Garden club talk is 'Setting Your Garden Up for Spring'

FALLBROOK – Christine Benton will be the guest speaker at the Fallbrook Garden Club Oct. 25 general meeting. She will present information on how to keep gardens active during the winter months so come spring the gardens are set up for success. She will also talk about how to take advantage of the hügelkultur method.

Hügelkultur, German for "hill culture," which is the practice of composting large woody material, such as tree logs, to create raised garden beds. How wonderful is it when resourcefulness meets zero-waste! Not only that, but Benton will also sprinkle some colorful petals into her presentation as she incorporates flowers into her talk.

Benton started gardening about 12 years ago and almost gave up. While she managed planting just fine, she felt like everything she grew turned into food for the entire squirrel population of Bonsall. With the help of some amazing squirrel-chasing dogs, she's been able to let her garden flourish, and now it's flush with flowers, herbs and vegetables.

Benton has documented the process on her blog, Chrissie's Garden, which recently won a San Diego Press Club Excellence in Journalism award. She also enjoys public speaking and has given talks and classes on gardening in addition to her day job of public relations and marketing, where she trains teams on writing and communication. Christine is also an enthusiastic horse lover and enjoys photography.

FGC general meetings are held at the Fallbrook Community Center, 341 Heald Lane, with social time at 12:30 p.m., the business meeting at 1:00 and the program at 2:00. The public is welcome. For further information relating to the club and its activities, visit http://www.fallbrookgardenclub.org.

Submitted by the Fallbrook Garden Club.