Davidson gardening symposium returns March 5

DAVIDSON jmarusak@charlotteobserver.com

What are you doing to expand and enrich your garden, to make it a sanctuary from the everyday world?

The 29th annual Davidson Horticultural Symposium will provide creative advice at Davidson College on March 5.

The symposium will feature five gardening experts who will address such topics as vertical gardens, “plants with personality” and creating contemplative gardens.

The gathering will be 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the college’s Knobloch Campus Center. Registration is $89; the deadline is Feb. 22.

Horticulturalists and garden gurus will share ideas at workshops throughout the day. They are:

•  Noel Kingsbury of the department of landscape at the University of Sheffield, England. Kingsbury, who has authored at least 20 books, will present workshops on “Garden Designers at Home: The Private Spaces of the World’s Leading Designers” and “New Ideas: The Vertical Garden.”

•  Gardener, author and blogger Tovah Martin, who has written a dozen books and appeared on numerous TV shows, including the PBS series “Cultivating Life.” Her workshops will be “The Unexpected Houseplant,” which also is the title of her latest book, and “Terrariums and You.”

•  Holly Scoggins, associate professor in the horticulture department and director of the Hahn Horticulture Garden at Virginia Tech. “Plants with Personality” will be her workshop topic.

•  Julie Moir Messervy, author of four award-winning books, who will lead a workshop on “Creating Contemplative Gardens.” She co-authored her most recent book with architect Sarah Susanka, “Outside the Not So Big House: Creating the Landscape of Home.” Messervy also writes the “Inspired Design” column for Fine Gardening magazine. Her articles and design work have appeared in the New York Times, Boston Globe and Washington Post.

•  Nan Chase was an adjunct faculty member at Appalachian State University in Boone for 14 years before retiring to her garden to write and to blog for Mother Earth News. She authored “Eat Your Yard!” and has written about topics as diverse as religion and road trips, most recently for the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. She also writes about architecture and landscape design. Her latest book, “Vegevore! 50 Great Vegetables from A to Z,” is scheduled to be published this spring. Her workshop topic will be “The Beautiful Edible Landscape.”

Sponsorship funds to help defray the cost of attending the symposium may be available to interested students.