Penn State Extension Master Gardeners of Butler County are hosting their Endless Summer: Fall Garden Seminar from 8 a.m. until noon Saturday, Oct. 5. The event will be held at the St. Conrad Church social hall, 125 Buttercup Road in Butler Township. Virtual attendance will be available via Zoom from 8:30 a.m. until noon.

The in-person attendance costs is $38, which includes breakfast and shopping at the Master Gardener Bulb and Gift Sale. The virtual attendance cost is $20. Registration is open at extension.psu.edu/endless-summer-fall-garden-seminar.

Proceeds from the event will support gardening education projects throughout Butler County.

Maddison Perzel, landscape designer at Bedner’s Farm and Greenhouse, starts the seminar with her session, “Cultivating Sustainability in Your Garden.”

This hands-on horticulturist-turned-landscape designer shares her top tips for growing a garden that lasts and adds value to the world. From drought-tolerant plant selections to growing green mulches that reduce yearly inputs for the garde. Those who attend will learn small changes to have the greenest garden around.

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in biology, Perzel completed a horticultural fellowship at Jenkins Arboretum and Gardens, rising to head horticulturist. Later, she was the head gardener at the 20-acre Elm Court in downtown Butler. As a landscape designer, she loves working with clients to help them grow the landscape they’ve always wanted.

“Flowers, Foliage, and Fall Color!” is the topic of the second session, presented by Dr. Laura Deeter.

Garden centers tempt us with colorful flowers, attracting humans and pollinators. But foliage and fall color should not be overlooked as powerful displays. Whether it is a green to highlight a flower, a dark purple to show off and thin, yellow flower, a foliage combination that lasts all season long, or that amazing burst of color at the end of the season before the austerity that is winter, we can look to many parts of the plant to delight us all season.

Deeter received her Ph.D. in horticulture from Ohio State University, where she is a professor of practice: horticulture and crop science. She received numerous awards for her teaching and achievements and travels extensively speaking on a variety of horticulture topics.

The final seminar session is “Tricks to Protect Yourself from Tick Bites,” taught by Emily Struckhoff, vector-borne disease program specialist.

Have you ever been bitten by a tick while gardening? Pennsylvania ranks number one in the United States in the number of Lyme disease cases per year, and ticks can be a constant companion when spending time outdoors. There are many steps that you can take to protect yourself from tick bites. This presentation will cover what ticks are, what species of ticks we have in Pennsylvania, and what steps you can take to prevent a bite.

Struckhoff is an education program specialist on Penn State Extension’s Vector-Borne Disease Team, where she develops and delivers programming about vectors, such as ticks and mosquitoes. She received her Bachelor of Science in biology from Saint Louis University and Master of Science in entomology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Struckhoff’s past research includes conducting tick surveillance throughout the state of Illinois, developing tick identification tools, and testing vectors for diseases of medical and veterinary concern.

The workshop concludes with information about additional resources and an evaluation. This fall seminar’s topics are of interest to novice and experienced gardeners alike. Join us for a morning of lively discussion and learning opportunities!

Diane Dallos is Master Gardener coordinator with the Penn State Extension in Butler County.

Diane Dallos