WELLS, Maine, May 21, 2013  York County Master Gardeners and the Wells Reserve at Laudholm are offering local gardeners several opportunities to improve their knowledge and skills around their home gardening through a series of workshops this summer at the new All Seasons Garden at the reserve.

All Seasons Garden workshops begin with Sheet Mulching and Home Composting on May 30 and continue with Drip Irrigation on June 4, Yardscaping on June 19, and Four-Season Gardening on August 29. Each two-hour, hands-on workshop begins at 6pm and costs $7 ($5 for members of Laudholm Trust). A special noontime brown-bag talk on Three Sisters Gardening and Companion Planting will be offered June 12 for a $2 suggested donation. See wellsreserve.org/calendar for details and to register in advance for each evening workshop.

All workshops will be held at the Wells Reserve, 342 Laudholm Farm Road in Wells.

"Master Gardeners welcome this opportunity to share tips for increasing yields and reducing labor with the residents of York County," said Frank Wertheim, Extension Educator with the UMaine Cooperative Extension office.

Wertheim also said the public is welcome to explore, and to pitch in, at the two demonstration gardens managed by Master Gardener Volunteers on the Wells Reserve's historic Laudholm Farm campus. The Native Plant Garden features dozens of perennial flowers and shrubs that occur naturally in Maine, while the All Seasons Garden is a test bed for rotational and companion plantings and advanced composting techniques.

"Our partnership with the York County Master Gardeners is really bearing fruit this year at the Wells Reserve at Laudholm," said Nik Charov, president of Laudholm Trust. "These generous volunteers are bringing verdant life to our historic campus, growing decorative corn and pumpkins for our Punkinfiddle festival, and graciously sharing their expertise. We greatly appreciate their involvement and hope that all of Southern Maine will benefit from the lessons they are teaching."