Delaware Botanic Gardens director to lecture on native ferns Oct. 17

Delaware Botanic Garden's Director of Horticulture Gregg Tepper will lecture on Great Native Ferns for the Garden from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 17, at Ocean Pines Library, Berlin, Md. Ferns are some of the best plants for the shade garden. This lecture features native fern identification, growth habits, culture and an enlightening discussion of the best companion plants. Attendees will learn the redeeming qualities that make ferns a pleasure to grow and earn them a place of honor in the garden. The lecture is free.

Tepper is a professional horticulturist, lecturer, consultant and lifelong native plant enthusiast. He worked at Mt. Cuba Center in Hockessin, where he held the positions of horticulturist, woods path horticulturist and director of horticulture. He has lectured on native plants extensively in the United States as well as at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Wisley in Great Britain. He volunteers annually as a horticulture passer at the Philadelphia International Flower Show and co-chairs the watering committee. He is the director of horticulture and board member ex officio of the newly formed Delaware Botanic Gardens at Pepper Creek in Dagsboro.

This presentation is one of a series sponsored by the Delaware Botanic Gardens at Pepper Creek, whose mission is to create an inspirational, educational, and sustainable coastal-plain public botanic garden in southern Delaware for the benefit and enjoyment of the public. For more information or to become a member, go to delawaregardens.org.