Hill Country Lawn and Garden Show is a family affair

DANIEL CLIFTON • PICAYUNE EDITOR

BURNET — The Montana growing season didn’t leave much leeway when it came to planting the annual garden. This was something Val Klaudt’s grandmother stressed to her as a child in Big Sky Country.

“She always had the urgency to get things planted,” Klaudt recalled. “It was Montana, and we didn’t have a very long growing season.”

It isn’t just the “urgency” Klaudt remembers about helping in her grandmother’s garden. There also was the time shared with her grandmother as the two worked the soil, checked the vegetables and picked the year’s bounty.

And the hollyhocks.

“I remember these tall hollyhocks,” Klaudt said. “My grandma used to make these dolls out of them. She would turn the plants upside down, and the flowers would hang down and she’d decorate them. … It was just something about gardening.”

Klaudt has been gardening ever since. As a Master Gardener, she’s even helped introduce the Junior Master Gardener program at two Highland Lakes schools. She hopes kids will spend time with their parents and grandparents, getting dirt under their nails.

The 2015 Hill Country Lawn and Garden Show on March 28 is a great place to find inspiration for parents and grandparents wanting to spend family time in the garden. The 17th annual event is 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Burnet Community Center, 401 E. Jackson St., and features workshops, informational booths, vendors and other activities. Admission is free.

The Highland Lakes Master Gardeners, who organize the event, will have a booth at the show with different demonstrations each hour. Several of the demonstrations will give parents and grandparents great ideas for garden ttime with their children and grandchildren.

“Gardening can be such a special time with your kids and grandchildren,” Klaudt added. During her Junior Master Gardener programs, she asks students who among them gardens. Several hands often go up. When she inquiries with whom they typically garden, most raise their hands when “Grandma” is mentioned followed by “Mom.”

“I’m trying to get kids interested in gardening,” she said. “And I think a lot of kids are discovering it. But it’s something kids and parents can really enjoy together.”

People will find some of the latest gardening innovations at the Lawn and Garden Show, and several businesses and organizations will have plants and gardening supplies for sale. And with all the gardening experts at the community center, you’re only an elbow away from someone who can answer your gardening and lawn care questions.

Demonstrations include:

• fruit trees for Central Texas
• herbs: culinary and ornamental
• Tomatoes 101
• propagation and seed production

“It’s a great place for anybody who is interested in gardening — even if they are just starting out or thinking about it,” Klaudt said.

Plus, you might find yourself in the garden this spring sharing the experience with your family. How’s that for a memory in the making?

Go to www.burnetcountyhighlandlakesmastergardener.org for more information.

daniel@thepicayune.com