Steve Varga ProGrass Landscape Care & Design Steve Varga is Chief Horticulturist and Sales Representative for ProGrass Landscape Care and Design.  Steve joined ProGrass in 1984 and quickly became the company’s resident guru, advising consumers on lawn and tree care, maintenance, pruning and landscape installation.    Most recently, Steve has helped develop the Natural Solutions family of services, including NaturalCareSM Lawn and Plant Health Care for ProGrass. These services all center around sustainable landscaping, and the use of natural and organic methods and materials. The safety and soil-building benefits of NaturalCareSM make it very pet-friendly, and demand for this program from pet owners has allowed Steve to develop the only pet-friendly landscaping program in the Oregon market.   cont.

Creating & Caring For Pet-Friendly Landscapes Saturday, March 29 from 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm Feel like you must choose between an attractive landscape or a place for your pets? ProGrass Horticulturist, Steve Varga will discuss how the entire family... people and pets...can enjoy a beautiful landscape.   Steve Varga will give tips on pet-friendly landscape  design and layout, maintenance practices which minimize the demands animals put on landscapes, and which fertilizers and materials are safe for your pets.   Oregon Humane Society animal behavior specialist Tanya Roberts will join Steve, answering questions about animal training and behavior.   You and your pets can all enjoy the great outdoors!

Steve is a popular presenter at garden shows, including the Yard, Garden and Patio Show and the Good Earth, Good Living Show, and has been a guest on several gardening-related TV and radio programs. He has been a featured speaker for many landscape-related organizations and agencies, including Oregon Association of Nurseries, METRO, Oregon State University, Oregon Landscape Contractor’s Association, Oregon Master Gardeners, Washington State Extension Service, Interstate Pesticide Applicator’s Association and the Northwest Turfgrass Association. Steve was Vice President of the Interstate Pesticide Applicator’s Association in 1992, and Education Committee Chairman from 1992-1993. Steve has co-hosted a bi-weekly garden show on KGW radio with Jean Pierre Fontenot and co-wrote a gardening column for This Week Magazine.

During his tenure with ProGrass, Steve created an in-house certification program for pesticide applicators which was accredited by the Oregon and Washington Departments of Agriculture. He also developed compliance programs for OSHA, DOT, PUC, and the Department of Agriculture, and created and implemented seasonal formulation changes for ProGrass tree, shrub and lawn care programs.

Steve’s professional experience ranges from botanic garden work in Georgia to nursery work in California and Oregon.  While at ProGrass, Steve has served many roles, including Sales Representative, Manager of Technical and Human Resources, and Landscape Consultant.  Prior to joining ProGrass, Steve was a Grower/Supervisor for Hillsboro, Oregon-based Amfac Nurseries.  He was responsible for supervising field crews in the growing and shipping of ornamental nursery crops at the 600-acre nursery.

Steve holds a degree in landscape horticulture from Colorado State University.

IIn his spare time, Steve enjoys camping with his family, photography, and the culture of desert plants in his greenhouse.