How to avoid gardening blunders

Renegade Gardener is on the way to offer help
Don Engebretson, a gardening expert on HGTV and PBS, is coming to Richmond to help local gardeners avoid what he calls "staggering failure."
"Gardening can be fun, soothing, enriching and all of that, but don't always believe it when you see a landscaping project described as 'easy' or 'foolproof,'" he said. "Gardening is a lifelong learning process, and failure is part of the journey."
Engebretson, a gardening expert on the "TIPical MaryEllen" show on HGTV and PBS' "HOMETIME" show, an editor/writer for Better Homes & Gardens and contributor to other publications, will present seminars at next weekend's Virginia Home & Garden Show. The show takes place Friday, Jan. 15 and Jan. 16.
Engebretson's two seminars are also scheduled for Jan. 15and 16.
"The Top 10 Gardening & Landscaping Blunders and How to Avoid Them" will focus on common mistakes that have a detrimental effect on landscapes and will include mistakes that Engebretson has made at least twice during his 20 years of gardening. It's scheduled for Jan. 15 at noon and Jan. 16 at 12:30 p.m.
"Crafting Cool & Creative Containers" will be a hands-on demonstration of ways to use containers and planters throughout landscapes. It takes place Jan. 15 at 4 p.m. and Jan. 16 at 2:30 p.m.
The home and garden show will be held in the Farm Bureau Center at Meadow Event Park in Doswell. Vendors, exhibits, seminars and landscape showcases will be featured.
Fishersville-based author and syndicated radio host Andre Viette will present a seminar on his top 10 ways to have a beautiful garden at 2 p.m. Jan. 15. A question-and-answer session will follow.
"Those who attend will learn a lot, and perhaps some tips they would not expect, like using peppermint sticks or ground-up candy canes to help rid their garden of pests such as squirrels," Viette said.
Viette grows more than 3,000 varieties of perennials for sun and shade at his Andre Viette Farm and Nursery.