Sustainable gardening event nearly sold out

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I find it hard to resist a symposium dedicated to the lighthearted side of gardening.

Obviously I am not alone: I am told that tickets to the Pacific Horticulture symposium ‘Gardening Under Mediterranean Skies VIII: Style and Whimsy in the Sustainable Garden’ are selling quickly. Some events are nearly sold out.

To be held Sept. 23 to 26 at various locations in Pasadena, the program will feature architecture and garden tours including the Greene & Greene house shown above and the modernist pool at right, both of which we’ve featured previously. Lectures will address low-water landscaping, and workshops will focus on making hypertufa containers and broken-concrete paths, stairs, walls and seating areas. Speakers include noted designers Patrick Anderson, Jeffrey Bale, Steve Brigham, Marcia Donahue, Anthony Exter, Steve Gerischer, Keeyla Meadows, Richie Steffen and L.A. at Home contributor Debra Prinzing.

Each day will begin at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden with three lectures and an alfresco lunch. Afterward, buses will take participants to three gardens for tours with the owner, the designer or both. The gardens are private and therefore not handicapped accessible. I look forward to checking out a steep hillside lot that has been converted into an amphitheater of ‘grassy-covered broken concrete terraces and many recycled materials.’

Registration with full payment is required. You may register to attend one, two or all three days. Fees range from $135 per day to $394 for three days. Discounts are available to people under 35, horticulture students and members of the L.A. County Arboretum or Mediterranean Garden Society, among others. Rates will go up after Sept. 15. Free events, including a tour of Arlington Garden, will be held on Sept. 23 and 24, but you must register to reserve a space. For more information, e-mail symposium@pacifichorticulture.org or call (760) 295-2173.

-- Lisa Boone
Photo credits, from top: Gabriela Yariv Landscape Design; Steve Gunther; Arlington Garden