Steve Pettis, Henderson County horticulture agent, will be the guest speaker at the Foothills Association of Master Gardeners’ Lecture Series, will take place at 1:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 6. 

The presentation will be at the Polk County Extension Office at 79 Carmel Lane, Columbus (behind the senior center on Skyuka Road).  

Pettis has spent his life studying plants and gardening. He has been a tree farm and nursery manager, a research greenhouse manager, a consulting arborist, a UGA Extension Agent and is now a North Carolina Horticulture Agent in Henderson County. 

Trees are Pettis’ favorite subject. Living in most environments across the planet, trees are vital to humanity, both for the useful products derived from wood and as an integral factor in the quality of people’s lives, event organizers said. 

Trees interact with each other and the environment in interesting ways, which Pettis will speak about in his talk, “The Secret Life of Trees.”  

The lecture is open to the public, free of charge and no reservations are required.

– Submitted by Ann Mazzullo