One of several greenhouses on the University of Saskatchewan campus.

Gardeners from far and wide polished their green thumbs last week during the University of Saskatchewan’s ever-growing Hort Week.

Hort Week, which took place in the Agriculture Building from July 7 to 13, is a series of gardening, landscaping and other horticultural workshops open to every skill level of gardener.

According to Hort Week organizer Bev Shober, the week’s primary goal is to offer all of the fundamental workshops required for the U of S Master Gardener Certificate.

“A lot of people come from out of province, from far and wide, and they’ll stay for a week and then they can do all their courses,” Shober said.

The certificate’s fundamental workshops include soil basics, plant anatomy and botanical latin, as well as dealing with insects, safe use of pesticides, tree and shrub classification and plant disease.

Hort Week started out as a single day of classes in 1985, but has grown substantially over the years.

This year’s featured lecturer was CBC Radio columnist Lyndon Penner, who has become a popular horticulture instructor at the U of S throughout his ten years of teaching workshops.

“He’s very bright and intelligent, he knows his stuff and he’s funny,” Shober said. “We have evaluations for each of the classes and lots of times people say it doesn’t matter what he teaches, they’ll just come listen to him.”

Penner’s featured lecture, titled “Backyard Oasis: Creating Privacy in Your Garden,” showcased the use of columnar trees, vines, fences and hedges to create privacy without sacrificing the aesthetic value of your yard.

As a regular instructor at Hort Week, Penner has the opportunity to offer workshops that are requested by the public as well as workshops that pique his interests. This allows Hort Week to offer several workshops outside of the fundamental courses.

In his lecture “Blueberries and Friends,” Penner touched on the challenge of growing blueberries and their close relatives. In a similar workshop, “Prairie Cherries,” he taught how to grow the many species of cherries that thrive in the prairies.

He also gave gardening enthusiasts tips on how to prevent problematic animals from entering the garden in “Demons of the Garden,” and in “The Birch Family,” he enlightened gardeners about birch trees and the insects that target them.

Shober said that the variety of workshops offered at Hort Week keep many gardeners returning year after year even if they have already attained their Master Gardener Certificate. She also noted that many master gardeners even return to teach classes.

“That’s what Hort Week becomes, a little community of gardeners,” Shober said. “People just love talking about their gardens and love learning things from other people.”

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Photos: Raisa Pezderic/The Sheaf