SFA Gardens Les Reeves Lecture to feature San Antonio Horticulturist
August 5, 2010
The SFA Gardens will host its monthly Les Reeves Garden Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 19, in Room 110 of the Agriculture Building located on Wilson Drive on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus.
Dr. Jerry Parsons, retired Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Horticulturist, will present one of his classic entertaining and often irreverent programs titled "Seed Collection of Texas Heirloom Varieties and Unique Plants."
Parsons was born in Tennessee, son of a professional trick shooter for Winchester. He received degrees in horticulture from the University of Tennessee, Mississippi State University and Kansas State University. He worked for 33 years as the area vegetable specialist for the Texas Agricultural Extension Service in the winter garden area around San Antonio where he was widely known from his weekly television appearances as "the Weekend Gardener." He also wrote popular weekly garden columns and hosted several popular radio programs. He introduced more new plants to the Texas nursery industry than any Texas A&M horticulturist in history and received every major Extension award available. He and his wife Carolyn live in San Antonio.
The Les Reeves Garden Lecture Series is generally held the third Thursday of each month at the SFA Mast Arboretum in Nacogdoches. The SFA Gardens volunteers serve refreshments before the lecture and host a rare plant raffle held afterward. The lecture is free and open to the public.
For more information, contact Greg Grant at (936) 468-1863 or grantdamon@sfasu.edu.