March 2 Session Featuring:
Danae Wolfe, The Ohio State University
“ Know what you grow”—help prevent the spread of invasive plants
Danae Wolfe began her new role as Summit County’s
Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Educator on
June 1st. She comes to Ohio State University Extension from the National Park Service where she served an an interpretive park ranger in Cuyahoga Valley. Danae recently completed her master’s degree in Environment and Natural
Resources from The Ohio State University and she is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Extension Education.
In 2013, in addition to serving as Summit County’s educator,
Danae will be leading an educational initiative to create awareness of invasive plants: what they are, what they do, and recommendations for substitute plantings. She will also conduct the training of a new class of Master
Gardener Interns.
Rudy Moyer, Farm Supervisor, Cleveland Crops
Master Gardener, Stark County
“Rudy’s Favorites”—Fun, healthy & interesting vegetables to grow
1996 Stark County Master Gardener of the Year
1997-1999 President of the Stark County Master Gardeners
18 yrs in the Green Industry
Rudy is currently employed by Cuyahoga County Board of
Developmental Disabilities as Farm Supervisor for
Cleveland Crops. We employ, year round, individuals with developmental disabilities to plant, grow, harvest and sell vegetables utilizing season extension techniques.

Dr. Carl Chuey, Youngstown State University
“Native Ferns for Your Garden”
Carl Chuey
Professor
Evolution and Ecology
Curator of the Herbarium
Dr. Chuey holds a B. S. from Youngstown University, an M.S. from
Ohio University, an Honorary Ed.D. from Ohio Christian College, and is currently in a Ph.D. program at The Ohio State University.
He is a Professor of Biological Sciences at Youngstown State
University and Curator of the Herbarium at YSU.
The Herbarium of Youngstown State University, founded in 1965, is currently the 4th largest herbarium out of more than 35 herbaria in Ohio. The specialty of YSU's herbarium is pteridophytes, which account for 20% of the collection. The geographic strength of the collection is Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia but all 50 states and 9 Canadian provinces, as well as 91 other countries are represented. In 2008, the herbarium reached 100,000 specimens.
LJ Dalton & Lora Avens, Master Gardeners
“Tabletop Landscapes”
This session will be an inter-active demonstration as to how to create a tabletop garden. (Materials and plants will be provided – participants will create their own terrarium to take home.)
Lora Avens
I have always enjoyed playing in the dirt; from gardening with my dad, to my career as a heavy equipment operator, to a career as a middle childhood educator to my own backyard gardening projects today, dirt has played a role. I have been a master gardener since 2009 and been involved in the Saturday Gardening Series,
Akron Zoo/ Summit Master Gardeners Summer
Gardening Camp, Salvation Army Children’s Garden and volunteer to Tour of Gardens. I am a current member of the Board of Directors for Master Gardeners of Summit County, the Greater Akron Orchid Society, and the Gardeners of Greater
Akron Club. My gardening interests range from growing orchids, succulents, perennials, herbs, vegetables, small fruits, tropical plants and providing habitat for butterflies and birds. “Half the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination” ~Mrs. C. W. Earle, 1897.

LJ Dalton
A member of the 2009 Master Gardener Class, LJ developed the Outdoor Classroom Gardening Project for
Haven of Rest Ministries, where she has worked for the past 15 years. She is also involved with community gardens and has been on the planning committees for the past four years for The Saturday Gardening Series and the
Tour of Gardens. She serves on the Board of Directors for
Master Gardeners of Summit County.
March 9 Session Featuring:
Jeanne Poremski, Master Gardener
“Super Plants: Not Just another Pretty Flower”
Jeanne always played with plants and was conscripted to weed in the family vegetable plot when she was a teenager, the typical path to becoming a gardener. The story took a curve after marriage when Jeanne had few resources for plants and planting and spent more time in the woods and fields of many states. She credits the study of native plants for her success in horticulture and for opening up great opportunities in the fields of natural science. She is an active member of the Western Pennsylvania Botanical
Society, The Native Plant Society of NE Ohio, the Ohio
Moss and Lichen Society, and is a volunteer for the
Cleveland Museum of Natural History, assisting the curator of botany in the field in the warm months and in the herbarium in the winter.
When she goes to work nine months of the year, it is to wield gardening tools in others’ gardens. She is the current president of the Board of Directors of Master
Gardeners of Summit County.

Lisa Abraham, Beacon Journal Food Writer/Columnist
“Fresh from the Farmers Market”
Lisa Abraham is a lifestyle columnist and food writer for the
Akron Beacon Journal, where her work appears weekly in the
Wednesday Food Section.
A native of Niles, Ohio, Abraham is a graduate of the E.W.
Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University, and has been a newspaper writer in Ohio for more than 25 years, previously working at The Blade in Toledo and the Tribune Chronicle in
Warren.
She is the recipient of numerous writing and reporting awards, including being named best food columnist by the Association of Food Journalists.
Three of the past four years, she has been named best lifestyle columnist in the Ohio
Excellence in Journalism Awards, and in 2012, she and the Beacon Journal's food section were honored by the Association of Food Journalists for having the best newspaper food section in its circulation category.
Her work regularly appears in newspapers across the country through the
McClatchy-Tribune news service.
Abraham is the author of Famous Chefs & Fabulous Recipes, Lessons Learned at one of the Oldest Cooking Schools in America, and is a popular guest on Akron's WAKR radio, where she chats about food and cooking.
When she's not working, Abraham can be found at home in her kitchen, cooking up food and fun with her husband, Richard Hart.
Deborah Hardwick, Clematis Guru
“Clematis: The Myths and Truths”—growing them faster and better
Clematis are largely misunderstood and gardeners waste much time learning the hard way…Deborah’s passion is to enable you to grow bigger, better clematis faster than ever before and feature them in your landscape with pride.
Deborah has gardened just north of Columbus, Ohio for 20 years, with the last 10 years collecting, studying and growing
Clematis. Her private collection of Clematis is one of the largest in the world, and features over 800 varieties of
Clematis, including species from around the globe. Native
American Clematis species are an additional feature of the collection, with specimens representing the geographic distribution of a variety of clematis groups grown from wild collected seed.
Deborah’s clematis avocation has taken her across the pond to meet plant breeders and clematarians from around the globe, and she has established import connections and friendships with clematis breeders, collectors and aficionados in several countries.

A frequent contributor to the annual journals of both the International and British
Clematis Societies, Deborah welcomes any opportunity to dispel the myths and promote the easy ways to see Clematis flourish in gardens in North America.
By vocation, as an executive in the beauty business, Deborah consults with spa, salon and product companies on maximizing brand potential and strategic and operational planning for a variety of clients in the New York Metro region.
Her lectures feature hundreds of photographs from her garden, illustrating the diversity and beauty of clematis in the landscape in zone 5 central Ohio and is filled with tips & techniques, along with plenty of q & a time…and is sure to inspire you to the potential of ‘digging deeper’ into Clematis!
Noelle Akin, Petitti’s Garden Center
“Upcycling—Art in the Garden”
Noelle Clark Akin
Director of Communications and Education
Petitti Garden Center
With twelve years in the Green Industry, Noelle Clark Akin has instructed and assisted gardeners all over Northeast
Ohio through her work in Petitti Garden Center’s retail stores. Outside speaking engagements and filling in for
Angelo Petitti in his absence on his NewsNet5 television segments and weekly WTAM radio show, has made Noelle and expert in her field.
In 1996, Noelle received her Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Environmental Science from Wittenberg University. From college, she pursued her dream of working with plants by assisting at a small local greenhouse then joining Petitti Garden Center in
1997 as the Perennial Department Manager for the Oakwood Village store. In 1999,
Noelle left Petitti’s to assume the Supervisor of Horticulture position at Sea World /
Six Flags Ohio. In 2002, Noelle returned to Petitti Garden Center as Director of
Communications and Education. As Director of Communications and Education, she is responsible for the development and instruction of adult and children educational, gardening classes and seminars both in the retail locations and for outside groups.
Her duties also include maintaining the company’s website, composing the educational flyers and gardening guides for their nine retail locations, and training of
Petitti Garden Center’s staff of 350.

Location:
Messiah Lutheran Church, 4700 S. Main Street, Akron, OH 44319
8:30 a.m. registration & continental breakfast.
Sessions 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
E-mail: Saturdaygardening@gmail.com
These two information-packed sessions will feature exciting speakers
– visual presentations – demonstrations – raffles and door prizes
Registrations must be received by Friday, February 22
No Refunds after February 22
5 MG CE HOURS EACH SESSION (TOTAL OF 10 FOR BOTH MARCH 2 AND 9)