Local master gardener gives advice at Oshkosh Public Library

Master Gardener and local newspaper columnist Lawanda Jungwirth will share her horticultural expertise at the Oshkosh Public Library on Tues., June 12. Jungwirth will address questions from the audience starting at 12:30 p.m., followed by a 1 p.m. presentation in the library’s lower level meeting room.

Copies of Jungwirth’s book, Down the Garden Path with Lawanda will also be available for purchase and signing at the event. The book is a collection of 126 gardening columns she has written for the Oshkosh Northwestern. Proceeds from book sales go to the Winnebago County Master Gardener’s Association to fund scholarships and programs.

During the program, Jungwirth will focus on information from columns she wrote on proper watering of plants and preparing a garden before going on vacation. She also will share information on the Winnebago County Master Gardener program.

A major appeal of Jungwirth’s program is that it will focus on gardening techniques that are appropriate for Winnebago County. “Information from national gardening magazines or syndicated newspaper articles is intended to cover a wide geographic area and often is inappropriate for Wisconsin,” she explains. “I have lived in Wisconsin my entire life, and any information or answers I provide will be either from my own gardening experience or from University of Wisconsin research.”

Jungwirth says that compiling her gardening columns into a book was a way to raise funds for the UW-Extension’s Master Gardener program and to further the association’s educational mission. She sees plenty of interest in gardening topics.

“I am fortunate to receive constant feedback personally and through e-mail from readers of my column,” she says. “Now people who haven’t seen the columns or are new to the area can have immediate access to 126 of them.”

Visit the library’s 2^nd floor to find books and other resources on gardening. For more information about library programs or services visit www.oshkoshpubliclibrary.org.