(04/16/21) HAMMOND, La. — The LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station has rolled out a package of online content, including a new website and a spring video tour of its gardens, in lieu of the annual Margie Yates Jenkins Spring Lecture Series and Open House.
The website address is https://app.lsuagcenter.com/hammondtrials. It features an extensive database of bedding plants, trees, shrubs and other plants grown in trials at the research station as well as links to virtual events, including the spring tour.
“We will continue to upload new trial data and information, with new data coming every week,” said Jeb Fields, AgCenter commercial horticulture specialist and assistant research coordinator of the Hammond Research Station. “We are building a repository of trial photographs, specific ratings and search features for specifics regarding different horticultural uses.”
Users can search for plants by common or botanic names, and filters can help them find plants according to landscape use, sun and soil conditions, flower color, bloom time and more. Tags make it easy to find plants with specific characteristics, such as pollinator benefits, rain garden suitability, deer resistance and drought resistance.
The lecture series and open house videos, which also are available on the LSU AgCenter YouTube channel at https://bit.ly/3e00d2g, showcase a wide range of plants. Due to COVID-19 precautions, the research station is unable to host the event in person.
The virtual event includes a celebration of the event’s namesake, Margie Yates Jenkins, a Louisiana nursery icon who died last year at the age of 98.
“Her career contributions to the Louisiana horticultural industry left such a lasting impact on so many and on our research station,” Fields said.
The LSU AgCenter and the LSU College of Agriculture