Speakers & Programs

STEVE COMPTON, Clemson University Department of Plant Industry

Steve Compton is a native of Upstate South Carolina and obtained a degree in biology from Presbyterian College. He has worked in agriculture, horticulture, and the greenhouse industry for more than thirty-five years.

Steve joined Clemson University's Department of Plant Industry in 2004 and currently works to slow the spread of regulated invasive species in South Carolina and surrounding states. Steve spends much of his time educating the nursery industry in identification and potential pathways of harmful organisms which adversely affect the nursery trade.

On Monday, at 11 am, Steve Compton will present “Invasive Species and Landscaping”

This presentation, highlighting invasive species and their relationship to sustainable landscaping, will include information concerning identification, potential pathways, mandated pesticide treatments, and invasive species regulations.

 

MILLIE DAVENPORT, Extension Agent-Assistant, Home & Garden Information Center

Millie Davenport joined Clemson Extension in January 2006 as an Information Specialist with the Home & Garden Information Center, answering questions about gardening and pests from across South Carolina.

Millie earned a B.S. in horticulture from Clemson University in 1995 and an M.S. in ornamental horticulture from the University of Tennessee in 1997.

Prior to joining Clemson Extension, she worked as a product manager at Park Seed Wholesale for eight years.

On Tuesday, at 10:30 am, Millie Davenport and Karen Russ will present “Interesting Calls to the HGIC”

Join Millie and Karen for a light-hearted look at the interesting and unusual calls to the HGIC. Topics range from the basic to the bizarre.

 

TIM DAVIS, SC Master Gardener Coordinator, Fire Ant Specialist

Tim Davis began his career with Clemson University in 1990. He spent three years as a research assistant at Sandhill Research and Education Center. During this time, he was involved in the peach tree program, screening rootstocks for nematode resistance and conducting experiments with delaying bloom.

In 1996, Tim became a county extension agent and worked to educate horticulture consumers in the South Carolina Midlands. He was the Richland County Master Gardener coordinator as well as the administrator of the Urban Horticulture Center at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden.

In 2001, Tim took up statewide duties, conducting research and education as a fire ant specialist. This program includes screening new chemistries, as well as working with biological controls for the red imported fire ant. Tim’s extension programs integrate all available tools to obtain the best levels of fire ant control. His research has focused on the ecological impacts of the ants of South Carolina.

Tim’s expertise in fire ant research and extension programs have been recognized world wide and have taken him to Argentina, Australia, and Taiwan.

In the fall of 2006, Tim assumed responsibilities as an extension programmatic leader for consumer horticulture and state coordinator of the Master Gardener program in South Carolina.

Tim is ABD (All But Dissertation) in his Ph. D. program in the entomology department at Clemson University. His M.S. is from Clemson University in entomology, and his B.S. is in biology with a zoology emphasis.

Tuesday, at 8:30 am, Tim Davis will present “Star Programs of the SC Master Gardener Associations”

From projects in the Upstate to programs in the Lowcountry, Davis will highlight the efforts of Master Gardener groups around the state. Come for inspiration, as well as information, on how to make the work of Master Gardeners more effective.

 

RUSSELL DUNCAN,Clarendon and Williamsburg Counties Lead Extension Agent, MG Coordinator

Russell Duncan is a native of the Longs community in Horry County, SC (Near Myrtle Beach, SC). He grew up on a tobacco, vegetable and row crop farm and attended Clemson University, graduating in 1978 with B.S. degree in agricultural education and a minor in agricultural economics. After graduation, he taught high school vocational agriculture for four and one-half years. He also worked for FCX, a fertilizer and agricultural chemical cooperative, as a manager trainee and assistant store manager for one year.

In November 1983, Russell entered employment with the Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service. He has remained with Clemson since that time, serving as county extension agent for agriculture in Clarendon and Marion counties. He currently serves as lead extension agent for Clarendon and Williamsburg counties where he is responsible for agronomic and vegetable crops in Clarendon County and administrative duties for both counties. He is also the Master Gardener coordinator for Clarendon County and is a certified crop adviser.

Russell is married and has four children, a son and three daughters. He lives in Sumter, SC.

On Monday, at 9 am, Russell Duncan will present “Building Healthy Soils”

This program focuses on soil fertility and nutrient management, particularly on proper use of both organic and inorganic fertilizer sources, as homeowners tend to over-fertilize regardless of the source. Russell will address how and why this practice should be avoided, examining the pit-falls of over-fertilization.  He will also show how pH is key to proper nutrient management, especially regarding the three primary nutrients (N, P, and K).

 

GARY FORRESTER, Horry and Georgetown Counties Senior Extension Agent, Environmental Horticulture, MG Coordinator

Garry Forrester became a Clemson Extension horticulturalist in 1990 and has been a MG coordinator for twelve years, certifying more than 500 local citizens as Master Gardeners. He has contributed to many Extension publications, including SC Master Gardener Training Manual, Home Law Care, Coast-A-Syst, Carolina Yards and Neighborhoods, Life at the Water’s Edge, Conserving Water in Your Landscape, Balancing Nature in Your Landscape, and Creating an Environmentally Responsible Landscape.

Gary is a frequent guest on the television programs Making It Grow and Southern Styles, as well as the radio program Palmetto Gardening.

Prior to his employment with Clemson, Gary worked for ten years as a golf course builder/superintendent.

On Monday, at 10 am, Gary Forrester will present “The Sustainable Lawn”

Lawns are considered by many gardeners to be a liability to landscapes. Many experts publicize turfgrass as being too labor intensive and a drain on our natural resources. However, lawns can be an added benefit to a landscape when turfgrass management is approached as a sustainable commodity. This presentation will cover design, selection and management strategies that can be implemented to reduce your lawn’s dependency on your valuable time.

 

Dr. DALE LAYFIELD, Clemson University Associate Professor in the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences

Dr. Dale Layfield is an associate professor in the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences at Clemson University. With a background in agricultural education, Dale’s interests in educational methodologies have been the focus of his teaching and service activities. Since arriving at Clemson in 1999, he has been instrumental in fostering use of cutting-edge technologies as both teaching tools and subject matter. This focus has been implemented in his teaching at undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as in his service activities.

Undergraduate students enrolled in his course on agricultural application of educational technology have used their new skills with the Clemson community through service-learning. Working with residents in a local retirement community, Layfield’s students have taught an array of digital technologies to a group of seniors ranging in ages from 65-94. The students’ hard work was honored with the Commission on Higher Educations Commendation of Excellence in Service-Learning, which is awarded to one public higher education institution in South Carolina each year.

Much of Dale’s work has been focused at the graduate level, serving many off-campus students through distance technologies. Through these media, he has taught educational applications of digital technologies for professionals in formal and informal settings. Dale has had the fortune of participating in a pilot program using an Internet-based streaming technology known as Macromedia Breeze. Mixing this technology with other online learning tools, he has promoted the methodologies of effective online instruction at national and international levels, including to colleagues at agricultural institutions in Russia.

On Tuesday, at 9:30 am, Dr. Dale Layfield will present “Using Online Tools to Enhance Presentations”

This presentation will provide an overview of numerous online tools and how they can be effectively used to enhance presentations to any clientele base. In addition, a discussion on recommended media file formats (images, audio, video) for PowerPoint will illustrate how to optimize future slideshows that maximize use of multimedia. A brief Q&A session will conclude the session.

 

DR. DESMOND R. LAYNE, Clemson University State Program Team Leader - Horticulture, Associate Professor of Pomology

Dr. Desmond R. Layne grew up in Harrow, Ontario, Canada. As a high school student he had summer jobs working on tree fruit farms in Essex county in southern Ontario. While a student at the University of Guelph ( Ontario Agricultural College), his summer work included assisting in his father's tree fruit breeding and cultural management program at Agriculture Canada ( Harrow) and one summer as an IPM scout working for the Ontario Ministry of Agricuture (OMAF) in 1985. This experience, in particular, was pivotal in his decision to pursue graduate education with the goal of conducting research and extension to help fruit farmers as a career.

His graduate work at Michigan State University focused on management and physiology of tart cherry. He later spent four years at Kentucky State University conducting research to develop the native American pawpaw as a new fruit crop and potential high value alternative crop for tobacco. He remains an international authority on pawpaw.

Since 1997, he has been on the horticulture faculty at Clemson University in South Carolina. He has diverse responsibilities to address the research and extension needs of the South Carolina peach industry. His research focus has been orchard systems management and new cultivar development. Dr. Layne is the state peach specialist and serves the 17,000+ acre peach industry with on-farm demonstration projects, educational programming and on-site consultations. He is an international authority on peach. In addition, he is the state program team leader for horticulture and supervises thirty-one county extension agents with primary responsibility for horticulture. He developed and teaches an undergraduate/graduate fruit production course each fall semester with average enrolment of 25-30 students per year.

Dr. Layne is president-elect of the American Pomological Society. He is a contributing editor and the regular stone fruit columnist for the American Fruit Grower magazine with an international readership of 36,000. He just completed a four-year project to develop a new, comprehensive text entitled The Peach: Botany, Production, and Uses for CAB International in the U.K. This 840-page text includes twenty-two chapters written by forty-nine international authorities from eight countries. Available in August 2008, it will the most comprehensive text on peach from an international perspective that has ever been written. In addition, the book will feature, for the first time in the English language, a history of cultivation and production trends in China with historical references dating back to 1100 B.C. It will also have a color plate section with nearly 300 color photos.

Dr. Layne resides in Seneca, SC with his wife of nineteen years, Cheryl. His children include Stephen (18), Michael (16), Daniel (12), and Olivia (10).

Monday, at 9 am, Dr. Desmond Layne will present “Tree and Small Fruit Crops”

This photo-illustrated program will look at tree and small fruit crops that are suitable for a sustainable landscape in South Carolina, including native plants and those that can be maintained with minimal pesticides.

 

AMANDA C. MCNULTY, Sumter County Horticulture Agent, MG Coordinator

Amanda McNulty grew up in Columbia, SC. As a young adult, she worked in Atlanta for the Georgia Council for the Arts while her husband, Edward Wimberly, attended art school. During those years, she enjoyed many arts events, developing an appreciation of music, dance, and the visual arts.

After several detours, she finished her undergraduate work at Clemson, majoring in ornamental horticulture and graduating summa cum laude. Later, she also earned a master’s degree in teaching science from SC State University.

Under the direction of Mark Steadman, Amanda began writing for and served as editor of Clemson’s literary magazine. Her gardening columns, which appear in TheItem and The State, won the National Association of County Agricultural Agents top award in 2007.

For many years, she worked with Ruthie Lacey of Gardens and Parties, cutting down everything in her yard plus gathering interesting plants found on the roadside. You can still see her picking her way through fire ant mounds along the highways between her home in St. Matthews and her office in Sumter.

For Clemson Extension, Amanda serves as the Keep America Beautiful and horticulture agent in Sumter. She is a frequent guest on ETV’s Making It Grow and is the show’s substitute host. In her talks on gardening issues, she uses humor and unusual analogies to help people make the connections between what plants and humans have in common.

Monday, at 10 am, Amanda McNulty will present “TREES–The Plant Kingdom’s Version of Walking”

Walking is good for nearly every aspect of our health; and trees, besides being the “low tech solution to air pollution,” have myriad benefits in our lives. They add beauty and value, support wildlife, and are a tremendous source of organic matter for our gardens. In this presentation, Amanda will share her favorite trees for South Carolina and their special uses in our landscapes.

 

Dr. DARA PARK, Assistant Professor at Pee Dee Research and Education Center

Dr. Dara Park is an Assistant Professor at the Pee Dee Research and Education Center for Clemson University in Florence SC. Her research focuses on water and soil relationships in turfgrass systems.

Dara received her Ph.D. in 2006 from the soil and water sciences department of the University of Florida. During this time she worked with Drs. John Cisar and George Snyder conducting research on the environmental impacts of turfgrass management in South Florida. Her current research includes cultural management effects on quality and performance of golf course grasses, maximizing water use efficiency of golf course turfgrasses by utilizing soil surfactants, investigating alternative delivery systems and water sources for irrigating turfgrass, and utilizing spectral reflectance for documenting stress in golf course bermudagrass.

On Monday, at 10 am, Dr. Dara Park will present “Water Conservation for Home Landscapes”

Recent drought conditions, coupled with a growing population, have increased the awareness for water conservation. Dara will share a number of water-saving techniques for turf and ornamental landscapes. By learning to manage water appropriately, gardeners will also reduce weed, disease, and insect problems, and optimize fertility and plant health.

 

LAURA LEE ROSE, Beaufort County Horticulture Agent, MG Coordinator

Laura Lee Rose is a native South Carolinian, gardening on the coast of South Carolina and swatting sand gnats for more than 30 years. She attended Mary Baldwin College in Virginia, the University of South Carolina, and the Technical College of the Lowcountry, before earning her B.S. in Horticulture from Clemson University.

A certified landscape and nursery professional, her work experience covers over 20 years. She owned her own lawn care businesses My Momma Drives a Lawnmower and Rosebud Gardening, as well as worked at the Garden Gate Nursery in Beaufort as a retail horticulturist.

In 1992, Laura Lee expanded her educational horizons by becoming a Master Gardener. Today, she teaches this class to numerous Beaufort County residents in her current position as the horticulture agent with the Clemson University Beaufort County Extension Service. Her responsibilities encompass projects in Beaufort County, Town of Hilton Head, Beaufort County School District, Storm Water Utility, and Jasper Water & Sewer Authority.

Laura Lee gardens on St. Helena Island where she lives with her son and their two dogs.

On Monday, at 11 am, Laura Lee Rose will present “ Carolina Yards and Neighborhoods”

Join Laura Lee as she examines the Carolina Yards and Neighborhoods Program, emphasizing its nine major principles for the eco-friendly landscape. Learn, step by step, how to create attractive and healthy gardens by working with South Carolina’s environment, rather than against it.

 

KAREN RUSS, Horticulture Information Specialist with the Home & Garden Information Center

Karen Russ is a horticulture information specialist with the Home & Garden Information Center of Clemson Extension. She has worked there for the past ten years, writing fact sheets and other material for the HGIC Web site, taking photographs for the HGIC Web site, and answering gardening and pest questions from across the state.

Karen has a B.S. in Horticulture and twenty-four years of experience working in garden centers, landscape design, and as head gardener of the formal gardens at Brookside Gardens, near Washington D.C.

Karen’s personal gardening interests are ornamental plants, especially perennials, herbs, and fragrant plants. She is also very interested in helping people find more environmentally friendly ways to garden.

On Tuesday, at 10:30 am, Karen Russ and Millie Davenport will present “Interesting Calls to the HGIC”

Join Millie and Karen for a light-hearted look at the interesting and unusual calls to the HGIC. Topics range from the basic to the bizarre.

 

DR. POWELL SMITH,Lexington County Senior Extension Agent, Pesticide Specialist

Dr. Powell Smith began to work in agriculture as a child. Both his parents and grandparents grew many crops, such as cabbage, pole beans, potatoes, and tomatoes. His grandmother, a Rachel Carson advocate, did not use pesticides, so he often helped her mash Mexican bean beetles and larvae in the pole beans, pick off cabbage caterpillars, and pick and mash Colorado potato beetles and larvae.

Powell began to work professionally in agricultural pest management in 1977 as a cotton pest management consultant. He moved to Florida in 1984 and worked in Belle Glade for A. Duda & Sons as a pest management supervisor in celery, radish, carrot, sugarcane, and citrus. In 1986, he moved to Hendersonville, NC, where he worked for a small package formulator, did private consulting for vegetable producers, and worked as a plant health specialist for Van Wingerden International, a large floricultural producer.

In 1988, Powell began work for Clemson Extension Service in Horry, Marion, and Georgetown Counties as an area extension agent in vegetable production and pest management, then later transferred to Lexington County in the same capacity. He worked for three years as an associate professor of entomology at the Edisto Research and Education Center in Blackville, SC, and returned to Lexington County in October of 2006 to work again in vegetable production and pest management with some statewide responsibilities.

Married to Cathy Santos Smith for twenty-seven years, Powell and his wife have four children and one grandchild. They attend St. James Lutheran Church. In their spare time, they like to hike, birdwatch, and, with particular pleasure, work in the home vegetable garden.

On Monday, at 11 am, Dr. Powell Smith will present “Reducing Pesticide Use”

This program takes a look at the pesticide use in the home garden setting, then examines landscape barriers, cultural practices, and integrated pest management techniques that can reduce the need for herbicides and fungicides.

 

CORY TANNER, Greenville and Spartanburg Counties Horticulture Agent and MG Coordinator

Cory Tanner is the consumer horticulture extension agent and Master Gardener coordinator for Greenville and Spartanburg counties. His responsibilities include managing the Master Gardener training programs, providing home gardening advice, developing horticultural programs, and writing garden columns and fact sheets.

A life-long gardener, Cory earned a B.S. and an M.S. in horticulture from Clemson University. Prior to employment with Clemson Extension, he worked in the nursery trade, producing quality landscape trees and shrubs for Ray Bracken Nursery, Inc.

Cory continues to garden in Easley, where he lives with his wife, Stephanie.

On Tuesday, at 8:30 am, Cory Tanner will present “Gardening for Beneficial Insects...the Next Step to a Healthy Ecosystem”

Wildlife gardening usually conjures up thoughts of birds, bees and butterflies, but there are many other six-legged creatures out there essential to a healthy garden. This lecture will focus on growing flowers for the “bugs,” recognizing the importance of these beneficial insects in the home landscape.

 

PAUL THOMPSON, York County Senior Extension Agent, Home and Commercial Horticulture, MG Coordinator

Paul Thompson is the Clemson Extension horticulture agent for York, Chester and Lancaster counties and a MG coordinator, as well as a certified nursery professional with the SC Nursery and Landscape Association.

Paul writes a monthly garden column for York County Magazine, is a regular guest on the SCETV show Making It Grow, and is an occasional host for the SC Public Radio show Your Day.

Paul has received many prestigious awards for his work in Extension, including the National 1st Place AT&T Communications Award from the National Association of County Agricultural Agents in 1997, and 1 st Place Communications Awards from the SC Association of County Agricultural Agents in 2004 and 2006.

On Tuesday, at 10:30 am, Paul Thompson will present “Tough Plants for Tough Times”

Some old, some new, some native, some introduced, Paul will talk about some of his favorite tough guys for the sun and shade garden.

 

LISA THORNBURY, Master Gardener, Junior Master Gardener Coordinator at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden

Lisa Thornbury is a Lexington County Master Gardener and the Junior Master Gardener coordinator for Clemson Extension’s program at Riverbanks Zoo & Garden. As a young child, Lisa learned to garden at her grandfather’s knee. Now, with a team of dedicated MG volunteers from the Midlands, she coordinates educational classes for several age groups of children, teaching both Level 1 and Level 2 of the Junior Master Gardener program, as well as Wildlife Gardener.

Lisa earned her Master Gardener certification in 2003 and recently completed the Master Naturalist Program offered by Clemson University. She lives in Lexington with her husband, Joe. The couple has two daughters and a new grandson.

On Monday, at 9 am, Lisa Thornbury will present “Success with the Junior Master Gardener Program”

Sharing the joy and excitement of gardening with children is not only a goal of the Master Gardener program, but a vital component of growing good kids and nurturing a love of the environment. Lisa, with valuable years of JMG experience under her belt, will share advice on every aspect of the program–from organizing lessons, to managing parents, and encouraging students to share their new knowledge with the public.

 

DR. LISA WAGNER, Director of Education of the South Carolina Botanical Garden

Lisa Wagner, Ph.D., is director of education at the South Carolina Botanical Garden, Clemson University. She is responsible for education programs for adults and children, including oversight of outreach programs such as Sprouting Wings and Garden Explorations, an inquiry-based field trip program for schoolchildren.

Lisa speaks frequently on a variety of gardening topics, from gardening for nature to raised-bed vegetable gardening. She is a regular host on the gardening segments of CU Radio Productions Your Day, heard on ETV Radio. She was the lead author of The Nature of Clemson, a Field Guide to the Natural History of Clemson University and writes about plants and gardening for local newspapers and newsletters.

She and her husband, Tim, also a plant ecologist, have transformed a two-acre traditional landscape into a garden that includes a diversity of native plants, wildlife habitats, and a raised-bed organic vegetable garden. Visit her gardening blog at http://www.naturalgardening.blogspot.com/.

Tuesday, at 9:30, Dr. Lisa Wagner will present “Creating a Sustainable and Ornamental Kitchen Garden”

Incorporating attractive (and useful) vegetables and herbs into landscape designs, containers, and borders provides not only year-round interest, but also a way to make seasonal plantings work in more ways than one. Beautiful cool-season greens such as Tuscan kale, Swiss chard, Russian kale, and myriad lettuce varieties are ornamental when used in an an early border, while evergreen herbs such as rosemary and thyme (with a tremendous cultivar diversity of leaf textures and colors) combine well with both cool and warm season plants. Warm season vegetables and herbs, from the attractive fruits of eggplants, peppers, tomatoes and squash, to the twining vines of beans and Malabar spinach and heat-loving basils, add their own character. Edible flowers, such violas and nasturtiums, provide an attractive counterpoint to other annuals and perennials, as well as adding color and texture. Join Lisa in exploring these ideas and more, for a sustainable and organic kitchen garden that is as ornamental as it is useful.