Do-it-yourself landscape program Oct. 15 in Athens

You want your yard to not only look its best but be its best at meeting your family's needs. You just don't know enough about landscape design to create a place that does that.

Cheer up. The University of Georgia has created a one-day program just for you.

The UGA horticulture faculty will present "Landscape Design Basics for the Do-It-Yourself Gardener" Oct. 15 on the Athens campus.

The program will start at 8 a.m. and end at 4:15 p.m. at the Miller Plant Science Building Auditorium. It will cover the basics of designing your home landscape.

Learn how to develop a site plan and lay out different use areas. Find out how to choose the right plant for the right place and get a top-10 list of plants for problem places like shady, wet and dry areas. Grasp the basics of using seasonal color. And see how to use proper planting techniques to ensure a successful landscape.

Get all that and lunch, too, for $20. You have to preregister, though. A brochure with a registration form is online at http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/landscape-design.htm.

To learn more about the program, call Bob Westerfield at 770-228-7243. Or just mail your name, address and phone number with a $20 check made out to the Georgia 4-H Foundation to Angela Anderson, 205 Hoke Smith Building, Athens, GA 30602-4356.

— Dan Rahn