Four experts on gardening and the environment will share information about growing plants and contributing to nature at the Denton County Master Gardener Association 2017 Fall Garden Fest from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 14 at the Denton County Fairgrounds, 2217 N. Carroll Blvd. in Denton. Admission is free for the entire family.

The four one-hour educational presentations begin at 9:30 a.m. with Ricky Linex of the National Resource Conversation Service discussing “Prairie Plants and Pollinators.” Linex, a wildlife biologist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service based in Weatherford, encourages conservation throughout 51 North Texas counties and is the author of “Range Plants of North Central Texas.”   

At 10:45 a.m., Roger Sanderson, director of horticulture at the Discovery Gardens in Fair Park, will explain how to “Create a Butterfly Garden.” Sanderson was the director of botanical gardens and a wildlife biologist at the Heard Natural Science Museum for 11 years before joining the Discovery Gardens in 2012.  He is an expert on butterflies and pollinator plants.

At 12:15 p.m., a panel moderated by Christian Dieterich will discuss “Urban Beekeeping,” and at 1:30 p.m. Janet Smith, Dallas County Master Gardener, will speak on “The Monarch Highway.” In 2007, she traveled to the winter home of the monarchs in Mexico and later created her own butterfly garden, researching and teaching others about the species. Named Texas Master Gardener Volunteer of the year in 2010, Smith has over 4,000 volunteer hours as a Master Gardener and averages 30 talks a year as a garden and nature educator. 

In addition to education, there will be dozens of opportunities to shop for foods, books, crafts, gardening items, art and more. Several supervised, hands-on activities for children – all of them free - will educate and keep youngsters entertained. For details, visit dcmga.com or look for the Denton County Master Gardener Association on Facebook.  

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