Meet the Speakers

Debra Lee Baldwin
Debra Lee Baldwin is an award-winning Southern California photojournalist, artist and speaker who authored the bestsellers Designing with Succulents and Succulent Container Gardens, which made the Wall Street Journal’s list of bestselling gardening books and Amazon’s Top Ten of 2010 in the Home & Garden category. Her articles and photos appear in print and online publications, such as The Los Angeles Times, Sunset, Fine Gardening and the internationally acclaimed blog, Gardening Gone Wild.

Session 302: "Designing with Spectacular Succulents"

Top designers use geometric, architectural succulents to enhance gardens and containers with spectacular blooms and foliage of every color—including dramatic cherry reds, sky blues and burgundy-black. Debra introduces new and intriguing succulents now available and shows how to use these beautifully sculptural plants to highlight your personal style. Debra’s presentation also covers low-maintenance, easy-care container arrangements perfect for patios, entryways and decks.

Birdie Lenard Fountain
Birdie is a certified landscape designer, a plant breeder, and a national spokesperson for the Proven Winner brand. She has been with the Proven Winner family since 2001 starting out in sales & marketing and has been working within Research and Development for about seven years.

Session 301: "What's New in the Plant World?"

If you ever wondered where new plants originate, come and hear Birdie Lenard Fountain speak about some of the great, new plants that are part of the Proven Winners program. She will discuss how the company conducts research and development trials and provide gardening tips on using plants in the landscape. Birdie will also display samples of the featured plants she describes in her presentation.

Cristin Fusano
Cristin Fusano is a Southern California landscape designer and horticultural consultant specializing in country/cottage gardens and Italian/Mediterranean designs. She excels at trouble shooting and problem solving, focusing on protecting views, designing sophisticated screening between properties, creating plantable spaces on steep slopes and hillsides, bringing color and light into shady areas and turning tiny patios into magical spaces. Cristin shares her extensive plant knowledge and design tips throughout the gardening community.

Session 202: "Secret Edible Gardens"

Pots of vegetables and herbs tucked in between roses, showy perennials, and annual flowers---raised beds hidden behind a formal hedge---citrus trees in large pots in an unused sunny side garden. These are all creative ways to incorporate edibles into the garden. Join Cristin for an exciting PowerPoint presentation and see the magical transformation: before, during and after.

Annie Hall
Annie Hall is an accomplished landscape designer who has been a guest multiple times on the Do-It-Yourself network. She is an integral part of the Orange County gardening community not only as a speaker, but also through her projects and featured articles in magazines and newspapers. Annie is also an instructor at Saddleback College in the Landscape Design and Horticulture Department.

Session 303: "It Always Looks Good: Choosing the Right Landscape Plants"

If you want your garden to look appealing year-round, register for Annie Hall’s talk about choosing plants that bloom….each season, how to include plants with interesting foliage, and which plants are good repeat bloomers. She will introduce you to ideas for permanent plants (and a few annuals) that will help to create a good looking garden no matter what style you prefer. She will also include tips for plants in small spaces and containers that will appeal to all participants.

Kay Havens
Kay Havens is a UCCE Master Gardener who appreciates making gardening healthier, more productive and enjoyable for other gardeners. Her garden areas of interest/knowledge include planning great looking landscapes with less water, ornamentals, vegetables, fruit trees and edibles, soils, composting and vermiculture. She stays active as a UCCE Sustainable Landscape Expert, Master Composter, as well as a member of both the California Rare Fruit Growers, and the Orange County Organic Gardeners.

Session 101: "Want Fruit? Grow Your Own" — with Teena Spindler

Eat more fruit...naturally! Nothing matches the intense flavor of fruit picked at its peak of ripeness from your own backyard “fruit basket!” Learn how to incorporate fruit — from ground covers to trees — in your existing landscape whether you have a patio or large garden. Unravel the mysteries of “chill hours,” pruning, fertilizing, disease and pest control for berries, grapes, citrus and deciduous fruit trees. Let Master Gardeners show you how to use basic gardening skills and the best climate in the world to put food on your table for years to come. Then let the jam making begin!

Darren Haver, Ph.D.
Dr. Darren L. Haver is the Water Resource and Water Quality Advisor for the University of California Cooperative Extension in Orange and Riverside counties. He provides assistance to agricultural producers, wholesale nurseries, urban landscape professions, and government agencies in the development and implementation of management practices to mitigate surface runoff contaminants. He is the co-author of the ANR publication: Greenhouse and Nursery Management Practices to Protect Water Quality.

Session 103: "Water: The Big Picture"

How important is water conservation? Less than 1% of all water on the earth is readily available for human consumption (because some of the fresh water is stored in the form of icebergs). As water becomes increasingly scarce and more expensive, …….hear Dr. Haver explain how to apply cutting-edge water conservation techniques in your garden so you can use water to its fullest potential and help protect your local waterways at the same time. He will illustrate these important approaches by comparing elements of three demonstration landscapes for their water usage and water waste.

Richard Hoenisch
Richard Hoenisch is a Plant Pathologist at UC Davis and the Training and Education Director for the Western Region of the National Plant Diagnostic Network. He has a background in agriculture, including geology and soil science. A man of many talents, he is also the founding manager of Tablas Creek Winery in the Paso Robles area.

Session 203: "Small But Deadly — Beware!"

Our worst enemies are strangely beautiful and exotic, very small, yet familiar…they are also deadly…and they are on their way here – Yikes! What are these things?!? What can YOU do? You can become a First Detector….. Richard’s First Detector presentation is for gardeners of all experience levels. Learn about how some of the United States’ worst historic plant diseases, such as Dutch elm disease, serve as models for similar devastation due to modern diseases and pests. Richard will identify and discuss several new diseases, new exotic insect pests, and seemingly innocent weed and ornamental pests. He will also discuss how to become a trained and certified First Detector and be part of the National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN).

Teena Spindler
Teena Spindler is UCCE Master Gardener and an avid home gardener. Her gardening areas of interest/knowledge are roses, plant propagation and greenhouse gardening, vegetable gardening, fruit trees, bulbs, perennials, school gardens, and drought tolerant/native plant gardening. Teena is the founder/coordinator of the Shady Canyon Garden Club in Irvine, a docent at Centennial Farm at the Orange County Fairgrounds, a Master Composter, and a member of the Great Park Conservancy.

Session 101: "Want Fruit? Grow Your Own" — with Kay Havens

Ron Vanderhoff
Ron Vanderhoff is the General Manager of Roger’s Gardens in Newport Beach. He is a lifelong Southern California gardener and professional horticulturist. For more than thirty years, he has been a leader in the local gardening community, as an educator, writer, lecturer, innovator and business leader. He is an expert plantsman and an avid plant collector.

Session 102: "Wild and Green: A Garden That Fits California"

Thinking of installing a native or low-water garden? Want to be inspired, entertained – and – get lots of useful information? Don’t miss this presentation! Beginning with a “mish-mash” of 1980’s plants with “simplistic irrigation, no time, no outside help, and no budget”, this plant hobbyist created a one-of-kind garden that emphasizes water thrift, wildlife nourishment, sustainability, and celebrates our native flora. This virtual garden tour begins with the original plantings, highlights Ron’s lofty goals (and the eventual realities), presents his overall design, and then leaps into the nuts and bolts of soil, irrigation, walkways, and planting. Ron will share what he has learned from his efforts, including examples of successes and failures, and reveal some of his favorite native plants.

Pat Welsh
Pat Welsh is an Emmy award winning TV personality, garden writer, public speaker and horticulturist. She is the noted author of many gardening books, including a gardener’s bible known as: Pat Welsh’s Southern California Garden: A Month–by-Month Guide.

Session 201: "Pruning Flowering Shrubs, Climbers, and Herbaceous Perennials"

Take the mystery out of pruning flowering shrubs, perennials, and climbers, including climbing roses! Understanding how each plant grows and blooms, and how climate zones impact pruning decisions, are keys to knowing when and how to prune correctly. Whether you’re a beginner or an expert, you’re guaranteed to learn from Pat’s “hands-on” demonstrations, which illustrate practical pruning techniques, including tips for specific plants such as bougainvillea, hibiscus, hydrangea, geraniums, ornamental grasses, climbing roses, wisteria, lavender and many herbaceous perennials.

John Kabashima, Ph.D.
As County Director of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) for Orange County, Dr. Kabashima coordinates and supervises the Environmental Horticulture, Water Quality, Master Gardener, 4-H, and Nutrition Education programs. He is a member of the Entomological Society of America and the California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers. John has a Ph.D. in Entomology and an M.S. in Pest Management. He has also published numerous articles, papers, and book chapters over his past 21 years with UCCE.

Lunchtime Bonus: "Got A Pest Problem? — The Doctor is In"

Join John Kabashima, Ph.D., County Director/Environmental Horticulture Advisor, for lunch and conversation. Dr. Kabashima is a leading entomologist who enjoys talking about those pests in your garden. He reveals how to keep your garden healthy by using Integrated Pest Management strategies to rid it of harmful pests and attract beneficial ones. He also enjoys answering questions about your personal battles with pests!