Is it ever possible for a gardener to truly stop thinking about gardening, even in the holiday season?  Not this one!  The quiet time in winter is my perfect opportunity to grab some education and expand my native plant horizons, so I have been actively looking for different classes and other learning opportunities.

This year, I have found myself gravitating to in-depth discussions on a single topic from real experts in the area – the use of herbicides, specific techniques, and case studies or lessons-learned from their experience.  I’m always on the lookout for inspiration on landscape and garden design, and as an interesting change of pace, there are classes on other aspects of the ecosystem besides plants.

Fortunately, there are a wealth of options available.  The following is a list of classes that have arrived in my inbox or which I have used in the past. I’m not sure yet exactly which ones I will register for – the conferences are a big time and financial commitment, with early-bird discounts that expire at the end of December, so I will be deciding on those soon.  The others are on my radar, and each month I will pick a few to enjoy.

Conferences

New Directions in the American Landscape – This is an annual two-day conference organized by Larry Weamer, who has been a leading practitioner in ecological landscaping for decades.  It is a two-day event, aimed at professional landscape architects/designers, but with a lot of food for thought for home gardeners.  It is offered Jan 10-12 in person in Pennsylvania and Jan 17-18 in Connecticut, with the Connecticut event also being offered virtually. www.ndal.org

Ecological Landscape Alliance – Generally focused on resources and education for landscape professionals, this organization is very welcoming to the home gardener and offers a wealth of resources to its members.  They run a two-day annual conference, this year on Feb 21-22 and only in virtual format, that includes presentations from members on a themed topic plus opportunities to network with other attendees.  This year they offer two tracks of presentations, one on the horticulture industry and its processes, and the other on lessons learned and specific horticulture practices, which is the track I’m considering.  www.ecolandscaping.org

Webinars

Ecological Landscape Alliance – For your $100 membership, ELA offers for free a wide range of current and past webinars, covering many topics, often a case study by the horticulture lead at a noted property.  For instance, last week I attended a webinar about the Green-Wood cemetery in Brooklyn, which is losing large numbers of trees (due to aging plus drought), and the case study was about how they are planting 1000 bare-root trees each year and achieving a 95%+ success rate.  Even though I will never be faced with that scale of a challenge, there was plenty for me to take notes about!

Grow Native Massachusetts – This wonderful organization was founded to support and encourage home gardeners to plant native plants.  For several years they have offered their free Evenings with Experts, generally 4 noted speakers on a topic of their expertise; this is where I first hear Doug Tallamy present his research and his call for Homegrown National Park.  This year they are a mix of virtual and in-person, and cover Meadows for Beginners, Native Bees, Climate Resilient Gardens, and Gardening with Hungry Mammals.  While these have been announced, the last I checked they were not yet posted on their website, so keep checking in.  I am likely to attend all the virtual sessions. Note that Evenings with Experts from prior years are available, also for free, on their website.  www.grownativemass.org

New Directions in the American Landscape – In addition to their annual conference, NDAL offers in-depth webinars from time to time.  This week, Dec 21-22, I am attending webinars focused on invasive plant controls. Enough said.    www.ndal.org

Native Plant Trust – This is where I took in-person classes to get my Native Plant certificate, and I was pleased when they started offering many virtual webinars.  They cover all aspects of native plants, from in-depth looks at particular types of plant (ferns, shrubs), to botanical subjects, to design, and to horticultural techniques.  www.nativeplanttrust.org

Podcasts

While there are dozens of gardening podcasts available, I have found a few that I find perfect for listening to while I am on a treadmill or bicycle trying to get some cardio in.  Growing Greener, by Thomas Chrisopher, covers interviews with experts on native plants and ecological topics, such as grasslands, bold landscape design, and living mulches. In Defense of Plants focuses on the science of plants, such as orchid pollination, tree canopies, and aquatic plants. Let’s Argue About Plants, by Fine Gardening magazine, is a light-hearted but informative discussion about each podcaster’s favorite plants of a particular type (e.g. fall color, grasses, long bloom times).  The Native Plant Podcast is just that, a long discussion about a category of native plants, with an expert.

Other

Harwich Conservation Trust is offering many different kinds of walks and talks this winter. I have my eye on one on tree and shrub identification in winter, but I haven’t got it to work on my schedule yet. www.harwichconservationtrust.org

Chatham Conservation Trust is offering a monthly book club focused on environmental topics and will have a series of webinars in late winter/early spring. I’m scheduled to give one of the talks, so be sure to sign up!  www.ccfinc.org