"Nourishing Gardens: Adding Fruit, Vegetables and Herbs to Your Garden” is the theme of the annual LSU Hilltop Arboretum Symposium, set to take place in the LSU Design Auditorium. Featured presentations include:

• "A Rich Sport of Earth: Thomas Jefferson's Revolutionary Garden at Monticello" by Peter J. Hatch, director of Gardens and Grounds at Monticello. Monticello boasts America's ultimate edible garden with over 350 varieties of vegetables and 170 varieties of fruit.
• "The Garden Diary of Martha Turnbull: Mistress of Rosedown Plantation" by Suzanne Turner, professor emerita of landscape architecture at LSU, and author of several books on Louisiana gardens.
• "Trinity Gardens: Gardening for the Eyes, Stomach and Spirit" by Dr. Jeff Kuehny, Horticulture professor and resident director of the LSU AgCenter Burden Center. Kuehny will discuss creative design solutions for incorporating beautiful edible plants and ornamentals for local backyards.

Hilltop's Hodge Podge Volunteers will be baking up edibles from their new cookbook "Passalong from the Podge" for the hospitality break. Plants, garden gifts and books will be available for purchase, too. Immediately following the program, attendees are invited to tour Baton Rouge’s premier edible gardens at their leisure during the afternoon: University Laboratory School Vegetable Garden (LSU, 45 Dalrymple Drive); All-America Selections Display Garden (Burden Center, 4560 Essen Lane); BREC’s Magnolia Mound Plantation Home & Kitchen and Crop Gardens (2161 Nicholson Drive); and Beauregarden (527 North Boulevard).  Volunteers will be available to answer any questions anyone may have about each of the gardens on tour. 

Registration is required. Symposium from 8:30 am–12:30 pm; garden tours from 12:30 pm–4:30 pm. $65 for non-members; $50 for Hilltop members. lsu.edu/hilltop or (225) 767-6916.