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Choosing, Planting, and Caring for Native Plants
October 14 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
A four-session course taught by Elaine Silverstein
October 2024
Members Only, Virtual Course, $80
Monday, Oct. 14th, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Session 1 Introduction to Native Plants
In this session, we will discuss why it is important to plant native plants and where you can find them. We will also look at a large number of easy-to grow native plants, with an emphasis on picking the right plant for your specific site conditions.
Monday, October 21st, 7:00 pm -9:00 pm
Session 2 Creating a Native Habitat: Planning and Designing
We will begin by exploring the concept of a habitat and discuss why a native plant garden can be considered to be a habitat, not just a garden. Then we’ll go through the steps of garden planning, paying particular attention to the many online and print resources available. We’ll discuss some sample garden designs, and students will be asked to design a small sample garden for the next week’s class.
Monday, October 28th, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Session 3 Creating a Native Habitat: Planting and Care
This session covers the nitty-gritty of horticulture: how to choose plants, how to plant them, and how to care for them after planting. Topics covered include killing grass, amending soil, the best plants to purchase, and fall and spring garden cleanup. We’ll also go over students’ sample garden designs.
Monday, November 4th, 7:00 pm – 9:00pm
Session 4 Naturescaping: Landscaping from Nature
In this final session, we take a step beyond gardening to consider how nature designs ecosystems and how gardeners can mimic nature, a process known as naturescaping. Naturescaping allows us to help restore the landscape to the sustainability of its natural state. The class describes five specific native ecosystems and provides many resources to help students in their garden planning.