Peggy Riccio is a horticulturist and garden communicator in Northern Virginia. Her website, pegplant.com, is an online resource for gardeners in the DC metro area. She publishes a local gardening newsletter, Pegplant’s Post Gardening Newsletter. She has given numerous in person and virtual presentations. For herb-related presentations, the audience is invited to continue the conversation in Peggy’s Facebook group called Culinary Herbs and Spices. Over the past 30 years, Peggy has written more than 100 articles for national gardening magazines. She is a member of the Camelot Garden Club and just completed two 2-year terms as chair of the Potomac Unit of the Herb Society of America. Currently, Peggy serves as the Mid-Atlantic District Delegate for the Herb Society of America.
Title of Program: Learn to Grow and Use a Dozen Culinary Herbs
Description: Learn how to grow a dozen culinary herbs. For each herb, discover the best time and method to start, cultural requirements, harvesting and preserving techniques, and methods for using them in the kitchen. These are easy to grow herbs that can be grown in summer containers. A handout will be provided.
Length and format: one hour including time for questions (45 minutes talk plus 15 minutes questions). This is a PowerPoint presentation. If during the growing season, Peggy brings fresh herbs for the audience to smell and touch.
Title of Program: Beyond Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme: Learn to Grow and Use a Dozen Unusual Culinary Herbs
Description: Learn how to grow a dozen unusual culinary herbs. For each herb, discover the best time and method to start, cultural requirements, harvesting and preserving techniques, and methods for using them in the kitchen. These are herbs that can be grown in the DC metro area, but they are not as commonly known as the Mediterranean herbs. A handout will be provided.
Length and format: one hour including time for questions (45 minutes talk plus 15 minutes questions). This is a PowerPoint presentation.
Title of Program: Edible Flowers We Grow in Our Garden
Many plants in our gardens have flowers that are edible. Learn which flowers can be used in the kitchen to add beauty, color, taste, and interest to our dishes. This presentation covers more than 20 flowers commonly grown in flower, herb, and vegetable gardens. A handout will be provided.
Length and format: one hour including time for questions (45 minutes talk plus 15 minutes questions). This is a PowerPoint presentation.
Title of Program: Holiday Herbs and Spices
Thanksgiving and Christmas are synonymous with herbs and spices – there are so many wonderful sights and smells as well as savory and sweet dishes and drinks. This presentation covers 7 herbs and 7 spices that are commonly used during the holidays. The audience will be inspired to use each plant to provide fragrance and decorations for the home and flavor and garnish for dishes and beverages. Samples of the herbs and spices will be passed around for the audience to touch and smell. A handout will be provided.
Length and format: one hour including time for questions (45 minutes talk plus 15 minutes questions). This is a PowerPoint presentation and samples of the herbs and spices will be passed around.
Title of Program: Introduction to Saving Seeds from Your Garden
Participants will learn the basics of saving seed from their garden’s flowers, herbs, and vegetables. This is a basic presentation for gardeners to save seed for themselves, for seed swaps, or for the library’s seed exchange program. Saving seeds can save money and preserve genetic diversity. Learn which plants are best for saving seed, optimal time to harvest the seeds, and how to clean and store the seeds. A handout will be provided.
Length and format: one hour including time for questions (45 minutes talk plus 15 minutes questions). This is a PowerPoint presentation.
Title of Program: Propagating Plants from the Garden
This is a hands-on workshop where Peggy will bring plants from her garden to demonstrate how to take stem and leaf cuttings and how to divide common ornamental garden plants and houseplants in order to make more. Participants can bring containers and soil and help themselves to the cuttings to take home. A handout will be provided. Participants may want to bring gloves and bags.
Length and format: One hour, including time for questions. This is best done from spring to fall so plants can be brought. The workshop involves soil from the plants so it is best to have participants around tables covered with disposable plastic tablecloths.
