Elms & Roses Garden Council will host its third annual Garden Lecture Oct. 24 featuring special guest speaker Dr. William C. Welch, nationally acclaimed author and lecturer, frequent contributor to Southern Living magazine, professor and landscape horticulturist at Texas A&M, speaking on “Heirloom Gardening in the South.”

As part of Elms & Roses’ celebration of Hills and Dales’ 100th anniversary, the Garden Council is sponsoring this special event at Del’avant, 141 Main St., beginning with a wine and cheese reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by the lecture and book sales/signing at 6:30 p.m.

Plant sales with “Petals from the Past” will be held during wine and cheese hour and following the lecture. Tickets are $20, when purchased in advance, and $25 at the door. Tickets can be purchased locally from Plum Southern and Tournesol. For more information and tickets by mail, call 706-884-5081.

Welch’s gardening books include:

• “Perennial Garden Color,” a national “best seller” which goes beyond describing numerous perennials, annuals and roses for southern gardens to explaining how to harmonize these plants in the landscape.

• “Antique Roses for the South,” which pioneered a resurgence of interest in old garden roses.

• “The Southern Heirloom Garden” and a greatly expanded “Heirloom Gardening in the South,” which demonstrate how to include time-tested heirloom plants and design ideas in today’s gardens.

• “The Bountiful Flower Garden,” which covers cut flower gardening, including European and Asian influences on American gardens, and sheds light on the rich southern tradition of sharing flowers.

• “The Bulb Hunter,” which focuses on the increased interest in heirloom bulbs.

Welch has received numerous awards from the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, Texas Certified Nursery Industry and Texas Garden Clubs Inc. for his educational, research and communications contributions.

Nationally, he is an honorary member of the Garden Club of America, a Garden Club Distinguished Service Metal recipient for his passion, knowledge and unselfish contributions to horticulture, and a recipient of the American Horticulture Society’s Great American Gardeners Award for his accomplishments as an author and gardening communicator.

Welch is a past president and an honorary member of the board of directors of the Southern Garden History Society.