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International Master Gardeners Conference

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Betsy Lyman Director of Publications

P. Allen Smith Featured at International Master Gardeners Conference

(Little Rock, AR. February 26, 2007) Celebrity Garden Designer, P. Allen Smith, will be a keynote speaker during the International Master Gardener Conference May 2-5, 2007. Master Gardeners throughout the country will be gathering at the Peabody Hotel/Statehouse Convention Center in downtown Little Rock, Arkansas for several days of lectures, tours, parties and fun.

Smith will kick off the first full day of the conference, Thursday, May 3 at 8:30 am with a lecture entitled "Confessions of a Television Gardener". In his presentation, Smith will share stories and scenes gathered from his wide-ranging travels to world-class gardens while taping programs for his nationally syndicated television shows. He will offer tales about many of the fascinating gardeners he has met along the way; some zany, others serious, but all passionate about their plants. Smith will offer plenty of bottom-line gardening advice, with a dash of down-home humor and lots of real-life anecdotes. His career as a best selling author, award winning television host and frequent guest on the Today Show have brought him national acclaim, including the prestigious 2006 National Medal of Honor from the Garden Club of America. He will be available after his lecture to sign copies of his Garden Home series of books.

During the conference, Smith's personal gardens will be open to attendees signed up for tours of area gardens. Master Gardeners will be the first to get a sneak peek at Smith's new state-of-the-art eco-friendly home and garden near Roland, Arkansas. On a high ridge with a breath-taking view of the Arkansas River valley, Smith has designed a Garden Home Retreat that embraces the character and spirit of a classic American cottage and farmstead. The site includes a traditional style Greek Revival home uniquely adapted with the latest energy efficient construction methods and extensive gardens designed as a ferme ornée (ornamental farm) featuring exciting new varieties of flowers and vegetables arranged in stylish ways. The site will serve as a set and working model to teach lessons in garden design, sustainable living and good stewardship for Smith's ongoing media outreach.

Also on tour will be Smith's urban garden in the historic Quawpaw District. For the past decade, the garden has served as the television and photography set for his award winning programs, Garden Home books, active web site and magazine features. Guests will be guided through a series of uniquely designed garden rooms encircling his 1904 Colonial Revival cottage, filled with Allen's intriguing plant combinations and engaging color themes. As a special treat, if the weather cooperates, many of Allen's thirty-four varieties of heritage roses will be in bloom, showering the garden with flowers and fragrance.

For information about the International Master Gardeners Conference, contact University of Arkansas, Cooperative Extension Service, 2301 South University Avenue, Little Rock, Arkansas 72204, Phone (501) 671-2000 or go to their website: mg2007.uaex.edu.

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