Submitted by Joy Moore
Author and garden designer Debra Knapke will present “Simplifying Your Garden without Diminishing Your Joy” on Thursday, March 17, at 7 p.m. The free Zoom presentation is sponsored by Southern Appalachian Plant Society (SAPS).
To register, visit the SAPS website at http://saps.us/. Registration deadline is Thursday at noon. For details, e-mail [email protected].
There are many reasons to simplify your garden: moving to a smaller home and yard, physically not being able to maintain a larger garden, or just making the choice to define what you want from your garden instead of trying to have it all. True success in simplifying your life and subsequently your garden depends on understanding its parts and how they fit within the bigger picture. And the way to find joy in your garden is to know what you want from it and not going crazy trying to achieve it.
Knapke will use her own garden and those of others to provide inspiration for the creation of a simpler, blissful garden. She loves being a gardener and has packed an amazing variety of perennials, trees, shrubs and edibles onto the 2/3-acre lot surrounding her home. Anyone interested in learning more can visit her website at www.debrathegardensage.com.
After two other careers, Knapke turned her avocation of plant study and gardening into her full-time career in 1992. Known as “The Garden Sage,” Knapke is passionate about gardening, sustainable garden design and the natural world, and she enjoys sharing knowledge through her writing, public speaking and garden consulting in the private and public sectors.
She has served on various local and national committees and boards that focus on education, the environment and sustainability. She has championed those passions during her two-year term (2014-2016) as honorary president of the Herb Society of America and as the current chair of the sustainability committee of GardenComm. In addition, she has mentored the future of the landscape industry at Columbus State Community College for 24 years.
Southern Appalachian Plant Society is a regional nonprofit educational organization dedicated to providing learning opportunities about plants and gardening through programs, projects and member interactions. SAPS membership is open to anyone with an interest in gardening, whether a beginner or expert. Visit http://saps.us/ for details.
