International MG Conference

"Celebrate Gardening in the Ohio River Valley"
2003 IMG Conference

Over 950 MGs assembled in the Cincinnati, OH/Northern Kentucky area June 18-21, 2003 for the 2003 IMG Conference. This great conference offered a multitude of opportunities to interact with other MGs and attend numerous horticultural seminars, workshops, field trips and special events.

The conference began with a flurry of introductions and official welcomes, including reading of proclamations from both the states of Ohio and Kentucky, declaring this MG week. The first keynote speaker was Holly Shimizu, Executive Director of the US Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. and one of the hosts for the TV program The Victory Garden. She shared the history of our national Botanic Garden and the very complex, 4-year, $33.5 million renovations to the Conservatory on the Library Mall and the continuing evolution of the gardens. The stage was set by George Washington who had a garden planted in the swampy ground just below the Capitol, to show the public what plants could be grown. The Garden languished for many years due to lack of funding, but finally received official sanction by Congress in 1820, and really began in earnest in 1842 with the addition of numerous plants from around the world collected by Lieutenant Charles Wilkes over the course of a 4-year expedition. Some of these original plants (such as the sago palms from India and a pitcher plant from Oregon) are still living in the collection! Before the recent renovation, the plants were a hodgepodge of accessions with little or no labeling. Everything had to be identified and the important plants were shipped to Florida, where they were grown for 10 years until the Conservatory was ready for them again. It took a long time, but eventually the curved dome on top was replaced and many of the historic architectural elements — such as the elaborate pools and fountains — were restored. The main work and expense was in creating and installing the state-of-the-art environmental controls underground so they don't interfere with the aesthetics. The various plant collections were redesigned to incorporate more educational and ecosystem aspects, as well as beauty. Before and after photos illustrated the dramatic changes. The collections now include many interesting and rare plants, many supplied by the Smithsonian's research scientists. A catwalk in the dome will allow visitors to see the interactions of the plants and animals (including released tree frogs and chameleons) in the treetops. The jungle room represents a former plantation, now abandoned, with the ruins being taken over again by the plants. Layers of plants, filtered light and vines on the original steel support beams combine to create the feeling of lush jungle growth. The grand re-opening of the Conservatory was delayed when the building was commandeered to become a temporary command center during the Capitol Hill anthrax scare for 3 or 4 weeks (because it was the only building on the Library Mall that hadn't received mail). The current outdoor container show focuses on heirloom plants. Many changing exhibits focus on current topics, with recent shows on genetically modified plants and "industrial strength plants" (used for environmental clean-up), and "political plants" (such as a Strelitzia 'Mandela's Gold' given ceremoniously from South Africa to the US). There are also many outdoor gardens that encompass many different types of plants and ecosystems from the primeval garden (with no flowering plants, planted with just ferns, cycads, mosses, etc.) to the native plant garden which is a certified Backyard Habitat. The Gardens are still evolving, with several additional features planned, including a Children's Garden. The goal of all of the parts of the US Botanic Garden in to make visitors appreciate plants for not only their beauty, but also their cultural, medicinal, economic or therapeutic value.

Then it was time to break into groups for the first of 11 concurrent educational sessions over the three days. There was a great variety of topics among the over 70 learning sessions and workshops. It was hard to choose from all the offerings (and not many were repeated). Just a few of the many possibilities included Bees—Your Partners in the Garden; Growing Wild: Using Native Plants in the Landscape; The 20 Questions of Plant Problem Diagnosis (a 3-part diagnostics series); Introduction to the National Junior MG Program; Using Theme Gardens as Educational Tools; Get More From Your Garden; Developing a Youth Farmer’s Market Program; Color in the Mixed Garden; Habitat Gardens: Bringing People and Nature Together; Cultivating Beauty with Perennials and Grasses; Ecolandscape Design; Retaining MG Volunteers; Basic Pruning Concepts; Hot Perennials — What’s New for 2003?; Organic Gardening; The New Classes of Pesticides; Tough, Low-Maintenance Annuals; and so much more!

• In the session on Landscaping: A Sense of Place, A Sense of Person, we heard about landscape design principles incorporating native plants (or improved cultivars of those species) and culturally, historically or socially significant local aspects, as well as special accessories, to develop a garden that reflects our own personal style (and maybe personality). It's the exceptional that makes people say "wow!"
• Holly Shimizu spoke again in the Herbs in the Landscape session, discussing how herbs can be incorporated in the border, used in traditional herb gardens, or kitchen gardens. Almost all of these plants need well-drained soil in full sun. Mulching may be the kiss of death for these plants, promoting root rots. She suggested adding chicken grit to the area where herbs are planted to help improve drainage and aeration. Her beautiful pictures illustrated an extensive list of some of the best species and cultivars for use with ornamentals, and made me want to go home and plant more herbs.
• You might be just as surprised as I was to find out in the Heirloom Ornamental Plants for 21st Century Gardens session that silver maple is an heirloom ornamental! This was just one of many trees, shrubs, vines, annuals, perennials and bulbs that were commonly listed in nursery catalogs or advertisements from 1640 to the turn of the last century.

That evening we boarded buses for an exclusive event at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. Following our "jungle buffet" in the safari camp (thankfully the rain had moved through before we arrived), we had a few hours to walk through the grounds and see the beautiful gardens.

The Greater Cincinnati MGs have several demonstration gardens there, and many were on hand to answer questions. They had spent considerable time putting up signs and figuring out the identity of unmarked plants before we arrived.

The oakleaf hydrangeas were putting on a spectacular show as we wandered among the specialty gardens including a pollinator garden, butterfly garden, "Great New Plants" (a showcase trial bed maintained by MGs with some of the hot new annuals on the market), dinosaur garden and several other themed gardens.

The next day after the Search for Excellence Awards were presented, we enjoyed the second keynote speaker, Tracy DiSabato-Aust, a nationally known lecturer and author of The Well-Tended Perennial Garden, as she gave a dynamic and enthusiastic talk on mixed garden design (based on her new book). Tracy will be featured at the 2004 WIMGA conference in Racine-Kenosha, so you won’t want to miss it!

At the conference luncheon on Friday, Ohio State University geological sciences professor Dr. Lonnie Thompson filled us in on his interesting (but depressing) research on global warming. This was also when everyone received a special hybrid daylily plant created just for this conference by Ohio MG Ted Blaney.

Between sessions everyone had an opportunity to visit the Gardeners’ Market & Trade Show, with more than 60 vendors, book signings and special presentations.

There were also many optional events, including several pre-conference tours to area gardens and other horticultural highlights of the area. One special event before the conference was a participatory project, planting the "Purple People Bridge," a former railroad bridge over the Ohio River converted to a pedestrian bridge (and painted a nice shade of lavender) that connects Ohio and Kentucky. The last day of the conference there were additional local tours to substitute for educational sessions. And on two evenings, non-horticultural events were offered: a bourbon/wine tasting and dinner one evening, and as the grand finale the last night, a riverboat dinner cruise on the Ohio River on a paddlewheel steamboat with a great buffet featuring distinctive Cincinnati foods (delicious BBQ ribs and interesting chili).

One of the major sponsors of this conference was the American Horticulture Society (AHS), which provided a one year membership — that includes its magazine The American Gardener — to all registrants. The AHS has been an active partner with MG programs in the last few years and plans to continue this relationship.

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