Tag: low maintenance gardening

  • Saturday, September 30, 10:30 am – 11:30 am Eastern – Clever Design Tips for Everblooming, Low-Maintenance Gardens, Online

    This inspiring Berkshire Botanical Garden online lecture on September 30, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. will surprise you with creative, easy-to-implement strategies for extending the blooms of popular plants for weeks! Also showcased are time-saving design tips including distinctive plant combinations that provide unstoppable color spring through fall, as well as groundcover tapestries that smother weeds and delight pollinators. You will also learn valuable lessons from before and after design projects to avoid costly landscape mistakes.  

    Kerry Ann Mendez has over 25 years of professional and personal garden experience with special interest in low-maintenance gardening. Kerry Ann is a garden author and lecturer who incorporates humor, abundant excitement, knowledge, and above all a passion for low-maintenance garden and landscape design.

    $20 for BBG members, $25 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/clever-design-tips-everblooming-low-maintenance-gardens

  • Tuesday, June 13, 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm Eastern – Naturescape Your Yard, Online

    The Massachusetts Horticultural Society presents a virtual presentation on June 13 at 6:30 pm Eastern time, with Karen Bussolini. Naturescaping is landscaping with nature – attracting and sustaining wildlife, using native and well-adapted plants, using resources wisely, and avoiding environmental pollution. $25 for Mass Hort members, $33 for nonmembers. Register HERE.

    But it also means landscaping like nature. Nobody plants, waters, or fertilizes the forest or the prairie, yet they survive – beautifully – on their own. Naturescaping – also called Ecological Landscaping – creates self-sustaining (i.e. low-maintenance) landscapes that function like nature. Naturescape Your Yard is informed both by the work of notable ecologists and ecological designers and my own understanding that everything comes from somewhere, everything goes somewhere and it’s all connected. I present big-picture ecological thinking, nitty-gritty how-to tips, and images of sustainable yards and gardens that serve the needs of the people who use them, look attractive, and function as small ecosystems.

    Instructor:
    Karen Bussolini is a nationally known garden photographer with 6 books to her credit, a writer and speaker, and an eco-friendly garden coach. Her art background and focus on environmental topics – ecological landscaping, native plants, biodiversity, xeriscaping, organic gardening, planting for wildlife, pollinators, and other beneficial insects – inform every aspect of her work. Her slide talks combine beautiful original images, recent scientific findings, personal observations, hands-on experience, and a touch of humor. She is a NOFA-Accredited Organic Land Care Professional and an active member of GardenComm (formerly GWA), The Association of Garden Communicators. Karen is currently the Senior Horticultural Advisor at White Flower Farm in Connecticut.

  • Wednesday, November 28, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Low Maintenance Gardening

    While native plants are said to be well-adapted to New England, that doesn’t mean just any native will do. Though trilliums and lady slippers are beautiful, they rarely thrive in built landscapes without considerable care. The good news for landscape designers and gardeners is that there is a long list of native plants that are strong performers in a designed landscape and perform well. Choosing certain species can produce built landscapes that require little care after they’ve been established. Join Dan Jaffe at Garden in the Woods on November 28 from 10 – noon to learn about plants that thrive and spread on their own, and even weed the garden. Dan Jaffe is the propagator and stock bed grower at New England Wild Flower Society (NEWFS) in Framingham, Massachusetts. He earned a degree in botany from the University of Maine and an advanced certificate in Native Plant Horticulture and Design from NEWFS. After interning at Garden in the Woods, Dan worked for a year as Plant Sales Coordinator at the Garden. The program is sponsored by the Ecological Landscape Alliance and is $26 for members, $32 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/class-low-maintenance-gardening/

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  • Wednesday, February 6, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Design-less Gardening: A Naturalistic Approach

    Disregard traditional design rules and adopt a new approach to garden design.  Look to nature for your inspiration.  What clues can you take from your landscape to help you provide the right plant for the right place?  Learn to evaluate sunlight, moisture, soil and other factors to encourage a successful garden that does not require many inputs in the way of watering, fertilizing, or extra coddling on you part.  Create a low maintenance garden that actively supports the environment and provides beauty for all – people and pollinators alike.  Registrations for this Wednesday, February 6 class, 10 – noon, at Garden in the Woods is limited.  Co-sponsored by the Ecological Landscaping Association and the New England Wild Flower Society, and led by Dan Jaffee, the cost is $26 for sponsor members and $32 for nonmembers.  Register by calling 617-436-5838, or email ela.info@comcast.net.  Photo courtesy of www.hbgbs.org.uk.

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