It's that time of year - winter doldrums have set in and the four walls seem to be closing in all around. Spring seems to be far in the future as the gray days of late February and early March seem to stretch on and on.
In the midst of this dreariness, the Cleveland County Master Gardeners (CCMG) are offering the group's second annual garden symposium. Appropriately titled "Cabin Fever," the event is scheduled for Saturday, March 2, 2019, from 8 a.m. - 3:45 p.m. in the Student Activities Center at Cleveland Community College in Shelby. This year's theme is "Gardening in Your Backyard."
"Our classes and activities are aimed at reducing the winter chill and getting folks ready for spring," says Bill Cameron, president of the CCMG. "Novice as well as expert gardeners will enjoy educational topics that will engage and awaken us from our 'Cabin Fever.'"
A wide variety of presenters will be featured at the symposium:

Dr. Lee Reich will be the keynote speaker for the symposium. Dr. Reich is a "farmdener," author and consultant. He first got interested in gardening more than 40 years ago, working as an agricultural scientist with the USDA and with Cornell University. He also developed a personal interest in organic farming, leading him eventually to develop his own "farmden" (more than a garden, less than a farm). He then left academia to lecture, consult and write.


Dr. Bodie Pennisi will be offering presentations titled "What's All the Buzz About?" and "Flavor, Fragrance, and Medicine from the Garden." Dr. Pennisi is a professor and a statewide extension landscape specialist for the University of Georgia's horticulture department. She teaches college undergraduate and graduate courses and serves on the boards of several statewide industry groups. She also serves as a scientific advisor to the board of the national non-profit organization Green Plants for Green Buildings.

Dr. Jeffrey Gillman will be offering presentations on "The Truth about Organic Gardening" and "The Plants We Eat." Dr. Gillman is the director of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte's botanical garden. He holds a master's degree in entomology and a Ph.D. in horticulture, both from the University of Georgia. He is also the author of five books on gardening and the environment and is a contributing editor to Fine Gardening Magazine.

Dr. Jim Barilla, will be offering a presentation on "Lessons from Backyard Wildlife Gardening." Dr. Barilla is an associate professor of English language and literature at the University of South Carolina. He is the author of two nonfiction books, including his latest, My Backyard Jungle: The Adventures of an Urban Wildlife Lover Who Turned His Yard into Habitat and Learned to Live with It, which considers the habitat of a typical urban yard in light of what's happening with wildlife in burgeoning cities like Delhi and Rio de Janeiro.
Jim Kunkle will offer a presentation titled "Birds in the Backyard." Kunkle's love of drawing, painting, photography and wildlife led him to volunteer as the Cleveland County Bluebird Coordinator after recently retiring from an architectural career of 40 years. Kunkle is an avid artist whose current mediums includes pen and ink, watercolor, and photography. He recently won an award at the RCVAG Gallery in Rutherfordton for a photo of a great blue heron.

Vendors, door prizes and lunch will also be available as part of the symposium.
More information is available at the event website, www.ccemgv.org. Tickets are $65 each and are available by visiting the website and clicking on the "Event Registration" button at the top of the page.

By April Hoyle Shauf, Special to Community First Media