2019 speakers & celebrities
chris lambton
In each episode professional landscaper Chris Lambton transforms a neglected backyard into an eye-popping outdoor family space, suitable for entertaining. Patios, water features, fire pits, arbors and truckloads of plants all will be revealed as the guests arrive to christen the new space with its first home run of a party.
Chris Lambton is a media personality and lifestyle expert based on Cape Cod, MA with his wife Peyton. Chris is host of DIY Networks "Yard Crashers" and appears with Peyton on HGTV's "Going Yard" where they transform backyards, one house at a time. The show highlights Chris’s landscaping skills and gardening know-how as he creates outdoor living spaces and features including patios, pergolas, fire pits and water features for deserving homeowners. Chris’ expertise includes landscaping, hardscaping, garden planning, lawn care, and maintenance for all of these areas of your outdoor living space.
Chris also appears on HGTV and DIY Networks specials "HGTV Dream Home", "HGTV SmartHome" and "Blog Cabin."
Chris first won hearts onscreen in season six of ABC’s “The Bachelorette,” starring Ali Fedotowsky, and was ultimately named runner-up. In a Hollywood twist, wife Peyton appeared on season ten of “The Bachelor” and season one of “The Bachelor Pad,” but they did not meet on camera and instead were introduced by a mutual friend.
Since 2007, Chris has been living in his hometown of Cape Cod and running the family’s landscape business, E. Lambton Landscaping, alongside his brother Erik. Prior to that, he was a teacher and varsity boys’ basketball coach at New York City’s High School of Economics and Finance. He holds a degree from Providence College in Rhode Island and was part of the Big East Conference Academic All-Star Team in 1998 and 1999.
Chris is very involved with Compassionate Care ALS (CCALS) as a result of his mother’s fight with Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), a disease associated with the degeneration of nerve cells in specific areas of the brain. He continues to give back to the organization as often as possible.
sara bendrick
I’m a landscape designer by trade. I was born & raised in San Diego, California, and started at a young age with a passion for art, nature and an appreciation for anything living.
I’ve always had a passion for doing as opposed to watching. When I was young I would sew doll clothes out of my old T-shirts, draw, paint, and dig in the dirt. My whole life has been about trial & error, figuring things out as I go. When I was a little older I decided I wanted chickens, so I read a book and got to it, luckily that was a success! Unlike my attempt at a 5000 Red-worm worm farm.
I studied at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and received my Bachelors of Science in Landscape Architecture. As a college student I immediately got my hands dirty in the field working different landscaping gigs, including being a forewoman for a landscape maintenance company. After college I honed my residential design skills by working for a design/build firm and eventually when out on my own and started my own landscape design business.
I love that I have the opportunity to combine nature with a built environment to create a sense of place. I have always been interested in horticulture & art, and designing landscapes allows me to combine both of my passions. I feel very fortunate to have a career that can combine artistic expression & environmental awareness with purpose & function.
As a landscape designer with a passion for being involved with my projects, hosting the DIY Network’s ‘I Hate My Yard’ was the perfect fit! I love to interact and help homeowners realize the opportunity in their exterior spaces. With a DIY attitude my crew and I tackle tough backyards with the help of the homeowners to keep the budget in check. I guide the homeowners through the renovation process by tasking them with fun, creative and aesthetically pleasing projects to take back the yard once & for all.
Thanks for visiting me and please tune in to I Hate my Yard on the DIY Network Tuesday nights at 10pm & 10:30 EST / 7pm & 7:30pm PST! See you all there!
kathryn reeves
Kathryn J. Reeves, Purdue Master Gardener, Tippecanoe County and Professor Emerita of Art, Purdue University
Title: "Fresh Trends: Growing and Cooking with Microgreens"
Speaker Bio: Kathryn Reeves is a Master Gardener, awarding winning artist and photographer. She is a Purdue University Professor Emerita. She also taught in the College of Design at Iowa State University and worked as a garden designer with a landscape architect. Her advice on garden design trends has appeared in Lafayette Magazine. She grows vegetables year-round in the garden and indoors.
Kathryn will appear on stage Friday, March 15, 1 and 3 p.m.
steve mayer
Steve Mayer is Extension Educator-Horticulture for Purdue Extension-Marion County in Indianapolis. Steve has served the public for over 30 years as a horticulture educator with the Cooperative Extension Service. Since 1997 he has provided leadership for the Purdue Extension consumer horticulture educational program in the Indianapolis area. Steve is coordinator of the Marion County Master Gardener program and serves as instructor for the classes. He is also involved with other Extension gardening programs. He writes about gardening for Indiana publications such as Indiana Gardening magazine and the Senior Life (Indianapolis edition) newspaper. Steve is on Twitter @purduehortindy and has a Facebook page for the Purdue Extension-Marion County Demonstration Garden. Steve Mayer is a native of Wisconsin. He majored in horticulture and received B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
Steve will appear on stage Saturday, March 16th at noon & 3pm
Terri Stacy
Celebrating 33 years at WIBC Radio in Indianapolis and the co-host of the Morning News for 22 years, which included reporting traffic for the last three.
Taking on a new role of a new program called "Neighbor to Neighbor", which promotes non-profit events.
Teri will be the stage MC, March 9th and 10th
Mel McMahon Stone
Mel McMahon Stone is an entrepreneur, radio and television personality, and local business activist. She and her husband, Lance, are the co-founders of Indiana Originals, a membership organization simplifying the search for local, Indiana-based businesses. Mel is a board member of the Indiana Chapter of the TEARS Foundation and the Better Business Bureau of Central Indiana. She is currently heard on 93.1 WIBC and seen on WISH-TV8’s Indy Style, BoomerTV on WFYI, and Fox59’s Morning News. She also acts as a consultant to several nonprofits and local small businesses and is a proud member of the 2013 IBJ Forty under 40 class.
Mel will appear on stage: March 16th and 17th
carol michel
Carol Michel is the author of Potted & Pruned: Living a Gardening Life, which received the 2018 Garden Media Gold Award for Best Overall Book from GWA: The Association of Garden Communicators, and Homegrown and Handpicked: A Year in a Gardening Life. She is also a lifelong gardener with a bachelor’s degree in horticulture production from Purdue University, an avid collector of old gardening books and claims to have the largest hoe collection in the world. A popular speaker, Carol has written for Indiana Gardening and Horticulture magazines and regularly writes for her award-winning garden blog,
www.maydreamsgardens.com
Carol will appear on Wednesday, March 8 & Thursday, March 14
Carolyn Kurek, AIFD, CFD
Carolyn is the administrator for the C2K Floral Design School in Indianapolis, Indiana. Carolyn is an award winning designer, works as a freelance designer and consultant in design shop management.
Carolyn has been an accredited member of AIFD since 1999. She is an AIFD Certified Judge and Evaluator. Carolyn has served on the Executive Board for the AIFD North Central Chapter since 2009 and is currently serving as Vice-President for the NC Chapter. She also serves as the Chairperson for the National AIFD Career Development Committee.
Lisa Belisle, AIFD, ICPF
During the last twenty year, Lisa has participated in every floral part of the floral industry including management, wholesale flower sales, exporting New Zealand-grown flowers, coordinating shipping, and owning her own business.
Today, Lisa's passions are continuing her own education, teaching beginner floral design, and creating arrangements for corporate showrooms. Her style is adaptive and she loves to create pieces infused with Mother Nature with compelling earth elements and lines.
Actively involved with WUMFA and AIFD and the industry as a whole. Lisa is the owner of and instructor at Flora Elements Education and Design in Chicago where she runs a full spectrum floral design school.
Lisa will appear on stage Saturday, March 9 & Sunday, March 10
JO ELLEN MEYERS SHARP
Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp, a 25-year veteran of newspaper journalism, owns Write for You! LLC, a freelance writing and editing business. She is a regular contributor to Indiana Gardening, and until recently, was editor of Iowa Gardener, Michigan Gardening, Minnesota Gardener and Wisconsin Gardening magazines. She has been writing a weekly gardening column for The Indianapolis Star since 1989 and is a frequent guest on television, radio and web broadcasts. An Advanced Master Gardener, she is a garden coach and has an all-season container planting business. For nearly 20 years, she has worked at a large, independent garden center in Indianapolis. A popular, five-star rated speaker, she’s co-author of the Indiana Gardener’s Guide, author of The Visitor’s Guide to American Gardens and contributor to Oxford Companion to the Garden and Phaidon’s The Gardener’s Garden. Jo Ellen is vice president of GWA: The Association for Garden Communicators; a director of the Horticultural Society at Newfields (formerly Indianapolis Museum of Art); member of Indiana Landmarks Cultural Landscapes Committee; and member of GreatGardenSpeakers.com.
Jo Ellen will appear on stage Monday, March 11 & Tuesday March 12