Classes for Adult Learners
Class sizes are limited. Advance registration is required. Call 281.443.8731 to register or get more information on Mercer’s other education programs. All members receive advance notification of classes. Lunch Bunch programs occur on second Wednesdays of every month. For more, see the full calendar of events. Print and mail this program registration form to 22306 Aldine Westfield, Humble, TX 77338. REGISTER NOW
NEW: Cultivation of Your Outdoor Palette–Painting Nature with Watercolor Pencils Saturdays, June 9, 16, and 23 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Attend a three-session beginners watercolor pencils painting course. The fee is $65 for members of The Mercer Society and $75 for nonmembers, and includes an artist’s starter kit with watercolor paper, a set of 12 watercolor pencils, a brush set, charcoal pencils, and a drawing board. Reservations are required by calling 281.443.8731. For more about the class see the instructor’s description.
Environmental Experiences and Growing Up Wild: Lessons for Early Childhood Teachers Friday, July 20 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Project Learning Tree and Project Wild lead this joint workshop that is designed specifically for Early Childhood Teachers. Everyone will leave with completed activities and two books fills with outdoor education lessons. The fee is $35/person and class size is limited to 25. Reservations are required by calling 281.443.8731.
Summer Symposium and Plant Sale
Saturday, July 28 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The 2012 Summer Symposium and Plant Sale provides a great opportunity for participants and volunteers to learn more about plant varieties that thrive in heat and humidity. The symposium and sale, scheduled Saturday, July 28 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., features gardening experts who share their knowledge of plant selections and water conservation for the summer months.
Featured topics and speakers include:
• Gingers and Heliconias: David Glover, Tejas Tropicals
• Ferns and Hoyas: Mike Lowery, Another Place in Time
• Plants for a Tropical Effect: Gary Outenreath, Beaumont Botanical Gardens
• Landscape Begonias: Tom Keepin, Astro Branch of the Begonia Society
The day culminates in a tour of Mercer’s own tropical-looking plants with Director Darrin Duling and the day’s speakers. According to Duling, “Many plants that love the heat and humidity are dormant in the winter but thrive during the hottest days of the year.” As you know, many of your begonias, gingers, and other tropical-looking plants are bursting into color during the hottest period of mid-summer.
Begonias, long grown as summer annuals, aren’t just for a garden’s front border: they’re perfect in many areas of the garden. With succulent stems and stunning bloom spikes,rhizomatous varieties work well in dry locations with partial shade. Duling also offers that “their colorful and shapely leaves add a unique texture to gardens.”
Consider volunteering for the 2012 Summer Symposium and Plant Sale: Plants That Thrive in Heat and Humidity. Volunteers are needed to help with plant sales check-out, greeting and checking in participants, and setting up and serving refreshments. Volunteers who assist attend the symposium for free, shop before the sale opens to the public, and earn Master Gardener credits.
The fee for the symposium is $70 for members of The Mercer Society and $85 for nonmembers, with lunch provided. Registered participants will be able to enter the sale at 8 a.m., before the sale opens to the general public at 9 a.m. There will also be breaks between speakers for additional shopping during the day. A plant-holding area is provided for symposium participants. Space is limited and paid registration is required by Monday, July 16.
For more information on the symposium, volunteering, or registration, call
281.443.8731. The symposium sold out last year, so don’t wait to register for
this event!