Adult Community Education | Horticulture | 3-hours, class + tour

with Mike Rogers

This one-day workshop will  be split into two parts: a classroom session (90 minutes) and an outdoor tour of the Ornamental Grass Demonstration Garden and other parts of the garden where grasses have been used to good effect (90 minutes).

During the classroom session, participants will be introduced to the joys of gardening with ornamental grasses which will include some basic botany, growth habits and planting considerations. At all times the emphasis will be on the practical aspects of growing beautiful plants whether in mass plantings or stand-alone feature specimens in a garden or container.

The core of the classroom session will be a discussion of the best species and cultivars for our area including Mike's “favourite” and current “second most favourite"!

The tour will emphasize planting, care and maintenance including the all-important spring clean-up necessary to keep grasses looking good year after year. Many of the varieties of grass touched on in the classroom will be shown in place during the tour.

Location

Horticulture Centre of the Pacific, 505 Quayle Road

This class begins in the Classroom and moves into the Gardens. Please dress for the weather.

Fees & Registration

$45 HCP Members /$50 Non-Members

Register Online or call 250 479 6162

About the Instructor

Mike Rogers – “The Grass Man”

When Mike moved into his current house on Craigflower Road, he quickly discovered that the unfenced front garden was a deer “super-highway." Consequently, he began to look out for low-maintenance, deer resistant and water-wise plants to populate his garden. One group of plants that ticked all the boxes were ornamental grasses and so began a love affair with these wonderful plants.

Mike's adventures with ornamental grasses evolved into a series of articles in the Victoria Horticultural Society magazine Gardenry and that led to a number of speaking engagements - one of which gave rise to the moniker “The Grass Man,” which he rather enjoys! Research for these articles and talks has resulted in the discovery of an ever-expanding plethora of wonderful grasses and so the adventures continue.