Richard Hentschel, horticulture educator

The Sandwich Park District invite anyone interested in gardening or anyone who just wants to “think Spring” to come to the annual Spring Gardening Workshop on Saturday morning, March 24 at the David A. Francis Community Center, 1001 N. Latham St.

The Park District offers this free community program every year not only to help gardeners improve their overall knowledge of horticulture, but also to offer encouragement to those who think they might like to try their hands at digging in the dirt.

This year’s program offers three speakers and begins at 8:30 a.m. with a presentation entitled “Adding Color to Your Garden with Native Plants” by Amy Hamilton.

She is a retired teacher and Master Naturalist with a love of native plants.  She also is the grounds manager of the Plano School District, where she is transforming the landscaping with native gardens.

Hamilton will show how to plan for continuous blooms and color from spring to fall at home with a variety of native plants.

The second speaker of the morning will be Richard Hentschel, who is the horticulture educator for the University of Illinois Extension Service in Kendall, Kane and DuPage counties.

Hentschel will present “Common Backyard Weeds and How to Handle Them” showing us how to identify the annual, biennial and perennial weeds that we all have. They appear in both grassy and broadleaf forms and all need treatment before they take over our yards or gardens.

Nancy Christian of Redbud Creek Farm Garden Center will be the final speaker of the day.

In her presentation “Surprising Succulents – Even More Versatile and Enticing Than You Imagined,” she will talk about a wide variety of succulents. Workshop participants will learn how to use all of the wonderful colors and textures of these plants in good design fashion in a myriad of interesting ways.

There is no charge for this free community event, but the Park District asks that anyone planning to attend, call (815) 786-8044 to pre-register.  Participants who do pre-register will receive a small plant as a gift when they arrive.

The doors will open at 8 a.m.with a continental breakfast available for purchase at that time.  The program will conclude at 12:30 p.m. when the names of the winners of the door prizes for the day will be drawn.

— Get ready for spring planting at Sandwich workshop —-