Kokedama String Ball Garden Workshop
EL PASO, Ill. – Due to its recent successes at the Eureka Library, the Kokedama String Ball Garden Workshop is back by popular demand. This exceptional make-and-take workshop, presented by the Woodford County Master Gardeners, will be offered again at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, December 8 at the El Paso Library. No registration fee is required to hear University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners, Karel Kaufman and Karen Kaufman-Dickson, instruct attendees on how to make this new and trendy creation in the world of horticulture. Everyone will leave with their string ball garden adorned with a beautiful fern just in time to awe and inspire during holiday festivities.
String ball gardening is a term that has become attached to a style of Japanese bonsai known as Kokedama, which means "moss ball." To create these "moss balls," a plant is liberated from its pot with a majority of its soil removed, then it is inserted into a ball of wet soil mixture held together by moss and string. To display your Kokedama, it simply hangs from a decorative string. When your beautiful masterpiece needs water, submerge the sphere in a sink of water for 5 to 10 minutes, and let it drip dry before placing back on display. Many different kinds of houseplants can grow this way ranging from succulents to orchids. With this workshop, houseplants can be turned into decorative orbs to hang in the window.
Karel and Karen have been dedicated Woodford Master Gardeners for the past five years, and each recently won Outstanding Master Gardener honors for their service in educating their community about all things gardening. The workshop will teach you the history of these plantings, the exact process of making a string garden and the specific care instructions you will use with your own Kokedama.
The class will be limited to 15 participants and will convene at 6:30 p.m. at the El Paso library located at 49 W 1st St. in El Paso. For workshop registration, please call the El Paso Library at (309)-527-4360 to reserve your spot.