LAWN AND GARDEN: Discover ‘joys of gardening’ at Llano show

DANIEL CLIFTON • PICAYUNE EDITOR

LLANO — With spring days coming, it’s time to get out and get your garden growing.

A good way to get started is by stopping by the annual Llano County Master Gardeners Lawn and Garden Show on March 21 in the Family Life Center at Lutie Watkins Memorial United Methodist Church.

“This is a great place to come out and learn about gardening and growing vegetables in this challenging soil and climate,” said Julie Woodall of the Llano County Master Gardeners. “We’ll have a lot of Master Gardeners there who will share information on gardening and lawn care.”

The event is 9 a.m.-1 p.m., and admission is free. The church is located at 308 W. Main St.

Along with picking the brains of local Master Gardeners — who are well-versed in the challenges of gardening in the Highland Lakes — people can check out a number of vendor booths with some of the latest lawn and garden supplies as well as plants for sale.

“It’s a great time to come out and get ready for the gardening,” Woodall said.

Along with booths and vendors, the Llano County Master Gardeners have lined up several speakers, including: Backbone Valley Nursery’s Jessica Robertson, who will talk about her favorite native plants at 9:05 a.m.; Jeff Pavlat, who will discuss cactuses and succulents for the Central Texas garden at 10 a.m.; and John Begnaud, who will give a presentation on native trees at 11 a.m.

Then at noon, local gardener and artisan Rickie Newell will show people how she takes gourds and transforms them into works of art. Newell raises her own gourds and will even share tips on growing these decorative plants.

Newell’s husband, John Newell of J. Craft Co., is donating a custom mesquite table with turquoise inlays for which people can purchase chances to win. There also will be other door prizes and plenty of food.

“We’ll also have our children’s booth, where kids get the chance to do some planting,” Woodall said.

It’s a step to raising the next generation of gardeners.

Woodall knows not everyone has a background in gardening, but that’s one of the purposes of the annual lawn and garden show: to help people become successful gardeners.

“We want to help people,” she said. “We want people to discover the joys of gardening.”

Woodall and her husband have a garden on their property that offers her a place to relax.

“We have a  big vegetable garden, and we freeze and can a lot of our own food,” she said.

While the garden offers a bit of independence, it also provides solace.

“Gardening is just the most pleasurable way to spend time,” she said.

Contact Woodall at llanojulie@yahoo.com or (325) 247-1396 for more information on the show or the Llano County Master Gardeners.

daniel@thepicayune.com