Hear From Our Experts

Join the Garden’s in-house experts on the horticulture team for our annual day of learning about soil, plants, trees, water, and more. The seminar gives our experienced horticulturists the chance to share lessons they have learned while working in the Garden to help home gardeners, and those considering gardening at home, make the most of the landscapes they tend.

In addition to the following informative lectures from our Garden experts, participants will enjoy opportunities to socialize with presenters and other attendees over coffee, lunch, and a happy hour.

Horticulture Seminar Schedule
*see session descriptions below

• 9-9:30 a.m. – Check-in and coffee
• 9:30-10:15 a.m. – Tours of the Garden
• 10:30-11 a.m. – “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Weeds of Houston,” with assistant horticulturist Cory Saul
• 11-11:30 a.m. – “Fighting Pesky Mosquitoes with Perky Plants,” with assistant horticulturist Diane Allen
• 11:30-11:50 AM – Panel questions
• 12-12:30 PM – Lunch provided by the Garden
• 12:30-1 p.m. – “Techniques in Organic Gardening,” with horticulturist Phillip Jennings
• 1-1:45 p.m.  – “A Scientific Approach to Tree Care Basics: Selection, Planting, Pruning. and More,” with senior horticulturist Colin Lyman
• 2-3 p.m. – Panel questions, happy hour, and networking/discussion

Non-member fee of $45 includes general admission to the Garden, access to all lectures and discussion, and food and beverages for the day (coffee, lunch, happy hour). Garden members receive a $15 discount.

Houston Botanic Garden offers free parking for most events, which are often held in climate-controlled environments, rain or shine. If you have specific questions, please email education@hbg.org.​

Session Descriptions

“The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Weeds of Houston,” with assistant horticulturist Cory Saul

Are you a local weed wiz, or are you more likely to ask, “Weed what?” Know your enemy with some basic weed ID, then rank them from Good, to Bad, to Ugly. With so many weeds to pull and so little time, it helps to know which ones are the absolute worst, and which ones just get a bad rap.

Cory Saul is an assistant horticulturist, with a focus on arid and native plants. Previous to his time in Houston, he worked at specialty arid nursery Tula Plants & Design and Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

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“Fighting Pesky Mosquitoes with Perky Plants,” with assistant horticulturist Diane Allen

Find out what types of plants repel mosquitoes and can even help reduce the number of mosquitoes in your garden. Plus, learn how to make your own homemade plant-based mosquito repellant, alongside some fun facts that you never knew about these pesky pests.

Diane Allen is an assistant horticulturist, with a focus on maintaining the Garden entrances and Alcoves. She has previous experience working at the San Antonio Botanical Garden and Nature’s Herb Farm in San Antonio.

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“Techniques in Organic Gardening,” with horticulturist Phillip Jennings

Get ideas for organic solutions to some common garden problems.

Phillip Jennings brings more than 40 years of gardening experience to his role as a horticulturist at the Garden.

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“A Scientific Approach to Tree Care Basics: Selection, Planting, Pruning. and More,” with senior horticulturist Colin Lyman

Learn how to select the right trees for your yard, and set them up for success while planting. Then hear how and why performing minor pruning and applying mulch in the correct way will keep your trees happy and healthy.

Colin Lyman is the senior horticulturist at the Garden, where he oversees and manages all horticultural operations. Colin has a bachelor’s in Plant Science and a master’s in Business Management and Leadership, as well as almost 10 years of experience in the horticulture industry, previously working at several college campuses.