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Talks and lectures suitable for garden clubs, horticultural societies, flower shows, neighborhood associations, garden geeks, and special interest groups.
Reports From Annual Alley
Anyone who’s been to my property at Poison Ivy Acres knows that I love all types of plants, from the tallest of trees to the shortest of perennials and mosses. But I wouldn’t be without annuals. Every year I plant them among my perennials and shrubs and in the strip along my vegetable garden that I call “Annual Alley.” This talk presents annuals from several angles: great new varieties and why I love them, new ways of designing with old favorites, alternatives to Impatiens in the era of downy mildew, self-seeders, and creative containers for deck, patio, and garden.
Myths, Lies, and All the Latest Dirt
Yes, sometimes the information that’s passed from gardener to gardener is rock solid wisdom, but occasionally some commonly held beliefs about plants and gardens are misleading or out and out false, or new research contradicts traditional gardening practices. This down-and-dirty talk helps gardeners sort through the folklore and hype surrounding plants, practices and products.
Saving Summer
Those flowering annuals, tropical plants and tender perennials look so good at the end of the summer, that you want to know how to keep them over the winter. This talk explains how to keep the tropical, the tender, the tricky and the tried and true.
Gardens of Inspiration and Insight
(aka: Gardening With A Purpose)
This lavishly illustrated talk celebrates how gardens stimulate our creativity, sense of humor, and physical well-being. Learn how a garden nourishes our spirituality and creates connections to other people and the planet. Although this talk is appropriate to any audience, it will especially resonate with intermediate and advanced gardeners.
Your Garden Shouldn’t Make You Crazy
From planting to pruning; from dirt to design, this talk is an informative and entertaining potpourri of garden advice.
The Top Twenty-five
This talk is part practical gardening, part garden philosophy, and part plants – the top 25 plants that I love (adjusted for the zone where I’m speaking) and the 25 most interesting/amusing/useful bits of gardening information I have learned in over 25 years of gardening.
The Wow! Factor – Moving From Inspiration to Installation
We are inspired when we visit beautiful gardens or see photos of lovely landscapes, but how can we go beyond our feelings of envy and admiration, and apply what we see in our own landscapes? There are reasons that good design works. This talk is about analyzing why we are inspired, and how to use that information in our own gardens.
Gardening Revival
There’s a gardening revival going on, and I want you to be a part of it. Learn how tending your garden also cultivates creativity, community, personal power and joy. Discover new ways to fit plants and gardens into an already busy life. Hear about how new plants and practices can help you fashion a beautiful landscape and a meaningful life. Learn about The New American Garden.
Perennial Bed Maintenance
The need-to-do, the nice-to-do, and the maybe-not-necessary-to-do: everything you need to know about keeping your perennial garden beautiful.
Pruning Demystified!
Be a barber, not a butcher…from holly to hydrangeas, learn the proper way to prune your shrubs and trees.
In The Garden: FYI
What is happening in the garden this month: talk of plants, products and good garden practices, illustrated with give-away items (your group takes them home!) from my garden basket.
Green Thumbs Up/Green Thumbs Down
Every week on my radio program GardenLine I rant and rave about garden practices and products. This program is a selection of the most seasonally relevant thumbs up and thumbs down.
My Little Corner of the World
Creative ways to design and decorate your outdoor spaces: garden rooms, ornaments, structures and plant projects.
Cultivating Kids
Encouraging children to become involved in the garden: what adults can do to create future gardeners. Children’s gardens, fun projects, engaging plants and other simple pleasures.
Horror-aculture!
Gardening mistakes and misunderstandings.
If Plants Could Talk
What would your landscape be telling you? Garden practices from a plant’s point of view.
I speak on many other topics as well. Annuals, Perennials, Organic Gardening, Flowering Shrubs, The Low-Maintenance Garden, Container Gardening and Garden Q & A to name just a few subjects. If you don’t see the subject you’re looking for, please contact to arrange a program that suits your organization’s needs.
Read speaking endorsements of C.L.
Contact information:
For details about these or other talks and workshops,
please contact me by email at: clfornari@yahoo.com
Mail: C.L. Fornari P.O. Box 355 Osterville, MA 02655
Phone: 508-428-5895