Rotary Botanical Gardens

Rersearch shows a connection between our personal wellness- mental, physcial, and emotional well-being– to our interaction with plant materials and green spaces.  This lecture series is to introduce Garden members and volunteers, health care providers, and the interested individuals from the general public to the myriad of concepts tied to the field of horticulture therapy.

• September 14- Accessible Gardens- Adapting gardens and gardeners for life-long activity
  Barb Larson
  Horticulture Educator, Kenosha County UW-Extension
• October 12- Customizing a Healing Garden Program- Connecting people, plants and facilities
  Leslie Leith
  Lead Instructor Horticulture, Shepherds College
• November 9- Elements of a Healing Garden: Six components to establish personal wellness in a garden setting
  Mike Maddox
  Horticulture Educator, Rock County UW-Extension
  Director of Education, Rotary Botanical Gardens
• December 14- Plants for the Horticulture Therapy- Choosing plant materials for sensory stimulation
  Mark Dwyer
  Director of Horticulture, Rotary Botanical Gardens

 Download registration (PDF)

• All programs start promptly at 7pm at Rotary Botanical Gardens’ Parker Education Center.
• $5 general public, payable at door, or FREE to RBG friend-members.
• Please call (608) 752-3885×17 with questions.  No RSVP necessary. 

Thursday, March 4- Mushrooms: Delicious, Delirious, and Deadly- Master Gardener, Luis Owano, MD, will share information on the hazards of ingesting wild mushrooms and the possible consequences. The presentation includes a general introduction to mushroom hunting and identification, and has been used by Dr. Owano for educating his medical colleagues.  

Thursday, April 1- Outhouse Gardening – MGVs Earlene Hanson and Jennifer Ehle have refurbished outhouses from the 1930’s Works Project Administration (WPA) era, and have made them key focal points in their respective gardens depicting historical architecture and cottage garden design.  One must wonder what they use for fertilizer.

Thursday, May 6- Making a Splash in the Garden – Master Gardener, Glenn Erickson has worked professionally in horticulture most of his life.  As one of the volunteers who has helped at RBG’s koi pond, Glenn will share tips and tricks on keeping the water clean, the fish healthy, and your pond enjoyable all year long.

Thursday, June 3- Tree Care Basics- MGV Mary Kay Thompson, is a volunteer answering questions on the Horticulture Helpline and an active member of the Janesville Shade Tree Advisory Committee (JSTAC).  In these roles, she has seen a tree problem or two and will outline the basics of keeping homeowners trees healthy and long-lived.

Thursday, July 1- Daylilies- RPMGA and Janesville Area Herb Society (JAHS) member, Kay Roschi, combines the botanical, culinary and historical aspects of one of summer’s best bloomers, the daylily.  

Thursday, August 5- Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme- [insert witty Simon and Garfunkel comment here.]  Janesville Area Herb Society members will address the harvesting and use of some of the more popular herbs from the garden.

Photo courtesy of The Janesville Gazette