PORTER COUNTY
MASTER GARDENERS ASSOCIATION
2026 GARDENING SHOW WORKSHOPS
We are so grateful and excited to celebrate the 20th anniversary of our annual Gardening Show! In the spirit of our mission, we’re are offering a lively series of hands-on workshops designed to spark curiosity, build skills, and get you ready for spring. These interactive sessions invite you to learn by doing, share ideas, and grow together. It’s our pleasure to announce this workshop series and enthusiastically welcome you to the show!
WORKSHOP LINEUP
To ensure that as many attendees as possible can participate, each workshop will be offered twice throughout the day.
Workshop 1A 9:30 a.m.
Workshop 1B 10:00 a.m.
Dried Flowers for the Home Gardener
With a variety of colors, textures, and shapes, dried flowers are the perfect way to bring an everlasting version of your garden into your home for any season. Learn what common garden plants to dry, best practices for flower drying, and tips for making your own dried flower arrangements.
Emma Bilbrey
Owner Hickory Hills Farm
Workshop 2A 11:30 a.m.
Workshop 2B 12:00 p.m.
Winter Sowing Workshop
Learn how to start seeds over the winter outdoors using recycled containers like milk jugs. Winter Sowing is an effective method of starting seeds that results in high germination and stout strong seedlings in spring.
Dolly Foster
Horticulture Program Assistant for the Purdue Extension Lake County and Certified Arborist
Workshop 3A 1:30 p.m.
Workshop 3B 2:00 p.m.
One Cutting, Countless Connections: Plant Propagation with Purpose
Learn how simple techniques can lead to lasting impact. This hands-on demonstration will cover the fundamentals of stem tip and leaf cuttings, equipping participants with practical skills to grow and share plants. This session highlights how sharing cuttings can expand horticultural education, strengthen community outreach, and inspire others to grow.
Karen Mitchell
Consumer Horticulture Extension Specialist at Purdue University
FACILITATORS
EMMA BILBREY
Emma Bilbrey is a cut flower farmer based in Valparaiso, IN. Hickory Hills Flower Farm is 2 acres of predominantly annual cut flowers entering its 7th season selling to florists in NWI and Chicago as well as to the NWI community at weekly u-picks, the Valparaiso Market, and bulk bucket orders. Emma's background is in botany and horticulture with a biology degree from Union University in Jackson, TN, and a masters in Horticulture & Crop Science at The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. Her passion is to celebrate nature's beauty and steward the land well by using sustainable practices.
DOLLY FOSTER
Dolly Foster, Horticulture Program Assistant for the Purdue Extension Lake County, has been a horticulturist for 26 years. A certified arborist since 2008, she holds a master’s in agriculture from University of Illinois. For the past 26 years, Dolly has been presenting lectures on many gardening topics. She spent two years as adjunct faculty at Joliet Junior College Agriculture/ Horticulture Department and 18 years in the parks and recreation industry. She has been doing butterfly gardening from the very beginning of her gardening career. Her passion has led her to raise monarchs and swallowtail butterflies for 18 years. Her garden at home has been a monarch waystation since 2011. Dolly also runs a micro plant nursery at her home selling native plants exclusively for pollinators June-October.
KAREN MITCHELL
Karen Mitchell is the Consumer Horticulture Extension Specialist at Purdue University. Her passion for plants led her to earn degrees in Horticulture and Botany, both from Purdue. She began her career as a County Extension Educator in Tippecanoe County, supporting local horticulture education. Now based on Purdue's campus, she leads statewide Extension programs focused on community gardens and home horticulture, helping gardeners across Indiana grow sustainable landscapes.
