Spring Fling Spotlight: the Speakers

Spring Fling activities include opportunities to hear knowledgeable and entertaining gardeners speak about their favorite subjects.  From nationally known Felder Rushing to our very own Carl Wayne Hardeman, there is surely something that you'll enjoy learning!


2011 Spring Fling Speakers

Carl Wayne Hardeman, "Sustainable Gardening," Friday, 10:30 am     
    

     Carl Wayne writes gardening articles for the Collierville Independent, the Pontotoc Progress, the Oxford SO & SO, usadeepsouth.com, and the Tombigbee Country News, all from a Southern perspective. He is a Master Gardener and a leader of the Collierville Victory Garden which donates over 3,000 pounds of fresh produce to the hungry each year and was recently awarded the distinction of Tennessee Master Gardener Demonstration Garden. The Bodock Post and enjoys writing the occasional poem. He and his wife Mimi, formerly Ann Graham, have a small farm in Pontotoc County, Mississippi, where they raise a garden with help from in-laws.
     He's been in software development forty-five years, the last twenty-five with a large overnight express delivery company. He has taught computer science as adjunct faculty at local universities for over twenty-five years. Presently, he is editor of a free monthly eNewsletter

Beth Babbit, "Vegetable Gardening in Small Spaces," Friday, 12 noon

      Beth joined the University in June 2003, as the Urban Horticulture Specialist and State Master Gardener Coordinator. She is a former Extension Agent and Area Horticulture Specialist for The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service.
     Beth received her Bachelors of Science degree at Auburn University Auburn, AL, in Horticulture Ornamental Production and Landscape Design, June 1997 and also her Masters of Science, Ornamental Horticulture, Auburn University Auburn, AL. March 2000.

Jim Berry, "Attracting Bluebirds," Friday 1:30 pm     

     Jim Berry is a speaker with the North American Bluebird Society and has given presentations in North Central Arkansas to clubs, Audubon Societies, and other organizations. He has worked with bluebird conservation for the past 20 years. He built and maintains twelve bluebird trails
consisting of 250 bluebird boxes located on farms, golf courses, parks, airports, and other locations near Clinton, Arkansas.
     Jim was born and raised on a big farm about 100 miles south of Memphis near Shaw and Cleveland, Mississippi. He retired from the Arkansas State Police as a Criminal Investigator after 24 years.
In his woodwork shop, Jim has developed his own bluebird nest box which is approved by the North American Bluebird Society. His presentation will include a demonstration of the proper nest box building and placement, followed by a question and answer session.

Felder Rushing "The Gestalt Gardener," Friday 3 pm, Saturday 9 am     

     Felder is a 10th-generation American gardener whose pioneer ancestors settled across the Southeast, bringing many plants with them. Felder’s overstuffed, quirky cottage garden has been featured in many TV programs and magazines (including a cover of Southern Living), and includes a huge variety of weather-hardy plants along with a collection of folk art. There is no turfgrass, just plants, yard art, and "people places."
     The author or co-author of 15 gardening books (including several national award winners) and former Extension Service urban horticulture specialist has written thousands of gardening columns in syndicated newspapers, and has had hundreds of articles and photographs published in regional and national garden magazines, including
     Felder has served many years as a distinctly non-stuffy board member of the American Horticulture Society, national director of the Garden Writers Association, and member of the National Youth Gardening Committee. Felder gives over a hundred lectures a year, coast to coast and overseas at flower shows, horticultural and plant society meetings, and Master Gardener conferences.
Believing that too many would-be gardeners are intimidated by a crush of "how-to" experts ("We are daunted, not dumb," he says), Felder uses an offbeat, "down home" approach rife with humorous anecdotes and garden-irreverent metaphors, zany observations, and stunning photography and to help gardeners get past the "stinkin' rules" of horticulture. Garden Design, Horticulture, Landscape Architecture, Better Homes and Gardens, Fine Gardening, Organic Gardening, and National Geographic. Felder has been featured three times in full-length articles in the New York Times. He has hosted a television program that was shown across the South, and appeared many times on other TV garden programs. Felder currently co-hosts a call-in garden program on NPR affiliate stations called The Gestalt Gardener.

Jason Reeves, "Notable Plants to Brighten Next Winter’s Gloom," Saturday 10:30 am 

     Jason is the research horticulturist with the University of Tennessee at the West Tennessee Research and Education Center in Jackson. He creates the seasonal horticultural displays, conducts research on herbaceous and woody ornamentals, assists with the center's annual field day, Summer Celebration, and supports other educational programs. Jason has a BS in Agriculture from UT-Martin and an MS in Ornamental Horticulture and Landscape Design from UT Knoxville. Jason is widely respected for his plant knowledge, honed while working at Opryland Hotel and Conservatories, Missouri Botanical Garden and Longwood Gardens.
     He has lived and worked as a horticulturist in New Zealand on two different occasions.

Carol Reese, "Home Sown, but High Blown," Saturday 12 noon 

     Carol is a nationally-known speaker, employed by UT Extension as an Ornamental Horticulture Specialist. Her job is to keep the horticulture industry up to date and attuned to the needs of an increasingly savvy gardening clientele. She writes a weekly gardening and nature column for the Jackson Sun, is the Q&A columnist for Horticulture Magazine, and contributes to many other gardening magazines. Carol’s degrees in horticulture (BS and MS) are from Mississippi State University where she taught courses in plant materials and landscape design. Her speaking engagements take her all over the nation, camera in hand. She’s given programs for enthusiastic audiences at Winterthur, Longwood, the Raulston Arboretum, Whiteflower Farms, the Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore, Atlanta Botanical Garden, and Callaway Gardens, to name just a few. However, she says her favorite place to be is tromping local fields with her many dogs, taking a personal interest in the doings of the birds and the bees. She says her most valuable experience comes from her heritage—raised on a farm by generations of "plant nuts."

 Josephine Williams, "Community Gardens," Saturday 1:30 pm 

     Josephine is coordinator of the GrowMemphis, a collaborative effort between the Mid-South Peace and Justice and eight low-income communities in Memphis. The mission of GrowMemphis is to create productive and educational urban community gardens that provide fresh healthy food for low-income areas, and empower people to develop and enhance their own communities. These gardens will provide a local food source for those in need and will empower a future generation with the important knowledge of sustainability and our connection with the Earth and with the community. Community gardening is the tool for communities to address local issues and create opportunities.

You can find a printable list here.