NEWS RELEASE

Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 31, 2007

Contact: Angie Joe
713.743.8153 (office)
713.617.7138 (pager)
ajoe@uh.edu

BELLINGRATH GARDENS’ BARRICK BRINGS HIS GREEN THUMB TO UH

Houston area garden-lovers will soon be giving a green thumbs-up to one of the ultimate authorities on gardening in a region known for its horticultural delights – the Deep South.

William E. Barrick, executive director of the Bellingrath Gardens and Home, which USA Today has called one of “10 great places to steal ideas for your garden,” will lecture on “Gardening in the Deep South” at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, at the University of Houston.

Barrick’s visit was arranged through the Entrances and Perimeter Committee at UH, an advisory group of community and alumni members who work with UH President Jay Gogue on creating a more attractive and welcoming campus. This committee, founded and chaired by Josanna Brattis Smith, has worked for several years to develop and help fund garden areas throughout the campus.

Barrick, the author of “75 Great American Garden Plants,” is a member of the American Horticultural Society Board of Directors. Located in Theodore, Ala., Bellingrath Gardens and Home has been open to the public year round since 1934 and is renowned for its scenic views enlivened by a wide variety of flowering plants.

“Throughout the year, this 65-acre garden estate is in full bloom with camellias in the winter, azaleas in the spring, roses in the summer, chrysanthemums in autumn and Magic Christmas in Lights during the holiday season,” says Bellingrath Gardens and Home’s Web site, http://www.bellingrath.org/.

The lecture is free and open to the public, but tickets are required and available through UH OnCALL at
713-743-2255. Donations will be accepted at the door to help fund UH’s Margaret Sharpe Antique Rose Garden, which is a planned campus beautification project featuring a variety of antique roses in several raised beds along Cullen Boulevard.

WHAT: “Gardening in the Deep South”
WHO: William E. Barrick, executive director, Bellingrath Gardens and Homes
WHEN: 10 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 17
WHERE: Auditorium, Science and Engineering Research and Classroom Complex (SERCC)
University of Houston – Entrance 14
For parking information, go to http://www.uh.edu/campus_map/buildings/SEC.html

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.