The Rochester Civic Garden Center and Zaretsky & Associates
19th Annual

Spring Garden Symposium

Saturday, March 6, 2010, 9 am-2:30 pm
Featuring Claire Sawyers & Bruce Zaretsky

at Eisenhart Auditorium, Rochester Museum & Science Center, 657 East Avenue, Rochester, NY

Claire Sawyers -
Cultivating a Sense of Place

Claire Sawyers, director of the Swarthmore Arboretum, is this year's keynote speaker. Her talks will be drawn from her 2007 book, The Authentic Garden: Five Principles for Cultivating a Sense of Place (Timber Press). In this practical and inspiring book she explains how we can create gardens that are authentic, deeply satisfying and firmly rooted in a sense of place. Drawing on her knowledge of worldwide garden traditions, and illustrated with examples of outstanding American gardens that epitomize the principles of authentic garden-making, her lectures will explore five principles for achieving this: capturing a sense of place, deriving beauty from function, using humble and indigenous materials, marrying the inside with the outside, and involving the visitor. Claire has degrees in horticulture from the University of Delaware, Purdue (receiving Distinguished Alumna awards from both) and Longwood Gardens, and has worked in landscaping in Japan, Belgium and France as well as the US.

Bruce Zaretsky -
Doctor's Orders: Take a Walk (in the Garden!)

Our program will also feature well-known local landscape designer Bruce Zaretsky of Zaretsky & Associates, Inc "It has been said that laughter is the best medicine. Well, they're wrong: it's gardens! Why? Well, it's pretty obvious, isn't it? Gardens are beautiful. They are pleasant to look at and to be in. They make us feel better." But did you know that they can actually help us to physically heal faster? Find out why - join "Dr. Bruce" on an exploration of gardens as healing devices, and find out how your love of the garden will keep you healthy in mind as well as body. Bruce has been recognized for his innovative design work with healing gardens and his environmentally sensitive approach. His latest projects include two gardens at Rochester General Hospital: a garden at the entry to their emergency room and the Woodward Healing Garden. Bruce has published many articles in a number of trade magazines and is a well-known speaker at national horticultural events.

Special thanks to our long-time Symposium sponsor: Zaretsky & Associates, Inc.

Generous contributors to the Symposium:
Gerald and Karen Kral, The Allyn's Creek Garden Club, Lucas Greenhouses, Miller Brick Company, The Rochester Public Market, Sara's Garden Center, The Genesee Valley Chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society, Holmes Hollow Farm, Pine Creek Landscape, Studio Sales Pottery, Bakers Acres , Clover Lawn & Landscape, Coldwater Pond Nursery, Flower Fields by Nellie Gardner, Wayside Garden Center

Get additional details and purchase tickets through our Symposium webpage.

Education

Winter-Spring 2010 Classes

Check out our new catalog offering classes and tours covering all aspects of horticulture, gardening, and floral design.

You can download the 2010 Winter-Spring Class Catalog here: (Download, 3.1 MBytes PDF).

Or you can register online through our main Education pages.

Corporate Members

Bristol's Garden Center

Broccolo Tree & Lawn Care

Wayside Garden Center & RCGC Partner RCGC is proud to announce our Educational Partnership with Wayside Garden Center. Special offer: spend $100 or more at Wayside Garden Center and receive a free 6-month RCGC membership! (This offer applies to new members only.)

Professional Members

For a list of RCGC Professional Members as well as the services the offer and their contact information, please see our Professional Members page.

RCGC Library Hours

Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday:   9:00am - 4:00pm

Looking for a certain title? Have a favorite author? Need books on a specific topic? Search the RCGC Library catalog on-line. See the RCGC Library page for more information on our wonderful library and services.

RCGC is Open to the Public - Visitors Welcome

Reservations requested for groups of 8 or more. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.