Practical Tools for Designing Resilient Landscapes
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Friday, February 14, 2025, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. EST
*Live Zoom Event
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The news is rife with reports on the harmful effects of environmental degradation and climate change; however, we all can be part of the solution! Designing with native plants to create sustainable landscapes can be instrumental in mitigating threats to wildlife and the environment. Unfortunately, we’re faced with a deficit of nursery sources, limited plant selections, and a lack of information to make decisions maximizing long-term success and benefits of our designed landscapes. Harsh conditions resulting from our rapidly changing climate place new burdens on all landscapes – home and commercial – often leading to design failure and loss of plants.
Join us for a fascinating day of presentations offering practical strategies to create sustainable and resilient landscapes. You’ll benefit from decision matrixes that help make informed plant selections and develop successful designs based on a range of environments, ecological benefits, and sustainability goals. Experts will help you create resilient landscapes by presenting a range of native plant combinations and design layouts that manage water runoff, survive droughts, and support pollinators and wildlife. You’ll be surprised how climate change is dictating conservation efforts, its impact on native plant ecoregions and even its implications for expanding our plant palette.
*This will be offered as a series of live online lectures using Zoom with audience Q&A incorporated into the program. Each session will be recorded and a link to watch the symposium will be emailed to all participants. Professional development credit hours will be available for each session.
About GreenScapes
The GreenScapes Symposium is an annual program planned by Brookside Gardens since 2004. The Symposium explores the latest topics related to landscape sustainability and the environment. This event appeals to a broad audience ranging from landscape architects and designers to master gardeners, horticulturists, and urban planners. Environmental stewardship is a core value of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), Brookside Gardens’ parent organization. As such, we strive to provide timely information and viable solutions to environmental challenges that help create a healthy planet for all people, plants and living things.
Registration Information
If you create a new Active Montgomery account, please check your Inbox for an email with a link to authenticate your account. This must be done prior to adding the GreenScapes event to your cart and checking out.
- Register by clicking on this link via ActiveMontgomery.org (Activity # PBG0057) or call 301-962-1451
- Early Bird Registration Fee: $50 (ends Friday, January 10)
- Student Fee: $30 (proof of current enrollment as a full-time student required)
Registration Help
- Click here for Frequently Asked Questions on creating and accessing your ActiveMONTGOMERY user account.
- You must first either create an account or log into your account in order to add the event to your cart for processing payment.
- If you haven’t accessed your ActiveMONTGOMERY account in the past 1 year (365 days), you will need to update your password.
- If you forgot your password and/or your username, on the login screen, select the “Forgot Username?” or “Forgot Password?” under the Login box. Provide the Primary Email Address you used to create your account. If you selected “Forgot Username?”, you will receive an email that will include your username. If you selected “Forgot Password?”, you will receive an email to reset your password.
- If you are still experiencing difficulties with your username and password, email ActiveMONTGOMERYHelp@montgomeryparks.org or call our ActiveMONTGOMERY Customer Service at 301-495-2580.
- If you would like to register over the phone, please call Brookside Gardens at 301-962-1451.
Schedule of the Day
| AGENDA | |
|---|---|
| 8:45am | Welcome & Introductions |
| 9:00am | Species, Cultivars and Selections: Design Matrixes for Making Smarter Choices in Your Landscapes Ulrich Lorimer, Director of Horticulture, Native Plant Trust Native plants have become a central strategy in the growing sustainable landscapes movement aimed at protecting wildlife and the environment. Yet selecting a native plant is not a simple binary choice or at times even an option where local nurseries can be a native plant desert. Even landscape professionals and designers are faced with limited inventory. What criteria should we use when we’re forced to make hard choices regarding plant selections that affect the overall ecological benefits of our landscapes? How can we do the most good and the least harm? Join Uli as he guides us through a series of decision matrixes designed to help home gardeners and professionals alike make informed plant selections and develop successful designs. When is a cultivar of a native better than the species or when is an exotic plant an acceptable alternative? A wide variety of landscape environments, ecological benefits, sustainability goals, and design scenarios will be covered. |
| 10:15 am | Break |
| 10:45 am | Resilient RainScapes: Designs That Thrive in Climate Extremes Ann English, RainScapes Manager, Watershed Restoration Division, Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection, Maryland We are dealing more frequently with extreme weather patterns that bring periods of drought and periods of heavy rains and flooding. These conditions place new burdens on all landscapes, whether a home garden or commercial site, and increasingly lead to design failure and loss of plants. Join Ann as she evaluates various RainScapes projects designed to address these environmental challenges including rain gardens and conservation landscapes. We’ll explore strategies to properly create an effective design, using a treatment train approach. Ann will review how to size a landscape project, estimate plant quantities, and create a successful planting plan suitable for changing climate conditions. A range of native plant combinations and layouts will be reviewed that manage water runoff, survive droughts, and support pollinators and wildlife. |
| 12:00 pm | Lunch |
| 12:15 pm | Sponsor Presentations |
| 1:00 pm | Practicing New Naturalism: Site-Specific Plantings in Public and Private Places Kelly Norris, award-winning landscape designer, horticulturist, author Join planting designer, artist, and thought leader Kelly Norris for an in-depth exploration of his recent and future work at the intersections of horticulture and ecology.This presentation will delve into the mechanics behind several award-winning projects, including their narratives, plant palettes, and the relative success or progress of each endeavor. Kelly will also share methods for ongoing maintenance and design of naturalistic landscapes that mimic nature instead of controlling it. He’ll explore management strategies from his upcoming book, Your Natural Garden, including how to establish complexity in a new garden and when and what to edit. Whether you’re a professional working on large-scale designs or a passionate gardener reimagining your backyard, this talk offers valuable lessons for designing beautiful naturalistic landscapes. |
| 2:15 pm | Break |
| 2:45 pm | Responding To a Rapidly Changing Climate: The Case for Diversity & Plant Palette Expansion in Urban Landscapes Kim Shearer, Director of Collections & Curator, The Morton Arboretum, & Chair, USDA Woody Landscape Plant Crop Germplasm Committeecape This lecture explores the latest industry initiatives and advances in plant breeding aimed at preserving the genetic diversity of our native plant communities. Learn why plant provenance is critical for conservation and hybridization efforts but not a priority when selecting plants for urban and suburban landscapes. We’ll explore the case for why designing landscapes that prioritize ecosystem benefits for humans is just as important as those supporting wildlife. You’ll be surprised how climate change is dictating conservation efforts, its impact on native plant ecoregions and the implications for the way we garden. Kim will make the argument why we need to expand our native plant palette and design criteria to effectively respond to a rapidly changing climate. |
| 4:00 pm | Closing Remarks |
Continuing Education
CEUs offered for the 2025 GreenScapes Symposium:
- American Society of Landscape Architects (LA CES 5.0)
- Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD 5.0)
- Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professionals (CBLP 5.0)
- DC Master Gardener (5.0)
- Delaware Master Gardener (5.0)
- ISA BCMA Management: 5
- ISA Certified Arborist: 5
- Climber Specialist: 5
- Utility Specialist: 5
- Municipal Specialist: 5
- Aerial Lift Specialist: 5
- Maryland Master Gardener (5.0)
- Maryland Master Naturalist Advanced Training (5 hours)
- New Jersey Master Gardener (5.0)
- New York Master Gardener (5.0 – contact your local extension agent)
- Penn State Extension Master Gardeners (5.0)
- Virginia Master Gardener (5.0 – contact your local extension agent)
Presenting Sponsors
Associate Sponsors
Friend Sponsors
