Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Larry Weaner
Posted in From the Library on November 21 2016, by Esther Jackson
Esther Jackson is the Public Services Librarian at NYBG’s LuEsther T. Mertz Library where she manages Reference and Circulation services and oversees the Plant Information Office. She spends much of her time assisting researchers, providing instruction related to library resources, and collaborating with NYBG staff on various projects related to Garden initiatives and events.
Timber Press has really been hitting the mark over the past few years with books related to landscape design, land management, and ecology. Planting in a Post Wild World, read as a landscape design manifesto, was my favorite recent book of this ilk, and Cultivating Chaos offered some truly breathtaking examples of “wild” plantings and garden design.
When I opened Garden Revolution, I expected a book like Post Wild World or Cultivating Chaos. In fact, Revolution looks at the same big questions of land management and ecology, but leads the reader on a rather different journey.
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Posted in Horticulture on February 18 2015, by Sonia Uyterhoeven
Sonia Uyterhoeven is NYBG‘s Gardener for Public Education.
I recently attended a lecture at NYBG given by the naturalistic landscape designer and meadow aficionado, Larry Weaner, who chose an unusual and interesting topic to cover: “Assisted Plant Proliferation in the Designed Landscape.” He based his lecture on the premise that if you do nothing, things grow. The challenge for gardeners is to get the right things to grow. In this respect, Weaner, through his work on large-scale naturalistic landscapes, is highly inventive and astutely attuned to the workings of nature.
On some of his project sites, he encourages volunteerism by leaving sections of the meadow fallow for a year to see what makes its way into the wild patch. If the new recruit is desirable, he flags the seedling. Otherwise, it gets mowed down the following year along with the rest of the meadow. Weaner showed an image of a healthy elderberry that had found its way to a fallow section at the edge of a meadow. Sometimes, some of the healthiest and most robust garden specimens appear in this manner, starting surreptitiously from seed and being allowed to flourish.
My note-taking was fast and furious as Weaner went through a number of case studies of plants in their natural habitat. He spoke of the importance of knowing where and how plants proliferate in nature. With this knowledge in hand, gardeners will be able to replicate the desired results.
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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.
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Posted in Adult Education, Learning Experiences, Programs and Events on January 7 2012, by Joyce Newman
Joyce H. Newman is the editor of Consumer Reports GreenerChoices.org, and has been a Garden Tour Guide with The New York Botanical Garden for the past six years.
Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. — January 19, February 16, March 15
The New York Botanical Garden invites you to come in from the cold and warm up at the 2012 Winter Lecture Series, featuring three distinguished experts at the forefront of ecology and sustainable practices. Each will be sharing insights and practical advice on crucial challenges confronting today’s gardeners.
January 19 — BREAKING THE RULES: Ecological Design for the Real World
Larry Weaner has been creating native landscapes throughout the eastern U.S. since 1977. His firm, Larry Weaner Landscape Associates, has received several top design awards and has a national reputation for combining ecological and traditional garden design.
In this lecture Weaner shows us new and alternative gardening techniques that can yield richer, more easily maintained landscapes.
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