Many young and new gardeners approach gardening enthusiastically, but often without sufficient knowledge to make the best choices. They count on the word of a less-than-trained employee or standardized marketing labels to select plants for their garden. The aim of this Ecological Landscape Alliance online talk on July 16 at noon is to provide pithy information and plant suggestions that will end the cycle of buying or killing non-performing plants. They can then remove them (or not buy them) and replace with ones with traits ascribed to the selections vetted by Dan and horticulturists across the US. As one horticulturist could not know every great plant for every region, the author has reached out to others across the US to compile lists and pictures of plants that do not disappoint. Plants are graded on everything from pest and disease resistance to flowering period, fall color and controlled nature. Each chapter will cover a subclass of horticulture and the best plants within this group to plant. This talk has been adapted to accommodate various hardiness zones (Pacific Northwest, Midwest, Southeast and Southwest) and listed for cold tolerance to humidity to sun tolerance. Individual plant listings will be assigned a score based on the points accumulated by a criteria poll.
Instructor Dan Heims has been deeply involved in all facets of horticulture since 1973. He has taught horticulture courses, wholesaled exotic plants, and run his own design-and-install landscape business. Terra Nova’s breeding programs have produced numerous international gold- and silver-medal winners, not to mention an impressive 1400 plant introductions! Dan’s articles and photography have been featured in a number of magazines. He has hosted a weekly radio gardening show on KKSN and has appeared on The Martha Stewart TV Show, Martha Stewart Omnimedia Radio, HGTV, and the BBC. His work and his garden have been featured in USA Today, Forbes, Better Homes and Gardens, Sunset Magazine, and Organic Gardening. Dan is a published author, having written 2 books. Dan travels the world in search of the newest plants. Along the way, he uses his unique blend of knowledge, wit, and humor to captivate audiences around the globe. He is a frequent speaker in every corner of the United States, as well as in Japan, England, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Germany, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Tasmania, Australia, and Canada. Winner: Reginald Cory Memorial Cup | Royal Horticultural Society 2003 Winner: Award of Merit |Perennial Plant Association 2019 Winner: Luther Burbank Award | American Horticultural Society 2020.
Free for ELA members, $35 for nonmembers. Register at https://ecolandscaping.org/events/
