13th Annual Gardening Symposium

October 14, 2023 – 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Join us on Saturday, October 14, 2023 for a full day Gardening Symposium. Four expert speakers will provide inspiration, ideas, and information on garden basics that will appeal to all as we prepare our gardens for the winter and subsequent growing season.  Please join us for this educational event (see detailed schedule below). We look forward to learning and socializing with you in Leesburg.  Buy your tickets early – this event often sells out.

Academies of Loudoun, 42075 Loudoun Academy Dr., Leesburg, Virginia 

Registration

Walk-ins will be welcome! No cash accepted.

Tickets are $65 for Symposium Only – bring your own lunch. No refunds.


Please note no food is allowed in the auditorium. Please bring a refillable water bottle and lidded coffee cup to aid in sustainability efforts.

2023 Speakers

Bryce Lane: Teacher, Speaker, Horticulturist and Host of “In the Garden with Bryce Lane”
Understanding Garden Soils:  What Lebron James, Jack Nicklaus, & Julia Child Have in Common
Bryce Lane is a semi-retired, award-winning horticulture teacher at NC State University.  He has taught over 23,000 students during the past 42 years.  He continues to teach at NCSU and at the JC Raulston Arboretum.  Bryce produced and hosted a 3-time Emmy winning PBS NC television show called “In the Garden with Bryce Lane” from 2003 – 2013.  An avid gardener, Bryce has toiled on a small one quarter acre plot for 39 years.  His lecture will explore what is going on beneath the surface of the ground.  He will discuss basic soil principles, and how we can use them to create soils where all our plants thrive. 

Ian Caton: Landscape Designer, Speaker, and Owner of Wood Thrush Native Plant Nursery in Floyd, VA
Textures: Ferns and Grasses
Ian Caton has been the owner/operator of Wood Thrush Native Plant Nursery (Formerly Enchanters Garden) in Floyd, Virginia, since March of 2013.  Wood Thrush Native Plants is a nursery specializing in native plants of the Appalachian region including West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and North Carolina.  A focus of the nursery is the introduction of new and rare native plants which are little known or underappreciated in the nursery trade.  While gardening, our five senses are engaged.  

Madeline Potter: University of Maryland Extension Agent Associate for Horticulture, Master Gardner Coordinator for Howard County, MD
Sparking Curiosity and Care: How the Diverse World of Insects Can Help Us Teach About Sustainable Horticulture
Madeline Potter is a Horticulture Educator and Master Gardener Coordinator with the University of Maryland Extension, as well as an entomologist. She has been teaching about sustainable horticulture, particularly as it pertains to pest management and beneficial insect conservation for the past five years. With her background in entomological research, teaching and outreach, Madeline has reached audiences of various ages and backgrounds. Her lecture will explore impactful ways to increase sustainable horticulture engagement and accessibility through entomological themes. Madeline will discuss factors that compromise sustainability of managed landscapes and ways we can promote research-based solutions. The diverse world of insects, and their close relationships with plants, can help us spark curiosity and care about sustainable horticulture. Join Madeline to get curious about insects and learn about the educational stories insects can help us tell.

Peggy Riccio: Gardener, Writer, Speaker, Community Leader. 
Beyond Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme: A Dozen Other Culinary Herbs to Grow
Peggy Riccio is a horticulturist and garden communicator in Northern Virginia. Her website, pegplant.com, is an online resource for gardeners in the DC metro area.  She publishes a local gardening newsletter, Pegplant’s Post Gardening Newsletter, and she initiated a Facebook group called Culinary Herbs and Spices.  For the past 30 years, she has written many gardening articles – probably 100 — for national gardening magazines.  Recently, she wrote for Birds & BloomsSouthern LivingHorticulture, and The American Gardener.  Although Peggy grows many different types of plants in her suburban garden, her passion is herbs – plants that have multiple uses.  Currently, Peggy serves as the mid-Atlantic district delegate for the Herb Society of America, was two-term chair of the local Potomac Unit and writes for the Herb Society’s blog.

Schedule

8:30 – 9:00
9:00 – 9:05
9:05 – 10:05
10:05 – 10:20
10:20 – 11:20
11:20 – 12:20
12:20 – 1:20
1:20 – 1:35
1:35 – 2:35
2:35 – 3:00

Check-in (coffee, water, light finger food)
Welcome & Announcements
Bryce Lane
Break   
Ian Caton
Lunch Break/Vendor Purchases
Madeline Potter
Break      
Peggy Riccio
Closing Remarks/Vendor Purchases

Please note no food is allowed in the auditorium. Please bring a refillable water bottle and lidded coffee cup to aid in sustainability efforts.

If you are a person with a disability and desire any assistive devices, services or other accommodations to participate in this activity, please contact Loudoun Extension Office at 703-777-0373/TDD* during business hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to discuss accommodations 5 days prior to the event.
*TDD number is (800) 828-1120.