Container Garden Contest April 1 through October 15, Jefferson City MO

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Show off your small garden in a big way by entering the Grow Native! Container Garden Contest.

It’s easy. Send your name, address, e-mail address, telephone number and photos of your container garden (taken throughout the growing season—no more than three) to Grow Native! P.O. Box 630 Jefferson City, MO 65102.
Or enter electronically by sending the same information to grownative@mda.mo.gov.

Also include a list of plants used in the container and their source (retail garden center, neighbor, specialty shop, wherever).
All entries must be postmarked by Wednesday, October 15, 2008.
Three winners will be selected. Each winner will receive a bundle of prizes that include:

• a $100 gift certificate for use at a Grow Native! retail garden center (provided by Kansas City Gardener and The Gateway Gardener),
• copies of Tried and True: Missouri Native Plants for Your Yard, Seedling ID Guide for Native Prairie Plants and Native Landscaping for Wildlife and People
• a Grow Native! gardening wardrobe (hat, apron, t-shirt and vest)
• four free admissions to Powell Gardens or Shaw Nature Reserve
• a profile of you and your container garden in the Kansas City Gardener or The Gateway Gardener and on the Grow Native! Web site.

Containers will be judged on visual appeal, length of bloom time and plant selection (color combinations, textures, heights).
For more information click here

STLCC, Missouri Botanical Garden Partner to Offer Scholarship Program in Horticulture

In an effort to attract a more diverse pool of job seekers to the field of horticulture, the Missouri Botanical Garden has partnered with the St. Louis Community College Foundation to establish a scholarship program in horticulture
The scholarship is renewable each year as long as a student maintains a grade-point average of 2.5 or higher, demonstrates satisfactory academic performance and satisfactory internship performance at the Missouri Botanical Garden.
Additionally, the Missouri Botanical Garden will provide a paid part-time internship to allow students to gain hands-on experience.
"We are delighted to be partnering with the Missouri Botanical Garden," said Paul Pai, STLCC-Meramec president. "St. Louis Community College is committed to providing accessible education to all who can benefit from it. As affordable as we are, many students still need financial assistance, and this new scholarship provides a great opportunity for them to pursue their goals through work and study."
STLCC-Meramec’s program teaches students the science and art of horticulture through a combination of classroom theory, laboratory practice and on-the-job training. Students are trained in the college’s greenhouses, outdoor nursery facilities, laboratories and lath houses.
"Our program graduates find challenging careers in a variety of areas that are both locally and globally relevant," said Paul Roberts, director of Meramec’s horticulture program.
Students may specialize in nursery management, interior landscape design and maintenance, greenhouse management, horticulture retail sales, commercial grounds management and urban forestry. Graduates are trained for jobs with state and city park departments, nurseries, landscape contracting firms, golf courses and retail sales.
For more information click here