The Golden Hour Gardening Series is a program created to introduce the community to the Cultivating Care Garden in Marion. Each session will be lead by a local Extension Educator. This program is a warm, beginner‑friendly series designed to help people enjoy gardening during the most beautiful time of day. Each session focuses on simple, hands‑on projects that make growing plants approachable, creative, and fun. Participants learn skills such as planting, caring for their plants, using what they produce, and identifying pests while connecting with nature in a relaxed, end‑of‑day setting.
Pizza in a Pot: May 28 | 5:30 - 7 p.m.
Create your own herb container garden with 4-H Youth Development Educator, Toni Kay Wright. Learn more and register at go.illinois.edu/PizzaPot.
Where Wellness Grows: June 9 | 5:30 - 7 p.m.
Discover ways to improve your wellness while being surrounded by nature with Extension Educator Robin Ridgley. Learn more and register at go.illinois.edu/WellnessGrows.
Pest Patrol at Dusk: July 13 | 5:30 - 7 p.m.
Learn how to identify pests and diseases in your own garden while receiving a tour of the Cultivating Care Garden with Horticulture Educator, Kim Rohling. Learn more at go.illinois.edu/PestDusk.
University of Illinois Extension develops educational programs, extends knowledge, and builds partnerships to support people, communities, and their environments as part of the state's land-grant institution. Extension serves as the leading public outreach effort for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences in all 102 Illinois counties through a network of 27 multi-county units and over 700 staff statewide. Extension’s mission is responsive to eight strategic priorities — community, economy, environment, food and agriculture, health, partnerships, technology and discovery, and workforce excellence — that are served through five program areas — 4-H youth development, agriculture and agribusiness, community and economic development, health and community wellness, and natural resources, environment, and energy.