March Into Spring 2024 - A Symposium for Gardeners

"Landscape Challenges"

Saturday, March 23, 2024

 8 AM – 5 PM

Exciting New Venue for 2024:

Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library in Winterthur, Delaware

The 2024 March Into Spring Symposium will once again be a Hybrid Event with In-Person and Virtual Options. The Online Auction will remain online.

Registration cost:

In-Person through February 29, 2024:                                                         In-Person after March 1, 2024:

$90 members                                                                                                  $110 member
$100 non-members                                                                                        $120 non-members                                                                          

Virtual through February 29, 2024:                                                              Virtual after March 1, 2024:

$60 members                                                                                                 $80 members
$70 non-members                                                                                         $90 non-members

In-person registration, click here.

Virtual registration, click here.

Registration closes on March 13, 2024.

Fabulous vendors and the HPS/MAG book sale will be returning for your shopping pleasure.

Additional details and registration information to come.

Speakers:

Uli Lorimer:                      “Ecological Horticulture at Garden in the Woods”

Paul Spriggs:                   “How to Build a Crevice Garden – Crevice Garden Design and Construction”

Janet & Jeff Crouch:      “We Fought the Lawn and the Lawn’s Done”

Mike Raupp:                     “The Alien Invasion: Can They Be Managed Organically?”

 Uli Lorimer:

“Ecological Horticulture at Garden in the Woods”

Garden in the Woods is a 45-acre botanic garden in Framingham, MA and serves as a showcase for ecological horticulture in how the gardens are managed and how new plantings are conceived, sourced and installed. We strive to connect observations from field work with lessons from ecology to create a singularly unique botanic garden that celebrates our native flora and all of the life it sustains. This talk will discuss the conceptual approach as well as highlight specific plants and projects within the garden.

Speaker Bio:

Uli Lorimer oversees daily operations at both Garden in the Woods, Native Plant Trust’s botanic garden in Framingham, MA, and Nasami Farm in western Massachusetts, a nursery focused on propagation of and research about New England native plants. Uli, a native of Delaware, grew up with an interest in all things green and held positions at the US National Arboretum and Wave Hill before becoming curator of the Native Flora Garden at Brooklyn Botanic Garden between 2005 and spring 2019. During his tenure at BBG, Uli worked closely with botanists throughout the region to collect seed from the wild, propagated new plants for the collection, and documented and studied the region’s biodiversity. Uli is a tireless advocate for the use of native plants in the designed landscape, advancing this narrative through public speaking, teaching, radio, podcast, social media, and print media. He has contributed as an author and photographer to several publications, including Tough Natives for Tough Places and A Native Plant Reader. Be sure to check out his bestselling book The Northeast Native Plant Primer: 235 Plants for an Earth-Friendly Garden. Uli holds degrees from the University of Delaware in Landscape Horticulture and Foreign Languages and Literature.

Paul Spriggs:

“How to Build a Crevice Garden – Crevice Garden Design and Construction”

Note: HPS/MAG would like to thank the North American Rock Garden Society (NARGS) Traveling Speaker Program for sponsoring this presentation.

 This is a no- nonsense talk for people who are interested in building their own crevice rock garden from the ground up, whether a large outcrop, or a tiny trough. Paul will delve deeply into the various stages of construction starting with design, site selection, materials and staging, then offer a step-by-step guide that takes us from the first shovel of sand, to the final planting and topdressing.

Speaker Bio:

Paul Spriggs is an avid plant explorer, photographer, mountaineer, owner of Spriggs Gardens Landscaping company, and current President of the Vancouver Island Rock and Alpine Garden Society. He has a passion for all wild plants especially those of dwarf stature and collects and cultivates them at various gardens in his hometown of Victoria, BC, Canada. Paul has learned the craft of crevice garden building directly from one of its innovators, Zdenek Zvolanek, of the Czech Republic, and in the past decade and a half, has built many gardens in public parks and private homes that range in size from small feature troughs, to large installations involving many tons of stone. Paul is passionate about spreading the word of this style, through speaking to garden clubs all over the west, and by giving workshops for those keen on learning the finer points of this developing art form. Paul is coauthor with Kenton Seth of “The Crevice Garden: How to make the perfect home for plants from rocky places” – the first North American book about crevice gardens.

Janet & Jeff Crouch:

“We Fought the Lawn and the Lawn’s Done”

Jeff and Janet Crouch have lived in Howard County, Maryland for more than 30 years and have nurtured an environmentally friendly garden for nearly two decades. They gradually removed most of their turf grass lawn and filled their garden with native plants to benefit pollinators and provide food and shelter for wildlife. In 2017, the Crouch’s homeowners’ association (HOA) insisted that they replace their garden with grass. This led to a years-long battle that cost the Crouches tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees. Ultimately, the Crouches prevailed – they were able to retain virtually all of their garden, and in 2021 their case spurred the adoption of Maryland legislation (House Bill 322), which prohibits HOAs from banning the cultivation of native plant gardens. The law represents a major victory for Maryland – not just for the gardeners, but also for the insects, birds and other animals that call Maryland home.

Speaker Bio:

Jeff Crouch is a psychotherapist in private practice in Columbia, MD and has been practicing for over 30 Years. Janet Crouch is the Director of HR Policy and Accountability at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Mike Raupp:

“The Alien Invasion: Can They Be Managed Organically?”

Stink bugs, lanternflies, scale insects, wood boring beetles, leaf eating caterpillars, all are members of an unending wave of pests from afar arriving on our shores wreaking havoc on our landscapes and gardens. We will explore how and why they get here, who they are, and where they come from. Learn how factors including lack of biodiversity, a warming world, and urbanization contribute to alien pest outbreaks. Can these invaders be managed organically? We will review how elements of landscape design, proper installation and maintenance, and interventions with organic pesticides help mitigate problems caused by non-native insects.

Speaker Bio:

Mike is Professor Emeritus at the University of Maryland. His degrees include BS and MS from Rutgers University and a PH.D. from University of Maryland. He has received several awards for writing, scholarship, and scientific outreach. Mike is a regular guest expert on television and radio and has appeared on all major television networks in this country and several abroad. His “Bug of the Week” website, www.bugoftheweek.com and Youtube channel (www.youtube.com/user/BugOfTheWeek) reach tens of thousands of viewers weekly in more than 200 countries around the world. His most recent book “26 Things that Bug Me” introduces youngsters to the wonders of insects and natural history while “Managing Insect and Mites on Woody Landscape Plants” published by TCIA is a standard for the arboricultural industry.