Gardeners love puttering in their own backyard, and this summer a rare opportunity is coming to our backyard. Staff at Green Spring Gardens will connect with the global public garden community when the American Public Gardens Association (APGA) holds its annual conference in Washington, D.C., this June.

This is a premier opportunity to learn from the experiences of others, and an example of how park staff continually look for opportunities to get better at their jobs.

Green Spring Gardens will enjoy national exposure at the conference, which drew nearly 900 attendees last year. The APGA conference is considered the organization’s premier professional development event, and previous attendees speak of the “high quality networking and content programming” available. Representatives from gardens of all size take part.

Green Spring will be part of the conference in multiple ways:

• Green Spring is a featured destination on the June 17th Virginia is for Garden Lovers Staff and volunteers will host conference guests, who will enjoy Beatrix Farrand’s legacy landscape.
• Green Spring will be part of a June 19th conference panel on Genius Through Gender Diversity in Design. The panel will celebrate contributions of historic and contemporary female landscape designers.  A documentary recently produced by Cable Channel 16 on Farrand’s landscape at Green Spring will be featured. Green Spring is presenting the panel in cooperation with Dumbarton Oaks and Tregaron Conservancy.
• Green Spring is a Partner Garden sponsor and will be recognized on conference web pages and print materials at the conference. The Friends of Green Spring (FROGS) contributed the sponsorship fee.
• Several Green Spring staff members will attend all or part of the conference courtesy of FROGS’ sponsorship of their registration fees.
• Green Spring staff, registered Green Spring volunteers and Extension Master Gardeners will volunteer at the conference and be able to attend sessions on their volunteer day.

More information about Green Spring Gardens is at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/green-spring.