Master Gardener’s Speakers Bureau

Plants that Prickle or Poison. There are villains lurking in the garden. Find out if you are harboring one.
Speaker is Betsy Alexander

Go beyond Stella D’Oro! The modern daylily gives a spectacular display of color when other garden plants are wilting in the heat and humidity.

An introductory frolic through the intriguing world of all things honeybee.

Orchids, the largest of all plant families, are the most diverse, fascinating and exotic plants on earth.

This session gives you an opportunity to learn the differences between annuals and perennials and the care needed for each.

Travel in a photo journey to witness the spectacular changes of autumn.

Composting yard waste is one of the most environmentally sound things you can do.

This program offers an outline of sustainable/organic practices for use in your home garden.

Ten botanical gardens are available for you to take an arm chair tour. Choose 3 of the listed gardens for your personalized adventure. They are all sites that have ben visited by Master Gardener, John Hensley.

This talk gives a comprehensive look at the ornamental, boxwood.

Learn how to include Missouri native plants in your home garden. This talk features photos of native wildflowers.

Chocoholic? even better a chocoholic gardener? Walk through the earliest history of chocolate, learn how it is cutivated and processed, and then consider ways to take your chocolate addiction into your garden with ‘chocolate’ plants.

Companion Planting covers the history, benefits, implementation details, and the impact of plants on the insect populations present in your garden, both beneficials and pests.

A critical aspect of gardening is creating the soil necessary for lush, healthy plants.

A humorous look at designing her perennial garden includes the struggles encountered when putting in a new garden.

Attract more birds, butterflies, and pollinators to your yard by creating an appealing design to welcome the natural world.

As we move through summer, days get shorter, fall starts, it is time to consider the steps we need to take to prolong the beauty of our gardens.

Gardening during the Victorian Period included a fern craze, orchid mania, lavish tropicals, intricate outdoor gardens.
The overall Victorian look is described as opulent. It included unique elements, several of which continue in use today as well as one that changed the the course of history.

Would you like to add some color to your foundation plantings? Or add structure to a perennial garden? How about creating a focal point near the front door to welcome guests?

A history of Forest Park from the region’s shaping by glaciers to the present landscape renovation efforts on Government Hill, Pagoda Circle.

Pets can get into trouble exploring our gardens, chewing and eating toxic items.

A picture program on the unique environment of Missouri’s glades, their magnificent plants and unique animals.

Enjoy a history lesson on the growth and development of MBG.

A talk that covers growing hydrangeas in St. Louis.

Do you want to change your outdoor space? Revise or modify what you have? Increase your property value? 2 talks are available from Terry Milne.

Ready for low maintenance, plus more birds and butterflies in your garden? Incorperating native shrubs and trees into your landscaping will achieve both.

Making the long-term investment of purchasing the right tree and placing it in the proper location can pose uncertainty and hesitation.

There are many common, edible mushrooms in Missouri. This program gives information on finding mushrooms in the wild or even in your own backyard!

The Victorian Obsession

Find out what it takes to ‘put on’ the annual orchid show at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Learn how the Botanical Garden’s world famous orchid collection is maintained.

This program explores the history, magic, and beauty of orchids.

Organic gardening promotes a healthy, sustainable environment. Enhance your gardening, your plants, and your life with these simple and effective techniques.

Learn how nature figured out solar energy eons before man did.

From Genesis to Revelations, there are numerous references to plants in the Bible. This is a presentation on plants that were important to the people of the Bible and are referenced in their stories.

This talk is on a subset of plants taken from Bill Laws’ book, Fifty Plants that Changed the Course of the History.
​It includes plants that the speaker has identified as of special interest.

Have you ever suffered from pollen allergies? This talk will take you through the plant physiology involved and how to select plants that minimize allergen occurrence and your exposure to them.

Trying to perfect your home garden to the Better Homes and Gardens ideal? It is frustrating to do all of the right things and then find insects and plant diseases challenging your best attempts. Learn about common garden pests and diseases and how to manage them using safe, sustainable tactics.

Ever wonder the best time to prune that favorite shrub? This basic primer will help you determine the right tool for the job, the type of cuts to make, and when to prune certain flowering plants to ensure lasting beauty.

What’s all the talk about ‘rain gardens’? The ‘Rain Gardening’ program gives an overview of the concept and outlines details for creating one in your home garden.

Learn tips and tricks to make your garden less work and easier on your joints as you and your garden mature.

Get information for easy ways to protect yourself while you are working in your garden, including general safety tips and safe ways to lift, turn, carry, operate garden tools.

Learn the information to successfully grow roses in the St. Louis metro area.

Go on a photo spring hike looking for Missouri wildflowers with advanced Master Gardener, Carol Gravens.

Learn specific ways to increase the biodiversity of your garden

A step-by-step guide for creating a gorgeous container garden for your home.

Using the speaker’s own photography, the program follows the succession of prairie plants from spring, summer, fall to winter.

Learn about adding the dimension of fragrance to your garden.

Follow the history of the Linnean House from 1890 through the 2010-2011 renovation. This program is an archival photo tour, including recent photo’s of the new interior layout.

This talk discusses one orchid hobbyist’s favorites and how to grow them in the home, without a greenhouse or special equipment.

Walking/teaching tour through the MBG Jenkins Daylily garden.

Walking/teaching tour through the Iris gardens at MBG.

Walking/teaching tour of the Orchid Show at M.B.G.

This presentation covers factors to consider for a successful shade garden, including degrees of shade, moisture, soil composition, and maintenance of trees.

Expand your gardening space by incorporating vertical elements into your overall design.

This program is a naturalist hiker’s photo collection from exploring the High Sierras.

Take an arm chair trek thru Switzerland to view Alpine wildflowers. Your guide is Master Gardener/Master Naturalist Carol Gravens.

While you are snug in your home on a winter evening, there are several types of damage that can be happening outside in your garden.

As you prepare your garden for winter, it is time to think ahead about the coming spring. This program is designed to help you determine the basic steps needed to prepare ornamentals, trees, shrubs, and overall garden for the spring.

Take an alternate look at Missouri winter scenery. Things we take for granted as a gray, bleak season find an attractive, creative look thru the lense of Carol’s camera.