University of Georgia plant pathologist Jean Williams-Woodward will be among the experts presenting at The Inspired Gardener symposium set for Feb. 22 at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.
The event is presented by the garden in partnership with the Georgia Perennial Plant Association. Held at the garden from 8 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., the symposium will also include a lunchtime book signing and a silent auction. The cost is $74 for garden and GPPA members and $84 for non-members. An optional lunch can be purchased for $12.
Williams-Woodward will discuss diseases in the perennial garden. “Foliage diseases affect mostly plant aesthetics,” she said. “It’s the root and crown rot diseases that kill plants.” She will teach symposium attendees how to identify and prevent troublesome plant diseases that affect garden perennials.
An associate professor at the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Williams-Woodward is primarily responsible for developing education programs on diseases of ornamental plants and how to control them in commercial greenhouses, nurseries and landscapes.
She works closely with the UGA Plant Disease Clinic and provides disease management recommendations for commercial ornamental and forestry samples submitted to the clinic.
Other presentations for the day include the following: “Trees of Change” presented by landscape architect Dottie Meyers, “Add Spice to Your Garden with Cool Conifers” by nursery owner Flo Chaffin, “The Layered Garden” by Brandywine Cottage’s gardens creator David Culp and “Hydrangeas, Hibiscus and Asters…Oh, My!” by GPPA president and ornamental gardener Tim Martin.
For more on the symposium and to register, see the garden’s website at atlantabotanicalgarden.org.
