PLAINS — Renowned native plant grower and garden designer, Ernest Koone, will speak Oct. 7 at the Community Center in Plains. Koone is the largest grower of native azaleas in the United States and also is a landscape designer for some very well-known gardens. Among his clients are Gibbs Garden, Callaway Gardens, and the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. He is the president of Lazy K. Nursery Inc. at Pine Mountain, and is a well-known horticultural speaker throughout the south. He has introduced many new selections of azaleas.
This event is part of the Magnolia District Discovery Day being sponsored by the Magnolia District of The Garden Club of Georgia Inc. in cooperation with the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail. One of the missions of the Garden Club is promoting native plants in landscapes for the benefit of wildlife and for the conservation of water.
Karan Rawlins of the University of Georgia (UGA) in Tifton will also be a presenter. She will be talking about the ongoing research in Georgia on native plants. She is the invasive species coordinator at the Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health at UGA.
There will be plant vendors present at the Plains Visitor Center that day from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. to sell native azaleas and some of their companion plants as well as perennials.
Anyone who has an interest in native plants or wishes to find out more about them and why we should be planting them, should register for this program. Space is limited, so register soon. The plant sale is open to the public.
The hours for the workshop are 10 a.m.-noon.
To register, call Willie Maxwell at 229-924-0551.