Breaking the Rules: Ecological Design for the Real World with Larry Weaner
Posted in Adult Education, Learning Experiences, Programs and Events on January 12 2012, by Joyce Newman
Meet Larry Weaner, a nationally recognized leader in the natural landscape field whose work combines ecological restoration with traditions of fine garden design. Thursday, January 19, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Larry Weaner takes you beyond popular buzzwords like “sustainable” and “low-maintenance” to examine some surprising and at times counter-intuitive strategies for eco-friendly garden design.
Weaner’s presentation takes a look at practical, concrete processes for creating easily-managed landscapes that seamlessly combine ecological diversity, cultural expression, and the traditions of garden design. See how his alternative approaches—on everything from selecting plants to arranging, spacing, and weeding gardens—can yield rich landscapes that are more easily maintained, achieving their greatest ecological and aesthetic potential.
Weaner, 58, has created hundreds of native landscapes throughout the eastern United States since 1977. Larry Weaner Landscape Associates has received the top three design awards in 2008 from the Association of Professional Landscape Designers. Their projects include private gardens, public and commercial spaces, meadows, and natural areas.
One of Weaner’s largest and most ambitious projects, a 40-acre perennial and grass meadow in Litchfield, Connecticut, took almost a decade to fully mature and now has plants and some grasses grown to over five feet tall. For this meadow, he reportedly used eight different seed mixes with about 25 plants or grasses in each—altogether more than 200 plant varieties.
Weaner notes choosing the right plants for the conditions of the site and developing a plan for controlling invasive species as keys to success. During the first year of the wildflower meadow project, the ground was mowed three times during the summer to keep the weeds at bay and to stabilize growth. Now it is mowed only at the end of winter to about four inches high, and never watered!
Register online for Larry Weaner’s lecture, or call 800-322-6924. Tickets run $39 for non-members and $35 for members. Register for the entire Winter Lecture Series of three presentations and save 10%.
Now in its 12th year, the annual Winter Lecture Series is hosted by the School of Professional Horticulture and Adult Education. This year we will present three provocative experts at the forefront of horticulture, ecology, and sustainable practices who share their insights and wisdom on contemporary gardening.
Photos courtesy of Larry Weaner.
