Perennial Plant Conference Schedule

Conference Schedule

  • Registration & Coffee

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    Registration and Coffee

  • Early Riser Tours of the Scott Arboretum

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    Explore the Scott Arboretum on guided tours with horticulture staff.

  • Welcome

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    Mackenzie Knight-Fochs, Education Programs Manager, Scott Arboretum

  • Live Stream Opens

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    Live Stream opens for those joining us virtually.

  • Live Stream Opens

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    Live Stream opens for those joining us virtually.

  • Plant Paradise: Turning a Former Nursery into a Botanical Oasis - Summer Rayne Oakes

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    A group of friends purchase the vestiges of a 30-year-old plant nursery and begin turning it into a botanical oasis—slowly restoring the land while experimenting with unique plantings to pay homage to each of their diverse backgrounds, the people who lived there before, and the land\'s surroundings. Participants will be taken through a panoply of ongoing and ever-evolving plant-related projects over the course of 2 years—including a native meadow; low-mow, native lawn; stinzen plantings; specialist pollinator plants and gardens; permaculture plantings, and more.

  • Break

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    In-person participants: Browse and purchase books sold by the Hardy Plant Society-Mid-Atlantic Group. Purchase raffle tickets to win items donated by sponsoring organizations. Visit the Perennials Showcase, featuring cut specimen plants of interest from sponsoring organizations.

  • The Ecology of Perennial Garden Flowers - Emily Erickson

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    Ornamental perennial flowers are often used in naturalistic gardens to provide food and habitat for insect pollinators. However, selecting the appropriate species or cultivar for your ecological garden can be a daunting task. Emily will share the results of a series of studies that aimed to better understand how common perennial flower cultivars interact with complex insect pollinator communities. We will learn methods for leveraging ecological principles to support biodiversity in gardens and managed greenspaces using commercially available cultivars. We will discuss how cultivar breeding may influence the signaling game between plants and pollinators and what the horticulture industry can do to integrate pollinator health into existing practices.

  • Turning Lawns into Meadows - Owen Wormser

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    Owen Wormser will discuss the effect that lawns and meadows have on the environment. An area the size of Washington State is presently mowed turf in the United States. This makes lawns the largest irrigated \'crop\' in the country and the adverse impact of their ecological footprint is truly staggering. Meadows offer the opposite effect, providing myriad ecological benefits–including ongoing sequestering of carbon and significantly increased biological diversity. Meadows are more affordable than lawns and with the right know-how, they\'re long lasting, low-maintenance, and very beautiful. Owen will discuss the benefits of native meadows and explain how to create thriving meadow scapes by sharing tips and strategies drawn from research and over 20 years of on-the-ground experience.

  • Lunch Break

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    In-person participants: Explore the Arboretum and talk to horticulture staff stationed in designated gardens. Browse and purchase books sold by the Hardy Plant Society-Mid-Atlantic Group. Purchase raffle tickets to win items donated by sponsoring organizations. Visit the Perennials Showcase, featuring cut specimen plants of interest from sponsoring organizations.

  • Gardener’s Voices: Changing Visions

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    One Foot in the Past, One Foot in the Future: Management of 100+ Year Old Garden - Carol Long ---- Cultivating Communities: Ecological Stewardship and Ethical Labor Management - Rashid Poulson

  • Break

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    In-person participants - Browse and purchase books sold by the Hardy Plant Society-Mid-Atlantic Group. Visit the Perennials Showcase, featuring cut specimen plants of interest from sponsoring organizations.

  • Raffle Winners Announcement

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  • The Perennially Globetrotting Gardener: In Search of the Best Plants and Design Inspiration - Karl Gercens

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    Gaining a new perspective is the best way to see your garden and its design with fresh eyes. There is inspiration in every facet of life, but we must be willing to step out of our comfort zone and receive those ideas with an open mind. Let’s hop the pond to Europe and see a few familiar settings, but then really branch out when we see how the Southern hemisphere does things! We’ll travel to five continents in less than an hour, so have your bags packed!

  • Closing Comments

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  • Reception

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    Join the reception with speakers for an additional $20 (in-person participants only).

  • Last shuttle to Springfield Mall Parking Lot

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Registration

Friday, October 20, 2023