County parks offer lessons, garden ideas
Make your own backyard a great garden destination with the help of local Penn State Master Gardeners. The 12th annual Gardens in the Park is set for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Allegheny County’s North and South parks. The event is free andfun for the entire family.
Do you have a plant with insect or disease problems? Want to know which plants deer tend to ignore? Are you looking to attract bees and butterflies to your landscape? Master gardeners and experts from the Garden Hotline will be at both gardens to answer gardening questions. Learn about growing herbs, composting, pest control, weed ID, soil health plus choosing and maintaining garden tools.
Master Food Preservers will be on hand to discuss preserving the harvest. Bring along your pressure canner and have its dial gauge checked for accuracy and safety. Taste tomatoes and garlic with an eye toward varieties that you will want to grow next year. Penn State Creamery ice cream will also be served.
In gardens brimming with colorful annuals, visitors can vote for their favorite plants. Pollinators abound at both gardens, but there is some variation in what you will find at each location.
The South Park garden at the intersection of Corrigan Drive and McConkey Road features demonstration gardens with a mix of labeled annuals. Some beds contain annuals touted as deer resistant. One bed was treated to keep the deer away and the other left untreated. A bed filled with zinnias is alive with butterflies and bees. Surrounding beds include a mix of
shrubs, perennials and herbs that thrive in our USDA 6B climate zone.
The North Park garden, located at the intersection of Wildwood Road and Babcock Boulevard, is a satellite site for Penn State’s Annual Flower Trials with over 80 cultivars from U.S. and international suppliers, some not yet available to the public. They are being evaluated for heat, drought and disease resistance. Old favorites may be featured in new colors or improved habit. Your votes provide valuable feedback to Penn State and growers regarding desirability for the home garden.
North Park also includes a fun planting that is an homage to the bicyclists frequenting the park, planted with a catchy combo of black and gold annuals. There are perennials and herbs plus a dedicated border of native plants perfect for attracting native pollinators.
Penn State Master Gardeners will also show the newest garden in North Park: the Rain Garden at Shaler Shelter. Dozens of trees, shrubs and perennials in the horseshoe-shaped rain garden help manage stormwater runoff from Ingomar Road and flooding from North Park Lake. Master Gardeners will give free tours of the garden, explain how to create one at home and give away rain garden plants.
Schedules
South Park
• 9 a.m: Allegheny County Master Gardener coordinator Glen Bupp discusses pruning and tree planting.
• 10 a.m.: butterfly release. • Noon: Evey Hardware owner Andy Amrhein discusses electric tools. Also talks by representatives from the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and PennsylvaniaDepartment of Conservation and Natural Resources.
North Park
• 10 a.m. Pruning tips from Brian Wolyniak, Urban And Community Forestry coordinator with Penn State Extension.
• 10 a.m.-noon: Garden writer and television host Doug Oster answers garden questions.
• 11 a.m.: Sara Madden, landscape project manager for the Allegheny County Department of Parks, discusses meadow planting.
For more information on Garden in the Parks, go to https://extension.psu.edu/ programs/master-gardener/ demonstration-gardens/garden
Carol Papas and Tricia Flinn are Penn State Master Gardeners. This volunteer program supports the outreach mission of Penn State Extension and provides research-based information on best practices in sustainable horticulture and environmental stewardship. Information: alleghenymg@psu.edu or 412-4823476.