Attracting Bees and Beneficial Insects with Native Plants with Heather Holm

Most insects have a positive impact in our landscapes. Native plants can be selected to attract specific bees and beneficial insects including predatory and parasitic wasps, beetles, flies, true bugs, and lacewings. Learn about the predator-prey relationships of these flower-visiting beneficial insects and how they help keep problem insect populations in balance. The life cycles, diversity, and nesting habitat of native bees will also be covered along with examples of native plants for different site conditions. Presenter Heather Holm is a biologist, pollinator conservationist, and AHS award-winning author. In addition to assisting with native bee research projects, she informs and educates audiences nationwide, through her writing and many presentations, about the fascinating world of native pollinators and beneficial insects, and the native plant communities that support them. This is a joint venture with the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia.

AHS Virtual Art Show & Sale

The American Horticultural Society’s Virtual Art Show and Sale is now open! Browse a wide selection of garden and nature-themed art from our featured artists Nina Tisara, Nathan Leibowitz and Otari Shiuk. A portion of all sales benefits the American Horticultural Society’s national programs and mission.

Navigating Race & Inclusivity in Community Gardens | Sama Mirghavami

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Well-meaning people have been organizing since the dawn of the local food movement to create vibrant, urban garden spaces in an effort to build and support their communities. However these efforts, which are often oriented towards the goal of ameliorating social issues such as lack of access to food and green space for marginalized people, sometimes undermine themselves in terms of equity and inclusivity. How can we ensure that our work as community organizers and gardeners is doing more help than harm? Sama will describe some actions (often unconscious) that can potentially turn an inclusive space into an unwelcoming one, and explore what we can do to create a beautifully diverse garden community.

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2021 | 12 – 1:30 PM EST

Schoolyard Habitats: Restoring Native Habitat One Schoolyard at a Time | Jillian Bell

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In this presentation we’ll learn about Audubon Connecticut’s Schoolyard Habitat Program and how Audubon CT, along with a suite of partners, are inspiring the next generation of conservation leaders. They achieve this by connecting students with nature and restoring much needed native habitat for pollinators and our migrating and year-round birdy friends in Connecticut. Jillian will share resources so no matter where you’re located, you’ll be able to start working on your very own schoolyard habitat moving forward!

Tuesday, January 19th, 2021 | 7 – 8:15 PM EST

Close Encounters with Nature: Native Design in the Residential Landscape | Larry Weaner

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Few home landscapes can provide the stunning vistas of a Yosemite National Park, a vast midwestern prairie, or an ancient Appalachian mountain range. They can however, provide a far more intimate and interactive natural experience than visits to those landscapes ever could. In this session Larry will interweave a series of practical, ecologically-interactive landscape techniques, with the rich experiential rewards that applying those techniques can engender.

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2021 | 1 – 2:30 PM EST

Native Meadows: Let’s Get Real | Larry Weaner

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Wildflower meadows were introduced to the American gardening public in the 1960’s along with tie dye tee shirts and kaleidoscopic acid trips. But just like those 60’s acid trips, the colors never lasted. Alternatively, by planting site-adapted native perennials, managed according to the ecological processes that govern open field vegetation in the wild, long-lived vibrant meadows can be consistently achieved. In this presentation plant selection criteria, planting procedures, and management techniques will be illustrated through a series of residential case studies, including some over two decades old.

Friday, March 19th, 2021 | 1 – 2:30 PM EST

The Future of the Past | Patricia Klindienst and Clayton Apikan

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For this workshop Patricia and Clayton will share ideas about how the making of a garden helps maintain and transmit cultural heritage. We will explore the twin imperatives to honor and pass on traditional knowledge of garden and farming practices while healing the land and people estranged from their cultural heritage.

Thursday, March 11th, 2021 | 1 – 2:30 PM EST

Bird-Friendly Home Landscapes (New England Region) | Jillian Bell

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What can we do to support birds visiting our homes this spring and beyond? In this workshop we will take an in-depth look at native plants that you can plant to make your home more bird-friendly to our year-round residents and those stopping over on their migration journeys. In this workshop, we will explore the importance of choosing native plants and how to select native plants to attract specific birds to your yard.

Wednesday, February 17th, 2021 | 1 – 2:15 PM EST

Prairie-side Chat: Darrel Morrison – Interviewed by Larry Weaner

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As a longtime leading proponent of native landscape design, Darrell Morrison has had a profound influence on countless landscape architects and designers. His former students from the state Universities of Wisconsin and Georgia, to Columbia University have fanned out across the country to multiply that influence. He has also designed some of America’s most notable ecology-based projects including at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Research Center in Austin, Texas, The Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, and the now iconic grasslands at The Storm King Art Center in New Windsor, NY.

Monday, March 15th, 2021 | 1:00 – 2:30 PM EST