While insects often get a bad rap in gardens, a wide array of insects are quietly performing essential functions for food webs and ecosystems. On Tuesday, June 15, University of Maryland researcher Karin Burghardt will introduce you to some of the fascinating insects that dwell in spaces we occupy every day: our gardens, yards and parks. She’ll also …

Have you ever seen plants that are so poorly pruned you feel embarrassed for them? Just like a bad haircut, plants don’t get to show off their best structural attributes with bad pruning. Once you have practiced a few times, pruning becomes intuitive or second nature. Pruning is a Necessity Not an Option with Eva …

Join partners of the Upper and Middle James Riparian Consortium to learn about the latest research and guidance on successful riparian buffer projects. Participants will tour Virginia Tech’s Catawba Sustainability Center, a beautiful 377-acre farm and living laboratory, finishing with lunch from Roanoke Co+op. What you’ll learn: Best practices for site preparation and ensuring tree …

Register Now for this two-part online workshop, organized by CBLP/CCLC. Guest speakers, Amy Highland and Sam Hoadley, both from Mt. Cuba Center. Several native plant growers/nurseries from Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania will join a panel discussion and breakout session. July 20 & 22, 1-4 PM each day, via Zoom Register by June 25 and get …

The combination of the chronic environmental stress induced by climate change, the physical disturbances of urbanization, and the competition presented by globalization (invasive species) interact to create urban novel ecosystems that have no analog with those found in nature. Peter Del Tredici will discuss the remarkable ability of spontaneous urban vegetation to rebuild ecological functionality …

From New Directions in the American Landscape Many now recognize that the dominance of manicured lawns in many of our landscapes is environmentally harmful. That said, many homeowner’s associations and municipalities are regulating front yard plant heights and store shelves are still stocked to the brim with pesticide products composed of harmful chemicals. An environmental …

This conference is for professionals in the landscaping industry only (landscape designers, landscape architects, growers, nurseries, landscape maintenance, property managers, builders, etc.)  Topics: Choosing pollinator plants for maximum beauty and benefits - Sam Hoadley Creating an edible landscape with native plants - Lincoln Smith Native groundcovers - Missy Fabel About our speakers: Lincoln Smith runs Forested, …

Bring your lunch and join landscape designer and Level 2-certified CBLP, Kelley Oklesson, for this free webinar, for CBLP professionals.  Kelley will tell us about her recent project, a Toolkit for Stormwater Best Management Practices for Urban Farming, which is focused on offering tried and true strategies to improve water quality on urban farming sites.  …

Native plant communities can be found on remarkably difficult sites, e.g., highly alkaline, saline, acidic, droughty, and flooded. In the Northeast U.S. these communities include alvars, dunes, acidic pine barrens, inland salt marshes, marl fens, and other wetlands. A subset of these natural assemblages can be used to create sustainable landscapes on human-made sites that …

Public landscapes increasingly attempt to join ecological improvements to the practical, aesthetic, and cultural aspects of their landscape enhancements. Our two speakers, each acclaimed in their respective fields of Landscape Architecture and Restoration Ecology, have collaborated on numerous projects over the past ten years. They will review their collaborative design process through a series of …