Irvine Nature Center

7:30 a.m.         Registration & Early Bird Plant Sale* for Seminar Registrants                   

9:00 a.m.         Plant Sale Open to the Public; Seminar Welcome

9:10 a.m.         Ian Caton, Tough Plants for Tough Places

10:30 a.m.       Nancy Ross Hugo, Extraordinary Secret Life of Everyday Trees

11:30 p.m.       Break

11:40 p.m.       Claudia West, The Landscape’s Color Spectrum: Applying Natural Color Theories to Enhance Design

12:40 p.m.       Seminar Concludes, Lunch and Shopping Enjoy lunch, shop at the region’s best native plant nurseries and purchase a native plant book at Irvine’s Nature Store.

2:00 p.m.         Workshops Begin, Pre-registration required, space limited and there’s an additional charge.

1. Beautiful Ancient Forests – Dr. Joan Maloof

2. Native Trees: Pruning and Maintaining for Success – Steve Sprague

3. The American Top 40: Excellent Native Plants for Creating Diversity-Rich Gardens in an Ecologically-Challenged World – Janet Davis

3:30 p.m.         Workshops Conclude, Native Plant Sale Ends

*Native plant sale open to the public 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Registrants can take advantage of free “plant-sitting” during the seminar.

Tough Plants for Tough Places

Ian Caton will present a brief guide to selecting reliable, tough, native plants for aesthetically pleasing gardening. He will profile trees, shrubs and perennials for the toughest situations, such as deer, clay soils, heat, drought, salt and general abuse. Ian will also touch on the methodology of selecting native perennials and woody plants, how to use them, and what to expect from them over time.

Ian Caton, Ecological Landscape Designer, has been an employee of Larry Weaner Landscape Associates since 2001. A graduate of Delaware Valley College with a BS in Ornamental Horticulture and Environmental Design, he has an extensive knowledge of native plants, natural communities and their incorporation into the human environment. He has extensive experience in designing and installing native landscapes, and he has also worked with local governments on the development of landscape plans for public spaces. Past speaking engagements have included Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve, New York Botanical Gardens, Brookside Gardens Green Matters Symposium, The Connecticut Mad Gardeners and the New Directions in the American Landscape Conferences.

Extraordinary Secret Life of Everyday Trees

Nancy Ross Hugo will share some of the secrets she and photographer Robert Llewellyn discovered in their intense, two-year investigation of the seeds, catkins, cones, flowers, resting buds, emerging leaves and other small phenomena usually overlooked on backyard trees. She argues these intimate details are as exciting to watch and worthy of viewing as roses or peonies, and that by becoming more familiar with them, observers will better appreciate both the ecological services and landscape value of trees. Nancy emphasizes the importance of planting long-lived, legacy trees and contends that native trees make the best landscape investments and particularly fine subjects for viewing.

Nancy Ross Hugo, an outdoor writer and lecturer, is known to many Virginians as the author of “Earth Works,” a weekly column on gardening and natural history. Nancy served as Education Manager at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden and launched the Remarkable Trees of Virginia Project. She is the author of three books: Remarkable Trees of Virginia, Seeing Trees: Discover the Extraordinary Secret Lives of Everyday Trees and Earth Works: Readings for Backyard Gardeners.

The Landscape’s Color Spectrum: Applying Natural Color Theories to Enhance Design

Claudia West will interpret Bertolt Hering’s research of natural color ranges in modern European landscapes and apply these principles to the American landscape. Travel through regional native plant communities and explore the fascinating color ranges found within these ecosystems. She will discuss how the Swedish Natural Color System provides a tool for analyzing the color layers of native plant communities as defined in the spectrum of natural green. Planning based on plant communities can lead to more harmonious and balanced landscapes, and the existing landscapes progress in terms of ecological value and biodiversity. German native,

Earth's Beautiful Ancient Forests: Can There Be A Happy Ending?

Dr. Joan Maloof will summarize the condition of our forests from global and national perspectives – particularly those that have never been logged. How many of these “old-growth forests” are left? Where are they? And why do they matter? Maloof has traveled the nation inspecting the remaining old-growth forests and she will describe her vision of an Old-Growth Forest Network – a nationwide attempt to reverse past destruction and reconnect families with the beauty and biological abundance found only in ancient forests.

Dr. Maloof, author, ecologist and environmental advocate, studied Plant Science at the University of Delaware (BS), Environmental Science at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (MS), and Ecology at the University of Maryland College Park (PhD). She has published numerous research articles and two books: Among the Ancients: Adventures in the Eastern Old-Growth Forests (2011) and Teaching the Trees: Lessons from the Forest (2005) which won an Honorable Mention from the Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment. Formerly a professor at Salisbury University in Maryland, Maloof now directs the nonprofit Old-Growth Forest Network.

Native Trees: Pruning and Maintenance for Success

Starting in the classroom, Steve Sprague will discuss various pruning techniques and their effects on trees. Participants will then walk outside for a demonstration and participation in employing proper pruning techniques as discussed. Steve will also cover general tips on late summer/early fall tree care and maintenance.

Steve Sprague is a Maryland Licensed Tree Expert, ISA Certified Arborist, and Candidate Member of the American Society of Consulting Arborists. In addition, he is a Certified Tree Care Safety Professional with over thirteen years of experience in tree care. Currently, Steve's primary duties involve managing regulatory compliance and operational safety for Carroll Tree Service in Owings Mills.

The American Top 40: Excellent Native Plants for Creating Diversity-Rich Gardens in an Ecologically Challenged World

Our gardens are more than just a feast for our eyes: in a world with ever-shrinking habitats, they are important contributors to biodiversity. By planting native plants in our managed landscapes, we support and encourage an abundance of life. Learn how to 'pamper pollinators, beguile butterflies and boost birds' – all while enjoying a beautiful garden yourself.

Janet Davis is the primary operator of Hill House Farm & Nursery. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Horticulture from Virginia Tech and has spent the last 28 years working in various horticultural pursuits – from apple orchards to greenhouses – all the while spending as much time as possible hiking in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. Her time spent in “the woods” fostered her passion for our native flora and plant communities, and spurred her desire to learn more about native plants.