over the phone, please contact Suzette at 312-595-5445.

2012 Seminar Schedule

	Saturday, March 10	Sunday, March 11	Monday, March 12	Tuesday, March 13	Wednesday, March 14	Thursday, March 15	Friday, March 16	Saturday, March 17	Sunday, March 18
Room A
11:00 AM	Dan Heims	Jennifer Davit	Mary Samios-Russell	Jennifer Brennan	Tim Johnson	Noel Valdes	Scott Jamieson	C. Adelman & Bernard L. Schwartz	Heather Sherwood
12:15 PM		Dan Heims	James Schmidt	Jessica Goehler	Craig Bermann	Edward S. Lyon	Steve Owens	Mike Cichorski	Carol Lerner
1:30 PM	John Gaydos	Debra Prinzing	Mary Samios-Russell	Jo Ellen Myers Sharp	Roy Diblik	Brian Houck	Tony Fulmer	Laura Gomez & Serena Joyner	Nancy Clifton
2:45 PM	Tim Pollak	Shawna Coronado	Beth Corrigan	Bill Shores	Beth Botts	Jeff Walk	Katrina Lewin	Carol Cichorski
6:15 PM	Dave Snyder		Mary McLaughlin	Rich Eyre	Beth Botts	Nancy Clifton		Mary McLaughlin
Room B
11:30 AM	Charlie Nardozzi	Kelly Norris	Colleen Plimpton	Doris Taylor	Jeff Lowenfels	Greg Stack	Jill Selinger	Lamanda Joy	John Eskandari
1:00 PM	Dianne Ott Whealy	Kelly Norris	Melinda Myers	Tim Gruner	Mary Mclaughlin	Mark Dwyer	Scott Mehaffey	Kris Bachtell	Cathy Maloney
2:30 PM	Mary Wingate	C.L. Fornari	Jane Snively	Rich Eyre	Sharon Yiesla	Donna Smith	Blayne Greiner	Kyle Lambert & Joannie Rocchi	Heather Prince & Mary Saba

Speaker List (Alphabetical by Last Name)

	Speaker Name	Seminar Topic(s)
	Charlotte Adelman & Bernard L. Schwartz The Midwestern Native Garden	There are beautiful native flowers and plants that look like the nonnative ornamentals we are familiar with but that will help prevent the monarch and other butterflies from becoming endangered or going extinct. Discover them with help from the authors of “Prairie Directory of North America” And “The Midwestern Native Garden: Native Alternatives for Nonnative Flowers and Plants, An Illustrated Guide.” (ohioswallow.com/book/TheMidwesternNativeGarden)
	Kris Bachtell What's Old is Now Again: Hydrangea for the Home Landscape	Sort out today's many new cultivars of this flowering shrub with help from Bachtell, who is responsible for horticulture and grounds at The Morton Arboretum and a plant hunter who travels to China in search of new plants. (mortonarb.org)
	Craig Bergmann The Art of Planting Design	Learn about putting a Midwestern, modern-day twist on the classic garden designs of Europe from the owner of Craig Bergmann Landscape Design, Inc and landscape architect of many North Shore gardens. (craigbergmann.com)
	Beth Botts I Thought You Were Sleeping: What Happens in the Garden in Winter (3/14 - 2:25PM) Start Here (3/14 - 6:15PM)	If you're new to gardening, Botts can help with basic ideas and first steps. She is a writer, speaker, garden coach, Master Gardener and Openlands TreeKeeper who gardens in the shade of a 4-story apartment building and on the 3rd-floor porch. (thegardenbeat.com)
	Jennifer Brennan Instant Gratification Spring Containers	Learn how to make marvelous seasonal pots from Brennan, manager of education and horticulture information at Chalet Landscape, Nursery and Garden Center in Wilmette. (chaletnursery.com)
	Carol Cichorski Low Maintenance Gardening	Cichorski has progressed from non-gardener to addicted gardener to garden club president to garden blogger. Enjoy her talk on how her half-acre garden is moving from summer "wow!" to four-season "wow!" with less work. (ohwhata.com)
	Mike Cichorski Dahlias - Living Fireworks	If you can grow tomatoes, you can grow brilliantly colored dinner-plate-sized dahlias that can flower until frost. Cichorski is vice president of the Central States Dahlia Society. (ohwhata.com)
	Nancy Clifton Shady Containers: Planters for the Dark Side (3/15 - 6:15PM and 3/18 - 1:30PM)	Even shady spots can be brightened by pots. Learn how from Clifton, a progam specialist and instructor for the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe who is features in WGN-TV's weekly "Botanic Backyard" segment. (chicagobotanic.org)
	Shawna Coronado How to Rescue Your Community Garden	The author of "Gardening Nude" offers advice on how to save money, enhance community and help feed the hungry during difficult economic times. (shawnacoronado.com)
	Beth Corrigan Landscaping Your Home for Energy Efficiency	Understand the impact of trees and shrub on your utility bills from the Community Trees Assistant at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle. (mortonarb.org)
	Jennifer Davit Sustainable Gardening Lessons for the Lurie	The director of the Lurie Garden in Chicago’s Millennium Park shows how you can make your perennial garden more "green" through proper plant selection, safe pest management and using the unconventional, but sustainable, maintenance techniques practiced at this groundbreaking public garden. (luriegarden.org)
	Roy Diblik Art, Health and Ecology. The Perennial Difference	Discover a thoughtful method of designing perennial gardens with contemporary style and attention to plant relationships and maintenance strategies and costs. Diblik is co-owner of Northwind Perennial Farm in Burlington, Wis., whose recent designs include the Louis Sullivan Arch Garden for the Modern Wing at the Art Institute of Chicago. (northwindperennialfarm.com)
	Mark Dwyer Decoratively Delicious	Go beyond the basics to use edible plants to create visual pleasing combinations for the garden and containers that feed your family as well. Dwyer is director of horticulture at Rotary Botanical Gardens in Janesville, Wis. (rotarybotanicalgardens.org)
	John Eskandari Sexy Plants for Urban Rooftops	Evergreens and dwarf trees and shrubs can add year-round interest to any size outdoor terrace/balcony with minimal care. Discover how to make it work from the manager of the Tree and Shrub Department at Gethsemane Garden Center in Chicago. Last year he created the Chicago Green Mission with the National Wildlife Federation. (http://www.gethsemanegardens.com/Chicago_Green_Mission_s/88.htm)
	Rich Eyre Shady Characters: Made for the Shade Inspirational Gardens (3/13 - 6:15PM A)	Deep shade? filtered shade? limited sun? Learn how to cope using trees, shrubs and perennials to weave a tapestry of colors from Eyre, a 45-year collector of dwarf conifers and founder of Rich’s Foxwillow Pines Nursery in Woodstock. (richsfoxwillowpines.com)
	C.L. Fornari Pruning: Be a Barber, Not a Butcher	Learn to create hort couture, not horrorculture, from an author, blogger, speaker and host of GardenLine on WXTK on Cape Cod. (WholeLifeGardening.com)
	Tony Fulmer 25 Perennials Off the Beaten Path	Discover perennials that can enliven and enrich your garden from the retail manager at Chalet Nursery in Wilmette, one of the Chicago area's major garden centers. (chaletnursery.com)
	John Gaydos The Art and Science of Plant Selection for the Proven Winners Program	John Gaydos is the director of promotion and product development for Proven Winners, an international cooperative of plant breeders and producers that produces many plants sold in garden centers. (provenwinners.com)
	Jessica Goehler Flowers in the Landscape--A Seasonal Approach	Learn to layer bulbs and perennials under flowering trees or in full sun next to flowering shrubs to keep blooms in the landscape throughout the growing season. Goehler is an assistant horticulturist at the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Lakeside Garden. (chicagobotanic.org)
	Laura Gomez & Serena Joyner Taming the Jungle	Professional gardeners Gomez and Joyner share tips on how to care for your garden from their 25 years of experience providing detailed garden care services for clients with urban and suburban properties. (serena.joyner@comcast.net)
	Blayne Greiner Gardening for Small Spaces	Learn how to produce a maximum of food in your organic garden from a minimum of space with trellising, crop selection, spacing and season extension. Greiner teaches for the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Windy City Harvest Program. (chicagobotanic.org)
	Tim Gruner Nature's Patterns and Rythms in Japanese Gardens	Gruner, head gardener at Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford, speaks about the connection between Japanese gardens and architecture. (andersongardens.org)
	Dan Heims Garden Gems (3/10 - 11:00AM) Container Crazy (3/11 - 12:15PM)	The president of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc., which has introduced 600 plants to horticulture, shows off some of the newest, most exciting perennials, tropicals and woodies he has seen on his worldwide travels. (terranovanurseries.com/gardeners)
	Brian Houck Zoo Gardens: Durable & Gorgeous Plants You Can Use	The director of horticulture for the Lincoln Park Zoo describes how the zoo's ornamental gardens feature durable and gorgeous plants that will work in your garden too. (lpzoo.org)
	Scott Jamieson Great Excavations: Tree-Friendly Home Improvement	Construction can be deadly for trees. Learn how to protect your trees when planning a new patio, deck or other construction project from Jamieson, the vice president of Bartlett Tree Experts. (bartlett.com)
	Tim Johnson Pruning Principles - Keeping Landscpe Plants Looking Their Best	Learn to keep landscape plants looking their best from the Director of Horticulture at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, who oversees 24 display gardens, plant health care and plant production. (chicagobotanic.org)
	Lamanda Joy Victory Gardens: Tradition and Future	Chicagoans organized in large numbers during World War II to grow food. Today, the Victory Garden tradition lives on. Learn about their history and The Peterson Garden Project – a revival Victory Garden in Chicago’s 40th Ward. (theyarden.com)
	Kyle Lambert & Joannie Rocchi A Shady Perennial Affair	Lambert, perennial and rose manager at The Growing Place in Naperville and Aurora, and Rocchi, retail perennial manager, discuss perennial ideas and solutions for shady gardens. (thegrowingplace.com)
	Carol Lerner Living With Insects in Your Organic Vegetable Garden	Organic gardening means rethinking the idea that bugs are bad. Lerner is the author of 17 books on natural history for young people and an instructor for Openlands’ Building Urban Gardens course. (scbwi-illinois.org/Lerner.html)
	Katrina Lewin The Perfect Cut: Throw Away Your Electric Trimmers and Prune Like a Pro	Most shrubs respond better to selective pruning that shearing. Learn how from Lewin, a horticulturist at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle. (mortonarb.org)
	Jeff Lowenfels Teaming with Microbes: You Can't be a Good Gardener without the Soil Food Web	Lowenfels is a Hall of Fame garden writer and author of “Teaming With Microbes: The Organic Gardener’s Guide to The Soil Food Web.” (timberpress.com/speakers/author?id=1262)
	Edward S. Lyon Stunning Plants for Dazzling Effects	Learn to create spectacular container plantings from unexpected combinations of plants in a talk by the director of the Allen Centennial Gardens at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. (spellboundgarden.com)
	Cathy Maloney A Century of Fashionable Flowers and Fruits	Heirloom garden trends shape your plants and patios today. Maloney, senior editor of Chicagoland Gardening magazine, is the author of “Chicago Gardens: The Early History,” “The Prairie Club of Chicago,” “The Gardener’s Cottage in Riverside, Illinois,” and the forthcoming “World’s Fair Gardens.” (gardenerscottageriverside.com)
	Mary McLaughlin Trees that Feed (3/12 6:15PM, 3/14 1:00PM, 3/17 6:15PM	Artist and activist McLaughlin describes how the Trees That Feed Foundation is developing new cultivars of food-producing breadfruit to help provide a year-round food supply for people in the Caribbean. (treesthatfeed.org)
	Scott MeHaffey Green Facades and Living Walls--The Latest Fashions	Growing gardens against walls is a coming trend. Learn all about it from Mehaffey, a landscape architect and vice president of Sage Botanic Media, a Chicago-based vertical garden system. He was formerly landscape coordinator for the City of Chicago and landscape architect for The Morton Arboretum. (sagebotanicmedia.com)
	Jo Ellen Myers Sharp Planes, Trains, and Are There Any Gardens Out There?	Discover amazing gardens to visit when on the road, based on the “Visitor’s Guide to American Gardens” by garden writer and speaker Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp. (hoosiergardener.com)
	Melinda Myers Low Maintenance, High-Impact Perennials	Explore perennial plant combinations and varieties that insure big-impact gardens with minimal care. Milwaukee gardening expert, author and TV and radio host Melinda Myers is "The Plant Doctor" for Birds & Blooms magazine. (melindamyers.com)
	Charlie Nardozzi Mangiare Bene: Vegetables with an Italian Flair	The writer of the e-newsletter "Edible Landscaping" speaks on how to source, grow and enjoy veggies from this old-world culture. Nardozzi is a radio and TV personality and author of “Vegetable Gardening for Dummies” and “The Ultimate Gardener” and contributed to “Vegetables from an Italian Garden.” (charlienardozzi.com)
	Kelly D. Norris Cultivating the Rainbow: Growing and Lowving Bearded Irises (3/11 - 11:30AM B) Chic Plants for Hip Gardeners (3/11 - 1:00PM B)	Norris manages Rainbow Iris Farm, a seven-acre Iowa nursery owned by his family, edits "Irises: The Bulletin of the American Iris Society" and has published two books. (kellydnorris.com)
	Dianne Ott Whealy Demystifying Heirloom Gardening	Learn about s from the co-founder of Seed Savers Exchange and proprietor of a cottage-style heritage garden. Whealy is the author of “Gathering: Memoir of a Seed Saver.” (chelseagreen.com/authors/diane_ott_whealy/)
	Steve Owens Fabulous Foliage	Create breathtaking garden and container displays by utilizing the brilliant and long-lasting foliage of both tender and hardy plants. Owens is the owner of Bustani Plant Farm, a unique nursery in Stillwater, Okla., and author of “Best Garden Plants for Oklahoma.” (bustaniplantfarm.com)
	Colleen Plimpton The Bins and Outs of Composting	Gardening columnist Plimpton explains what to compost, how to compost and what to do it in. It's an enthusiastic, informative talk geared to all gardeners interested in keeping Mother Earth green. (colleenplimpton.com)
	Tim Pollak Unusual and Underused Annuals	At the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, Pollak is responsible for all seasonal display annuals, containers, baskets and specialty plant displays, where he uses many of the plants he will describe. (chicagobotanic.org)
	Heather Prince & Mary Saba Garden Rooms: Creating Spaces to Escape, Entertain, and Enjoy	Learn how to make the most of your outdoor space from Prince and Saba of The Growing Place in Naperville. (thegrowingplace.com)
	Debra Prinzing The 50-Mile Bouquet: Local, Seasonable and Sustainable Flowers	Follow your flowers from field to vase with Prinzing, whose articles appear in the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and magazines. She is the author of five books, including “Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways” and "The 50-Mile Bouquet." (debraprinzing.com)
	Mary Samios-Russell Contrary Mary's 'Gotta-Haves'---Perennially Powerful Performers and Hellaciously Hot Hastas Got Heirlooms?! Contrary Mary's Tenaciously Terrific Tomatoes and Other Awesome Oldies (3/12 - 1:30PM A)	Mary Samios-Russell and her husband, Charlie, operate a plant addict's utopia in Minooka, 35 miles southwest of Chicago, with more than 550 varieties of hostas and many unusual perennials. (contrarymarysplants.com)
	James Schmidt Awesome Annuals	University of Illinois Extension horticulture specialist Schmidt welcomes you to the world of adventurous plants that add ba-da-bing to your garden. See the ones that are dependable workhorses, those with knockout foliage, and unassuming treasures.(urbanext.illinois.edu/annuals)
	Jill Selinger Bulbs for Beginners	Get ideas, inspiration and advice for bulbs in your landscape from the manager of continuing education at the Joseph Regenstein, Jr. School of the Chicago Botanic Garden. (chicagobotanic.org)
	Heather Sherwood Ornamental Classes: Not Your Ordinary Perennials	Learn about these dynamic, four-season perennials from Sherwood, a senior horticulturist in the English Walled Garden of the Chicago Botanic Garden. (chicagobotanic.org)
	BIll Shores Small-Space Gardening	Learn how to get year-round food, fertility and beauty from your urban space from Shores, manager of the Rick Bayless Organic Garden in Chicago and a consultant to other gardeners on growing food in the city. (shoresgardenconsulting.com)
	Donna Smith Local Gems: Landscaping with Native Trees & Shrubs	Discover how to use native woody plants in your garden from Smith, a display horticulturist and teacher at The Morton Arboretum. (mortonarb.org)
	Jane Snively Great Gardens Rockford: Six of the Prettiest Gardens You've Never Seen	Learn about six of the prettiest gardens you've never seen with the executive director of the 155-acre Klehm Arboretum & Botanic Garden in Rockford. The Rockford Area Great Gardens coalition includes Klehm as well as Anderson Japanese Garden, Nicholas Conservatory, the Midway Village Museum & Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum Heritage Gardens and LaPaloma Garden. (klehm.org)
	Dave Snyder Urban Veggie Growing	Snyder, a poet, gardener and director of the Rooftop Farm at Uncommon Ground restaurant who also helps manage Ginkgo Organic Gardens and the Chicago Rarities Orchard Project, will speak on . (davesnyder.org)
	Greg Stack The Shady Side of Gardening	Conquer the challenges of shade by discovering which plant varieties will make your shade garden a standout. Stack is a horticulture educator with the University of Illinois Extension. (urbanext.illinois.edu/hort)
	Doris Taylor Trees & Shrubs for the Landscape: Something for Every Season	Discover a wide range of plant choices from Taylor, who manages the Plant Clinic at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle. (mortonarb.org)
	Noel Valdes Open Raised Bed Gardening	Discover how to grow more food in less space using open (not boxed or containerized) raised beds. Valdes is the owner of Cobrahead Garden Tools as well as a longtime gardener and a proponent of small-scale food growing. (cobraheadllc.com)
	Jeff Walk Beckoning the Birds	Learn how to attract native birds to your yard from the director of science for The Nature Conservancy in Illinois and co-author of “Illinois Birds: A Century of Change.” (nature.org/illinois)
	Marty Wingate Landscaping for Privacy	Wingate, a writer and speaker about gardens and travel, discusses innovative ways to turn your outdoor space into a peaceful retreat. She has written four books, including “Landscaping for Privacy.” (martywingate.com)
	Sharon Yiesla Using Native Wildflowers: Bringing Nature Home	Learn about using native wildflowers in your garden from Yiesla, who worked for the University of Illinois Extension for 17 years before joining the Plant Clinic at The Morton Arboretum. (mortonarb.org)