Margaret Roach of A Way to Garden will be hosting and co-facilitating a morning workshop in her garden in Copake Falls, entitled "Finding and Encouraging the Wild in Your Garden" to benefit the Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program. Join experienced gardener Margaret Roach and ecologists Conrad and Claudia Vispo of the Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program for a hands-on exploration of the wild nature present in gardens.
We'll encourage you to feed your curiosity and indulge in snooping for easily overlooked garden plants and animals during a joyful ramble through the "classroom" of Margaret's garden and the natural areas at its perimeter, with both formally landscaped patches (featuring mostly exotic "collector" plants) and wilder areas managed for natives. See Margaret's various experiments with making a mini-meadow, creating "snags" or wildlife trees and "unmowing" some new areas to see what happens--and we'll get Conrad and Claudia's insights on how to fine-tune and enhance them with a more expert eye.
Led by what we observe and the questions you bring up, we'll touch on themes such as:
- How much wildness do you want in your backyard?
- What is your garden’s place in the ecology of the larger landscape?
- What is native to your garden and is ‘nativeness’ important?
- How can you encourage native plants and help wildlife?
- What references--online, and also field guides and more--can help inform your own explorations?
No one gardener (or biologist!) can see it all, but we’ll give you a general introduction to the cast of characters, meet some of them in person, and share our secrets for finding and identifying many of your garden’s residents.
Come prepared with your questions.
The workshop is $65 per person and tickets can be purchased here. The two workshops offered in the morning and afternoon are envisioned as repeats, although they will differ as each will be shaped by the particular group of participants and the wildlife that chooses to reveal itself. The program will be held in Copake Falls, NY, and ticket-holders will be emailed directions and other details.