On Saturday central Pennsylvania’s “go-to guy for gardening information” will confirm what we Western Pennsylvania gardeners have long suspected — gardening in the Keystone State is not for the faint of heart.

At the Penn State Extension Master Gardeners annual fall workshop, Harrisburg gardening guru George Weigel will address woes specific to Pennsylvania gardeners.

The workshop, Blueprint for More Creative Gardening, will be from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 19 at the Herman Fire Hall in Summit Township.

Weigel will also provide tips on how we can keep our landscapes looking great all year long. Sessions on herb gardens and the Japanese-based art of kokedama round out the day’s sessions.

The workshop kicks off with a presentation on herbs and herb garden design. Herbs, defined as useful plants, have enhanced our lives since the beginning of recorded history. We have used them to beautify and heal our bodies, season our food and enrich our cultural traditions.

Bill Paxton, self-declared certified herb fanatic, will discuss gardens created to grow these oldest cultivated species — residential herb gardens, gardens that he designed, including those at Fort Ligonier and LeMoyne House in Washington, Pa., and larger herb gardens such as those in the National Arboretum and Mellon Park Garden.

Paxton is a landscape architect, teacher of horticulture at Westmoreland County Community College and landscape architecture at Chatham University and a botanical artist.

Second on the agenda is Weigel, with Gardens for All Four Seasons.

It takes planning to have a landscape that is the envy of the neighborhood all year round. Weigel, a gardening consultant and writer from the Harrisburg area, presents strategies to help us accomplish that feat; then takes a season-by-season look at some of the best plants that peak in each season as well as top performers that provide multiseason interest.

Following lunch, Weigel presents “Gardening in Pennsylvania: Not for Wimps.’’

He takes a look at our erratic weather, lousy “soil,” assorted plant-eating animals and an ever-growing lineup of bugs and diseases, and offers a game plan to reduce your rake-breaking frustrations as well as a rundown on plants that can stand up to Pennsylvania gardening conditions.

Weigel is a horticulturist, and owner of Garden House-Calls, a garden consulting business

The final session is part sculpture, part gardening and a whole lot of fun — creating your own kokedama. This gardening form is derived from the ancient art of bonsai, and originally consisted of plants growing from a ball of special soils, surrounded by moss, and set out for display.

Crawford County Master Gardener Debbie Pifer will provide a brief history and lead us through the steps as we make our kokedama to take home. All supplies and the plants needed to complete a hanging kokedama will be provided.

There will be plants and other gardening-related items for sale during the lunch break and after the final session.

The $45 registration fee includes breakfast and baked potato bar and salad for lunch. Parking is free.

To register online, go to extension.psu.edu/gardening/events and click on Blueprint for More Creative Gardening or call 724-774-3003 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday — Friday.

This material is submitted by Donna Zang, extension director, and the staff of the Penn State Extension office at the Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center complex.