Kerry Ann Mendez, Perennially Yours, Kennebunk, Maine 

Change happens. Many still dream of 'Better Homes and Gardens' landscapes but reality has mulled the picture. Job demands, kids, money, hectic schedules, aging bodies, and changing interests have led to nightmare gardens. Time for some 'editing.' This inspiring lecture provides easy-to-follow downsizing strategies, recommended no-fuss plant material, and design tips for stunning year-round gardens that will be close to 'autopilot' as you can get.

We have all probably heard the word 'orgy' and are sure that we, as members of polite society, would not participate in such practices. However, plants happily jump into the same bed together as long as the conditions are favorable to all and nutrients, light, and moisture are shared as needed. As we continue to collect plants, we begin to plant in layers. First layers, we situate a few trees and shrubs for structure; then we begin to layer bulbs and perennials with ground covers. The last step is over-seeding with annuals and vegetables whenever there is a vacant spot. We have yet to meet many plants that did not make good bed companions. Brent is pictured with his wife and co-owner, Becky Heath.

Dr. Steven Still, Perennial Plant Association, Hilliard, Ohio

When gardeners think about a shade garden, they might think 'hosta,' but there is more to a shade garden than hostas. Besides a tremendous variety of hosta plants, there are many other perennials that thrive in the shade garden. One can have a colorful shade garden with a variety of perennials no matter the level of shade. 

C.L. Fornari, The Garden Lady, Sandwich, Mass.

Gardeners and landscape professionals know all too well that perennial gardens need on-going maintenance. They need an arsenal of tools, tips, and tricks of the trade that will make their perennial garden care easier. C.L. Fornari, the author of six books including, Coffee For Roses, will present a game plan for perennial gardens, and a few fantastic plants, that will please pros, clients and home gardeners.

Peter van Berkum, Van Berkum Nursery, Deerfield, New Hampshire

Peter has been growing native plants for more than 25 years at

Van Berkum Nursery. He has helped many garden centers and landscape companies with their native plant needs. This experience has allowed Peter to create a list of native plants, for both sun and shade, that work well in gardens. Peter will illustrate these plants and discuss their garden uses. 

Just as outdoor garden spaces change throughout the year, Paul believes seasonal transformations should also be reflected in dramatic container arrangements. Join Paul for an energetic presentation where he will discuss the steps to success for creating an eye-catching and lasting planter. He will also highlight many of his favorite choice plants, container combinations, and planter accents. 

C.L. Fornari

C.L. Fornari is the author of six books including her latest, Coffee For Roses. She hosts Gardenline, a live two-hour call-in radio show on Saturday mornings on www.95WXTK.com and speaks to a variety of audiences. Her website can be found at www.GardenLady.com and she blogs at www.CoffeeForRoses.com. She grows perennials and all manner of other plants at Poison Ivy Acres on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Brent Heath

  Brent is a third generation bulb grower and co-owner with his wife, Becky, of Brent and Becky’s Bulbs, a wholesale/retail mail-order flower bulb catalogue and website business that provides numerous types of bulbs to many botanical gardens, cities, universities, landscape designers and discriminating gardeners across the country. Brent and Becky have received numerous awards including the Massachusetts Horticultural Society Gold Medal of Honor, National Garden Club of America Gold Medal and the Garden Writers Association Hall of Fame.

Kerry Ann Mendez

Kerry Ann Mendez, owner of Perennially Yours in Kennebunk, Maine, is dedicated
to teaching people of all ages the art of low-maintenance perennial gardening and landscaping. As a garden consultant, designer, writer, teacher and lecturer, she focuses on time-saving gardening techniques and workhorse plant material as well as organic practices. More than 8,000 people have taken her classes. She has been in many national magazines including Fine Gardening, Garden Gate, and Better Homes and Gardens’ Garden Ideas & Outdoor Living, plus her gardens have been in several published gardening books.

Steven Still

Dr. Steven M. Still, is professor emeritus of Landscape Horticulture, Ohio State University. His college teaching included programs at Kansas State University and Ohio State University. For 30 years he taught courses in herbaceous and woody plant materials. Dr. Still is the author of the Manual of Herbaceous Ornamental Plants used at many universities and colleges. He has received the American Nursery and Landscape Association's L.C. Chadwick Educator Award, Garden Club of America Award of Merit for Teaching, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society Gold Medal Award, and the American Horticultural Society's Liberty Hyde Bailey Award. Dr. Still travels world wide in his quest for visiting nurseries, garden centers, public and private gardens.

Peter van Berkum

Peter, along with his wife, Leslie, started Van Berkum Nursery in 1986. It is a wholesale perennial nursery specializing in natives and 'wicked ruggeds,' plants that perform well and last a long time in New England landscapes. Peter has a degree in Plant Science at the University of New Hampshire, and spent a year studying horticulture in The Netherlands. He is a past president of the New Hampshire Plant Growers Association, as well as a founding member of the New Hampshire Horticulture Endowment.

Paul Zammit

Paul, a graduate of the University of Guelph, is the Nancy Eaton Director of Horticulture at the Toronto Botanical Garden. Formerly, he was employed at Plant World, a large retail garden center where he was the perennial department manager for almost two decades. Paul’s container designs have been showcased several times in many gardening magazines, most recently, in an issue of Canadian Gardening. Paul has won first place in the Scotts Miracle-Gro 'Do Up The Doorstep' competition for his container entry at Canada Blooms.