Garden clubs' lecture series set to start on Saturday

The Aiken Garden Clubs Council brings a lecture series to the museum this weekend that will help local gardeners get more out of the great outdoors.

The Garden Clubs Council's Spring Lecture Series opens with a presentation from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Aiken County Historical Museum by John Nelson. Nelson is the curator of the A.C. Moore Herbarium at the University of South Carolina, and writes the "Mystery Plant" column which appears weekly in the Aiken Standard.

Lectures will take place on the first Saturday of the month in February, March and April, according to Garden Clubs Council president Pam Kolb.

"This is our second year doing the series. It's a nice idea for Aiken; with so many people coming into town it gives people an idea of what can be done horticulturally in Aiken," Kolb said.

The second lecture in the series will take place from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 7, at the museum. The guest speaker for that event will be Tom Johnson, director of gardens at Charleston's Magnolia Gardens and Plantation and former horticultural director for the American Camellia Society's Massee Lane Gardens in Fort Valley, Ga. Johnson's topic will be the reconstruction of Magnolia Gardens after Hurricane Hugo struck Charleston in 1989.

The series concludes on Saturday, April 4, with a lecture by Mike Fulmer, owner of local landscaping firm Aqua Designs. Fulmer will speak on adding water features to home landscapes.

"We do the lecture series so we can support the work we do for local gardens," Kolb said. "Last year a third of the money raised went to irrigation for the new camellia garden at Banksia, a third went to buy plants for the Cancer Garden at the Cancer Care Institute and a third went for new work at the Doll House in Hopelands Gardens, which is our headquarters. We're soliciting projects from our members now to support this year."

Tickets are $10 for an individual lecture or $25 for tickets to all three lectures. Tickets can be purchased in advance from Garden Clubs Council members or at the door on lecture days.

For more information on the lecture series or for tickets, call 643-9542.

Contact Suzanne Stone at sstone@aikenstandard.com.