Submitted by Teresa Franks
The DeQuincy Garden Club will meet on Monday, Sept. 9, at 6 p.m. at the DeQuincy Town Hall Museum with participation by the Town Hall Museum Board. Dr. Charles Allen of Pitkin will make a presentation on the Wildflowers of Southwest Louisiana.
Recently featured in the Lake Charles American Press for his presentation to the Calcasieu Orchid Society, Dr. Allen is a botanist and a retired professor of biology from the University of Louisiana at An author of several books, Edible Plants of the Gulf South, Wildflowers of Louisiana, Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of Louisiana, and Grasses of Louisiana, 3rd ed., he is an expert on native plants. With Dr. Malcolm Vidrine, he helped to establish the Cajun Prairie Habitat Preservation Society and its restoration project.
As the 2019 winner of the first Caroline Dorman Outstanding Naturalist Award by the Louisiana Master Naturalist Organization in 2019, Dr. Allen still takes the time to share his knowledge with others who are interested in gardening.
In recent years, he has offered plant identification classes at home and on the road. He also teaches master naturalist programs as well as presenting programs on edible plants, wildflowers, native plant landscaping, and butterfly gardening. He is also quite often busy conducting field trips and sharing his knowledge with his guests as he leads them through what he calls “a nature-oriented paradise” at the Allen Acres Bed & Breakfast, which he owns with his wife, Susan.
It will be a pleasurable evening at the Town Hall Museum. Dr. Allen will present “Wildflowers of Southwest Louisiana.” There will be door prizes given out, and refreshments will be served. The Garden Club invites the public to attend.
