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Filled with tips on easy-to-incorporate, economical earth-friendly practices, Garden Gear Up takes place at The Delaware Center for Horticulture‘s outdoor public gardens in Wilmington’s Trolley Square neighborhood.
The cost is $10 for members and $15 for non-members. Participants learn the fundamentals of preparing garden beds for spring with Andrew Olson, public landscape manager at TheDCH.
During the 1.5 hour session, Olson walks participants through cutting back last year’s foliage, the ins and outs of mulch, dividing perennials, plant selection, simple ways to make a landscape more sustainable, a brief primer on pruning and a grounds tour to check out what’s in bloom/of interest.
“What gardeners do (or fail to do) in the spring sets the stage for the success of a landscape throughout the growing season,” Olson says. “Get your garden in shape with a good cutback – chopping debris with a hand pruner or weed whacker, rather than raking it away – then augmenting it with a mulch of chopped leaves from last fall helps keep weeds down, retain soil moisture and provides nutrients for the bed as the mulch decomposes.”
Focusing on the right timing, tools and techniques, Olson’s class is a combination of plant inspiration, practical how-to, and interactive Q&A. The class will be held out-of-doors in the display gardens, so dress for the weather, and wear boots.
Outside of his landscape work at TheDCH, Olson co-owns and manages Southwest Philadelphia’s “Farm 51.” Tucked between rowhouses and packed with vegetables, herbs, fruits, chickens and the occasional neighborhood dog, the urban farm engages the neighborhood and provides hundreds of pounds of fresh produce each year.
TheDCH cultivates greener communities statewide through horticulture, education and conservation. Founded in 1977, TheDCH’s Trolley Square headquarters includes public gardens, an art gallery, lecture hall, sunny atrium, and greenhouse.
