University of Wisconsin - Extension

University of Wisconsin-Extension agents will be on hand to offer advice and tips on a wealth of gardening topics at Wisconsin Public Television's (WPT) eighth annual Garden Expo Feb. 9 - 11 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison. Visitors to the show will trade winter's slush and dreariness for lush greenery, floral displays, information on the latest trends in gardening and a 1,200-square-foot custom garden display created by the Wisconsin Landscape Contractors Association.

Visitors will enjoy 300 exhibits by florists, garden suppliers and Extension Master Gardeners in the expanded 75,000-square-feet of exhibit space. They may choose to attend the more than 70 seminars and 30 demonstrations on topics including home landscaping, vegetable gardening, native wildflowers and unusual trees and shrubs, among others. Vendors will sell fresh plants, dried flowers, garden art, innovative garden tools, landscape services, garden supplies and lawn equipment.

Shelley Ryan, producer/host of WPT's ?The Wisconsin Gardener? program, will be available in the WPT booth to meet guests and answer personal gardening questions.

A new feature this year is the Friday cooking demonstrations, sponsored by Prairie Oak Press, with food sampling and cookbook sales. The three sessions feature Marge Snyder and Susan Breckinridge, authors of "The Wisconsin Herb Cookbook," the Madison Herb Society and vinegars from Colleen Lace of Colleen's Tough Times in Neenah.

Special highlights include a broadcast from radio station WIBA, Madison beginning at 8 a.m. on Saturday that features Marty Kay, host of ?Ask The Experts,? Shelley Ryan and recently retired Dane County UW-Extension horticulture agent Jim Schroeder. Other highlights are a floral competition, the garden dig for prizes and a raffle for a chance to win a Four Seasons Hobby Greenhouse donated by Kool View Co. Inc.

The WPT Garden Expo runs Friday, Feb. 9 from 4 to 8 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 10 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 11 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $5 at the door, $4 in advance, $8 for a two-day pass and $10 for a three-day pass. Children 12 and under are free. Admission does not include parking.

All proceeds from the event benefit WPT programming. For advance tickets using Visa or MasterCard, call (800) 253-1158, or send a check or money order payable to "Garden Expo," to Garden Expo, 821 University Ave., Madison, WI 53706-1412.

Advance tickets may also be purchased at the following locations: Green Bay Botanical Garden, Jung Garden Centers, The Bruce Company, Middleton, and at the following Madison locations: Johannsen Greenhouses & Gifts, Chickadee Depot, Orange Tree Imports, and Seed Savers Garden Store.

WPT is a service of the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and the University of Wisconsin-Extension.

Wisconsin Public Television is a place to grow through learning on WHA-TV/Madison, WPNE-TV/Green Bay, WHRM-TV/Wausau, WLEF-TV/Park Falls, WHLA-TV/La Crosse and WHWC-TV/Menomonie-Eau Claire.