Speaking on pruning to garden clubs

Back from the Garden Writers Association annual meeting in Raliegh, N.C. It was an intense, garden- and learning-filled experience that has inspired a bunch of posts that so far are all on my head.

But right now, after sleeping for 12 hours to make up for days of sleep deprivation (garden writers are an early-rising, hard-charging bunch), I have to 1) go buy some groceries for breakfast and 2) get ready for my talk tonight on "Pruning: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," to a meeting of the Palos Heights Garden Club. It's at 6:30 p.m. at the Lake Katherine Nature Center, 7402 Lake Katherine Drive, Palos Heights.

Here's the writeup I did for their newsletter:

"As leaves fall, many gardening chores wind down, but prime pruning season is yet to come. Beth Botts, longtime Chicago Tribune garden writer and senior editor at Chicagoland Gardening magazine, speaks on shrub pruning technique, tools and timing. She'll take a close look at a couple of shrubs that seem to confuse some gardeners, including hydrangeas and lilacs."

I'll also talk on the subject at 1 p.m. Oct. 7 at a meeting of the Garden Club of Oak Park and River Forest at the 19th Century Club, 178 Forest Ave., Oak Park.

Hope to see you there!