Fernwood Botanical Garden has announced details of its 2017 Spring Symposium. The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 18.
The symposium is presented in partnership with “Chicagoland Gardening Magazine,” “Garden Design magazine,” Stonehouse Nursery and Vite Greenhouses.
Guest speakers will include Craig Bergmann, Tres Fromme, Richard Hawke, and R. William Thomas. The speakers are nationally known garden leaders, plants men, landscape architects and garden designers.
The daylong symposium will explore diverse design approaches that enhance and evoke the unique features of exceptional gardens and the plants that support them.
Lunch, prepared by Fernwood Chef Tim Carrigan, will be included. Bill Thomas of Chanticleer will sign his new book that will be on sale in Fernwood’s gift shop.
An early registration special is now running through March 10.
Tickets cost $100 for nonmembers and $80 for members.
Registration is from March 11 to March 17 will cost $125 or $100 for members.
VIP symposium tickets include reserved front row seating and a special private lunch with symposium speakers.
VIP tickets are $126 (members $105). Registration can be taken online at fernwoodbotanical.org or by phone at (269) 695-6491.

Symposium topics:
The Art of Gardening
at Chanticleer
Join Chanticleer’s Executive Director, head gardener, and author, Bill Thomas, for a behind-the-scenes look at what the Washington Post calls “one of the most interesting and edgy public gardens in America.” Chanticleer’s garden staff are the designers who make the garden fun, visually exciting, and environmentally responsible. He and staff co-authored “The Art of Gardening” Timber Press.
Bill is Chair of Greater Philadelphia Gardens that promotes the Philadelphia region as “America’s Garden Capital.” He holds a B.S. and an M.S. in Ornamental Horticulture from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is the 2017 recipient of the Scott Medal and Award (The Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College).

From Design to Reality
Craig Bergmann is a registered landscape architect, garden designer, horticulturist, and gardener. He founded Craig Bergmann Landscape Design, Inc., in Lake Forest, Illinois, in 1982.
His portfolio of projects includes award-winning historical restorations, public garden designs, and municipal consulting along Chicago’s North Shore, as well as throughout the Midwest region.
Craig is a frequent lecturer around the country at regional and national public gardens and other organizations. His award-winning work has been featured in numerous books and periodicals including “The American Man’s Garden,” “Inside Out,” “The Front Garden,” “Midwest Gardens,” “Fine Gardening,” “Traditional Home,” and “Garden Design.”

Abandon Yourself to Design
Garden design involves choreographing dynamic interactions between people, plants, and spaces. Successful garden designs intentionally engage our bodies, imaginations, and spirits.
Tres Fromme’s work focuses on intensely organized and site-specific public space and garden collaborations throughout the country.
He brings a knowledge of horticulture, garden precedents, aesthetics, and design to each project.
A proponent of experiential design, he choreographs relationships among people, spaces, and plants.
For a decade, Tres led planning and design at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania and more recently for four years at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.

When Pretty Isn’t Enough
Richard Hawke, Plant Evaluation Manager at the Chicago Botanic Garden since 1986, is responsible for the comparative evaluation of more than 1,100 taxa of herbaceous perennials and woody plants.
The Plant Evaluation Program received the Award for Program Excellence from the American Public Garden Association in 2008.
Author of CBG’s “Plant Evaluation Notes,” Richard is an instructor at the Garden, and received the Perennial Plant Association’s Academic Award for teaching excellence in 2005.
Richard is an author and contributing editor for Fine Gardening, and writes for other horticulture publications including “Perennial Plants,” “The American Gardener,” “Chicagoland Gardening,” and “Nursery Management.”
Fernwood is a special place, where nature blends with gardens and art to create an experience of wonder for all ages.
Fernwood is comprised of 105 acres on the St. Joseph River near Buchanan at 13988 Range Line Road, Niles.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Call (269) 695-6491 or visit fernwoodbotanical.org for more information and to confirm status of classes.