Troy Marden to lead gardening seminar

photo Singer Barbara Mandrell, right, appears with host Troy Marden on "Volunteer Gardener" on Nashville Public Television in 2009.

IF YOU GO* What: "Wits' End - A Collector's Garden" with Troy Marden.* When: 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7.* Where: Humanities Auditorium, Chattanooga State Community College, 4501 Amnicola Highway.* Admission: $5 donation to the UT/Hamilton County Extension Endowment Fund.* Phone: 423-855-6113.* Email: tstebbins@utk.edu.

He has hobnobbed with celebrity gardeners as co-host of "Volunteer Gardener" on Nashville Public Television and had his work published in a wide variety of magazines, including Horticulture, Fine Gardening, Garden Design and Southern Living.

On Tuesday, Jan. 7, Troy Marden will be in Chattanooga to lead a gardening seminar presented by the University of Tennessee Master Gardeners of Hamilton County.

"Wits' End - A Collector's Garden" will focus on how Marden "transformed his own yard in Nashville from hilly clay to rolling beauty," says Hamilton County Extension agent Tom Stebbins.

According to a news release, Marden has developed his personal garden, "Wits' End," over the past five years on a cold and windy ridge with heavy clay soil. Through perseverance and wise plant choices, the barren ridge has become a beautiful space filled with rare plants from around the world. Marden's objective is to "create captivating and unusual plant combinations that are rich in texture and color in every season."

Cool Springs Press is set to release Marden's second book in February. "Plant This Instead" is a guide to better plant choices, featuring prettier, hardier, longer-blooming, drought-tolerant and native plants.

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