Behind the scenes with Matt McClellan

The 31st annual Perennial Plant Symposium, happening July 21-27 in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, has plenty of cool seminars and events, like a guided walking tour of downtown Vancouver’s many green roofs and living walls. But even more intriguing is the Whistler Sea to Sky Tour with Dan Hinkley. This is something you can only get when you host your event in Vancouver — an opportunity to hike the spectacular wildflower meadows of Whistler Mountain with Hinkley, a renowned plant hunter. Once you get to the top of the mountain, the tour will split into two groups — a leisurely sightseeing tour and a more adventurous hiking tour. Check out the full program with prices and registration information at www.perennialplant.org.

This could be you if you take the adventurous route. Photos by Gary Lewis, Phoenix Perennials

On the road

There are so many awesome trade shows and events happening in July. As usual, GIE Media’s array of fine horticultural publications will be out in force for the OFA Short Course in Columbus this month. Whether you’ve got a booth or you’re just walking the floor, you’ll see editors from Greenhouse Management, Garden Center and of course, Nursery Management. Got something cool you’d like us to see? If you’d like us to stop by your booth or you just want to chat, drop us a line before the show! Hopefully, we’ll be able to catch up with some old friends and meet some new ones.

Laser sprayers

Another event happening this month is NurseryWorks, a conference taking place July 17-18 in Manhattan, Kan. at the Kansas State University Alumni Center. There are tons of educational opportunities on the program, from local and nationally-known speakers to hands-on workshops designed to teach you new nursery production techniques . One that particularly caught my eye was Amy Fulcher’s presentation “IPM Meets Laser Tag: Grower-Approved Techniques and Novel Intelligent Sprayers Win Big.” Fulcher, an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee, will discuss a revolutionary laser-guided sprayer that “sees” plants and applies only the amount of pesticide necessary based on the plants’ size and shape. If you can’t make it in person, you can participate online. For $30, you can see and hear the speakers, as well as their slides.