MADISON — The Green County Master Gardeners will hold their monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 25 at the UW-Madison Teaching Garden, 5201 Fen Oak Drive, Madison. The garden surrounds the Dane County UW-Extension office building.
The Teaching Garden was established in 2004 as an outdoor classroom for training new master gardener volunteers and as an educational resource for youth programs and the general public. The Teaching Garden is organized into 12 garden areas, each with its own plant palette. The beds are maintained by master gardener volunteers and interns under the supervision of horticulture staff.
The goal is to enhance each visitor’s experience by making information available about plants and information resources relating to each of the 12 garden themes.
Visitors to the garden will be able to view over 850 perennials, shrubs and trees that are Midwest hardy. All perennials and woody plants in the garden have stakes labeled with their scientific name, common name, cultivar and supplier.
Each plant label also contains a QR code (Quick Response code) which can be read with a QR code reader on a smart phone or tablet. A QR code is a type of matrix barcode first designed for the automotive industry, but now popular outside the industry due to its fast readability and large storage capacity.
By holding the QR code reader in front of the plant label, visitors are connected to a webpage containing pictures and information about each plant. This is the only public garden in the area to offer QR plant labels linked to plant information. To access this information on plants in the Teaching Garden, visit: http://tgplpinfo.blogspot.com/.
The Green County Master Gardeners Association meets on the fourth Thursday of the month from February through October. Association officers for 2019 include Tanna McKeon, president; Tammy Schulte, vice president; Linda Boll, secretary; and Lynn Lokken as treasurer. For more information on the Master Gardener program contact Jackie McCarville, Green County UW-Extension at 608-328-9440.
