Designing in a naturalistic style can provide greater benefits to wildlife and the environment because these designs often contain biodiverse and integrated plant communities. For this reason, gardening in this style can be complex. Honoring a design vision over time requires a thoughtful and adaptive approach to keep it balanced. In this talk, we’ll explore ways to gently guide the naturalistic garden and allow for organic evolution, including strategic plant selection, encouraging self-seeding, matching levels of competitiveness, and replacing or introducing new elements.

 Leah Blanton is a landscape designer and horticulturist, using her artistic eye and plant knowledge to create functional urban landscapes for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, where she designs a diverse range of public horticulture projects in Philadelphia. She is an instructor at the Mt. Cuba Center, co-owns an ecological garden design company, and earned her certificate of Sustainable Garden Design from the New York Botanical Garden.

Payment/Attendance notes:

• This event is free to members, $5 for visitors.

• Those who wish to create or renew membership may do so via PayPal on the Membership page of this website. You may also pay at the event with cash or check payable to Narberth Area Garden Club.

• This event will take place at the Narberth Municipal Building, 100 Conway Ave, Narberth PA (use Haverford Avenue entrance). The event will not be accessible via Zoom.