By By Steve Gillespie / staff writer
July 19, 2002
The public will be able to hear Roger Swain, host of PBS-TV's "Victory Garden" program at 2 p.m. today in Kahlmus Auditorium at Mississippi State University-Meridian Campus.
Swain was the keynote speaker for the state Master Gardener conference Thursday.
Steve Strong, Lauderdale County Extension Agent, said the program will benefit all who are interested in gardening. He said Swain is an entertaining speaker.
Born and raised near Boston, Swain is a Harvard graduate who earned a Ph.D. studying the behavior of ants in tropical rain forests  before becoming science editor of "Horticulture" magazine, for which he has written since 1978.
In 1992 Swain received the American Horticultural Society Award for Writing and in 1996 was awarded the Massachusetts Horticultural Society Gold Medal award for his "power to inspire others."
Swain, who has an orchard and gardens on his farm in southern New Hampshire, has also written five books: "Earthly Pleasures," "Field Days," "Saving Graces," "The Practical Gardener," and "Groundwork."
Strong said East Mississippi Master Gardeners is honored for the first time to host a nationally-known speaker.