Our annual Native Plant Sale is scheduled for June 1, 2024 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30, or until the plants run out. Come early to get your favorites! The sale will be at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Lawrence, Kansas. All the native plants are from the Taylor Creek Restoration Nurseries in Baldwin City. You have two ways to purchase plants. Check out the Bloom Boxes and that contain 15 plants for a specific area or purpose. You can order Bloom Boxes now! There are boxes that provide blooms for all seasons or are a great start for beginners. Other bloom boxes are designed to attract bees, cater ..read more

Please join us on May 18, at 10:15 am to learn about the Impact of Climatic Conditions and Sustainable Agricultural Practices on Phenology, Growth and Yield of Grain and Garden Crops presented by Dr. P.V. Vara Prasad. There is an urgent need to address food, nutrition and climate security around the world. Changes in climatic conditions (particularly high-temperature or heat stress) influences phenology, growth and yield of field grain, garden vegetables, and fruit crops. Not all stages of crop development are equally sensitive to climatic conditions, particularly temperature and drought stres ..read more

On April 20th a group of KU students volunteered at the KU Medicinal Garden. The Big Event is a student group that connects the KU campus with the Lawrence community. By recruiting thousands of student, faculty, and staff volunteers to work at hundreds of local job sites during one day of service, they are able to assist the community that surrounds them. We appreciate all the work that the KU students did in the KU Medicinal Garden! The Native Medicinal Garden is a demonstration garden managed by the Douglas County Master Gardeners in collaboration with Kansas Biological Survey. Sc ..read more

Our annual Native Plant Sale is scheduled for June 1, 2024 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30, or until the plants run out. Come early to get your favorites! The sale will be at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Lawrence, Kansas. All the native plants are from the Taylor Creek Restoration Nurseries in Baldwin City. You have two ways to purchase plants. Starting in early May, you can order Bloom Boxes online that contain 15 plants for a specific area or purpose. There are boxes that provide blooms for all seasons or are a great start for beginners. Other bloom boxes are designed to attract bees, caterpilla ..read more

You are invited to the Douglas County Extension Master Gardeners’ first “Garden to Table” Dinner on May 4, 2024 at Saltwell Farm Kitchen. This special event will offer a delicious five course tasting menu prepared by local all-star chef, Ken Baker.   Tickets are $100 for dinner, or $125 for dinner with five wine pairings. Please join us for a great evening in a fun atmosphere, rain or shine. The fabulous menu and more details are available on the Garden to Table Dinner page. For more information, check out the Garden to Table FAQs page. Funds raised from this event will be used to su ..read more

Looking through seed catalogs can be exciting for the avid gardener … and dangerous. Too often I have bought flower or other seeds that I just don’t get around to planting. I also like to buy seeds that I always plant in larger than packet size quantities that can last for two, three and four years or more. Many seeds have good longevity and will germinate for several years, although perhaps at increasingly lower rates. One year I got caught with this habit when almost none of the snow peas sprouted. So how do you know, before you plant them, if those four-year-old snow pea seeds will sprout ..read more

Do you want to learn more about a topic you saw at our recent our Groovy Garden Show? The information for the Groovy Educational Booths and the Groovy Speakers are still available. We also have trusted gardening resources to help you learn more about gardening. Also please check out our Advanced Education programs that are free and open to the public. If you live in Douglas County and have specific questions, please call or email our Hotline at 785-843-7058 or dgcogardenhotline@gmail.com. Groovy Educational Booths Groovy Speakers Gardening Resources (see Resources and Interesting Reads in the ..read more

Douglas County Extension Master Gardeners will help you make your own rain barrel. The workshop will be held at the Douglas County Fairgrounds, 2110 Harper Street, in the Dreher Family 4-H Building from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm and is limited to 20 participants. Registration is $25. Please Note: Dear EMGs, please allow the general public to register for this event. If there is space, I will announce availability for EMGs. Thank you, Sharon A. The post 2024 Rain Barrel Workshop – March 16 first appeared on Master Gardeners of Douglas County, KS ..read more

Please join us on March 16, at 10:15 am to learn about Catching and Storing Water at Home presented by Amber Thumann. Have you ever wondered how to safely catch rainwater to use in your garden? How to manage heavy rainfall on your property? Do you want to know how rain gardens work? How to install a water barrel or cistern? If so, this is the presentation for you! This combined presentation and workshop will teach you how to maximize water on your property through rain barrels, rain gardens, and urban swales. These techniques will enable you to catch and store water to use when you (and your p ..read more

Douglas County Extension Master Gardeners will present “The Groovy Garden Show” on Saturday, March 2, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Douglas County Fairgrounds at 2110 Harper Street, in Lawrence, Kansas. This event is free and open to the public. This premiere garden show features expert speakers, educational booths, workshops, and a garage sale filled with garden related items, as well as vendors and food trucks. We will be adding content soon, so mark your calendar and check back for more details. The post first appeared on Master Gardeners of Douglas County, KS ..read more