Come be Inspired
Join us for IMGC 2023! It’s going to be five fun days of gardening inspiration and education. Gather new ideas from international experts and hands-on classes. Visit acres of lush gardens and one of North America’s most complex and vanishing ecosystems. Make new friends, share experiences.
Enjoy heartland hospitality June 18-22, 2023, when you come to Overland Park, Kansas, a suburb of the Kansas City Metro area, to Celebrate, Educate and Grow with Extension Master Gardeners from around the world.
Our Theme
Celebrate
Connect with friends and celebrate gardening, lifelong learning, and the joy of giving back to our communities.
Educate
Learn from inspiring speakers, fascinating tours, interactive workshops, and idea-packed classroom presentations.
Grow
Return home inspired by new people, ideas and experiences that you will use in your own gardens and communities.
Our Theme
Celebrate
Connect with friends and celebrate gardening, lifelong learning, and the joy of giving back to our communities.
Educate
Learn from inspiring speakers, fascinating tours, interactive workshops, and idea-packed classroom presentations.
Grow
Return home inspired by new people, ideas and experiences that that you will use in your own gardens and communities.
Our Theme
Celebrate
Connect with friends and celebrate gardening, lifelong learning, and the joy of giving back to our communities.
Educate
Learn from inspiring speakers, fascinating tours, interactive workshops, and idea-packed classroom presentations.
Grow
Return home inspired by new people, ideas and experiences that that you will use in your own gardens and communities.
Keynote Speakers
Jim Richardson
An award-winning National Geographic photojournalist who grew up in Belleville, Kansas. His work has covered environmental issues ranging from feeding the planet to protecting our night skies from light pollution. Today, Richardson travels the world as an internationally renowned speaker, writer and photography teacher.
Abra Lee
Longwood Gardens Fellow. Groundbreaking historian. Published author. Abra Lee is also a popular speaker/storyteller who says, “I’ve spent a whole lotta time working in the dirt as a municipal arborist, airport landscape manager and county extension agent.” Her book, Conquer the Soil, celebrates the untold stories of America’s Black gardeners and farmers.
Dr Charles (Chuck) Rice
Nobel Peace Prize winner. Researcher. Professor. Mentor. Gardener. This is just the start of Dr. Charles (Chuck) Rice’s list of achievements and interests. With a Ph. D. from University of Kentucky, Rice specializes in climate change, soil microbiology and carbon cycling. In the classroom, he enjoys “getting students to think about the bigger picture.”
Jessica Walliser
Plant matchmaker. Devoted bug-lover. Jessica Walliser is an award-winning author of 7 gardening books. Her most recent, Plant Partners: Science-Based Companion Planting Strategies for the Vegetable Garden explores productive plant pairings to try in your own garden. She is also co-founder of the popular SavvyGardening website.
Scott Beuerlein
He has the best job in the world. As Botanical Garden Outreach Manager at the highly acclaimed Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, his focus is on educational programs, plant trials and outreach partnerships. An award-winning communicator, Beuerlein is known for his lively speeches, blog posts, magazine columns, and wacky sense of humor.
