C. Colston Burrell Speaking in Tulsa and Oklahoma City

MARCH 1, Saturday, 3:00, Tulsa Garden Center, 2435 S. Peoria AveTopic of Burrell's talk: "Design Ideas and Plant Combinations for Winter Gardens"

MARCH 2, Sunday, 2:30, OKC Zoo Educational Building, 5101 Northeast 50 StreetTopic of Burrell's talk: "New and Underutilized Perennials"

Both talks are sponsored by the Oklahoma Horticultural Society (http://www.okhort.org), are free and open to the public. Books will be available for sale and book signing. Oklahomans are in for a treat. Noted naturalist, perennial expert and author C. Colston Burrell is speaking in Tulsa on March 1 and in Oklahoma City on March 2.

In a telephone interview, Burrell said he is looking forward to his first trip to Oklahoma.

"The topic of my talk in Tulsa is adding structure and beauty to your winter garden," Burrell said. "Winter's garden starts with the leaves changing colors and seed pods forming on flowering plants. It is a matter of looking, seeing, then finding interest and beauty in the subtle appeal of your garden's structure."

Burrell described his Tulsa talk as "an image heavy presentation" that will help gardeners create winter beauty through plant combinations. Some of the keys to planting for winter interest include: Structure, fragrance, privacy/intimacy, layering plants and repetition to create a unified feeling.

Teaching, writing and landscape architecture have been Burrell's lifetime work. In addition to writing 12 books, he teaches in the Department of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the University of Virginia, and lectures around the country on design, native plants, garden writing and ecology. Burrell's passion is using ecological solutions in residential and commercial landscaping schemes. He is an expert in designing plant combinations that use native plants.

"I like to give simple but effective ideas for perennial combinations that work for beginners as well as experienced gardeners," Burrell said.

Burrell's book, "Perennial Combinations: Stunning Combinations That Make Your Garden Look Fantastic Right from the Start" is consistently a top 10 seller at Amazon, the online bookseller.

"A new revision of Perennial Combinations is coming out later this month," Burrell said. "It is updated and has a new 30-page chapter on 'Bold Garden Accents.'"

Other books to his credit include: "Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Perennials," "Perennials for Today's Gardens," "Landscaping With Perennials," "Woodland Gardens," "Perennials," "The Natural Water Garden," "Ferns: Wild Things Make a Comeback in the Garden," "365 Down to Earth Gardening Hints and Tips," and "Intimate Gardens." His current writing project is "Butterfly Gardening with Native Plants."

Both "A Gardener's Encyclopedia of Wildflowers" and "Hellebores: A Comprehensive Guide" won the American Horticultural Society's Book Award. Judith Knott Tyler, co-owner of Pine Knott Farms (www.pineknotfarms.com and (434) 252-1990) in Virginia, collaborated with Burrell on writing, "Hellebores: A Comprehensive Guide." Released last year, the 300-page book about Christmas roses and Lenten roses will help homeowners select the right species for their shady garden spots.

While most of the book is how to succeed in growing and propagating Hellebores, a 60-page chapter is dedicated to the history of these winter blooming perennials. "Intimate Gardens" explains and illustrates how to use space, enclosure (walls, fences and trellises) and plants (hedges or large trees), to create a place for relaxing. For example, container plantings and tall plants such as hollyhock around the perimeter of a garden contribute the frame of the enclosure and add to the feeling of intimacy. Burrell's talk in Oklahoma City should be as interesting since the topic there is new and underutilized perennials. The focus of the talk will be how to use underrated garden treasures in a way that will give our gardens more interest and beauty all year.

Burrell was a founding member of the Virginia Native Plant Society and literally wrote the book on using native plants in your garden. Called "Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants", the book identifies and describes an invasive (think Honeysuckle or English Ivy) and suggests hardy American native plants for similar situations (Clematis, Peppervine or American Bittersweet in this example). In addition to books, Burrell is a regular contributor to "Horticulture", "Landscape Architecture", and "American Gardener" magazines.

Burrell was curator at the U.S. National Arboretum and the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Through his landscape design company, Native Landscape Design and Restoration, Burrell has worked to preserve prairie and wetland areas in parks and on corporate campuses, as well as designing residential gardens. On his ten-acre Blue Ridge Mountain home site in Free Union, VA, the gardens are being designed and planted with the best native plants available.

"I'm looking forward to seeing Oklahoma's Tallgrass Prairie Preserve and as many gardens as I can while I'm there," Burrell said.

Both talks are sponsored by the Oklahoma Horticultural Society (http://www.okhort.org), are free and open to the public. Books will be available for sale and book signing.
--------------------------------------------------------

IF YOU GO
MARCH 1, Saturday, 3:00, Tulsa Garden Center, 2435 S. Peoria AveTopic of Burrell's talk: "Design Ideas and Plant Combinations for Winter Gardens MARCH 2, Sunday, 2:30, OKC Zoo Educational Building, 5101 Northeast 50 StreetTopic of Burrell's talk: "New and Underutilized Perennials"

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Moldy Tulip Bulbs

Propagate Begonia Stem Cuttings in water - Cane-like Angel Wing Begonia

Create Nesting Areas for Birds and Wildlife