Tom Cox, nationally-renowned conifer expert and recent co-author of Landscaping with Conifers and Ginkgo for the Southeast will be speaking about conifers for southern gardens on Saturday, at 2 p.m. at the Chattanooga Arboretum and Nature Center auditorium.
This free event is the Winter Garden Lecture sponsored by The Tennessee Valley Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society in partnership with the Chattanooga Arboretum and Nature Center. The public is welcomed and encouraged to attend..
Mr. Cox is a past president of the American Conifer Society and has traveled extensively around the world to study rare and spectacular conifers in their natural eco systems. More importantly for Gardeners in the Tennessee Valley, Mr. Cox has extensive practical experience in growing an extensive range of conifers in the southern heat and humidity of his Cox Arboretum in north Georgia.
Garden conifers come in a wide range of sizes, shapes, textures. They provide badly needed color to brighten and bring life to your garden in winter as well as important cover and refuge for birds and small wildlife. They are important “backbone” or design anchor plants for gardens and are excellent companion plants for a broad range of garden plants. These are key factors in the rapidly growing popularity of small conifers for landscapes and gardens. However, it is important before purchasing and planting conifers to gain some understanding of the types that will do well in our area as no one wants to purchase a nice and sometimes expensive plant only to see it wither and decline.
Mr. Cox’s talk will allow area gardeners to learn in a short period of time about successfully growing a broad range of conifers suitable for both sun and shade in our challenging southern soils and weather conditions. Fifteen years ago conifers suitable for the south would have frequently been considered to be a pine tree or a cedar. Thanks to research and experimentation by Mr. Cox and others, there is now a rich and broad spectrum of colorful conifers from throughout the world which are now known to flourish in conditions.
Mr. Cox is an engaging and experienced plantsman who is happy to share the southern secrets to success in selecting among the various forms of conifers and cultivating them successfully.
The Tennessee Valley Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society periodically hosts a free Winter Garden Lecture for members and the public on a special garden topic lead by a nationally renowned expert. This year the Chattanooga Arboretum and Nature Center is cosponsoring this event and they invites the public to come and learn from Mr. Cox on Saturday at 2 p.m. on March 15.
Copies of his new book will be available for purchase and Mr. Cox will be glad to autograph them if desired.
Cox Arboretum in Canton, Ga.