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Free Community Events
Join us for some exciting community events in 2025!
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Different experts will deliver presentations and guide participants through hands-on activities.
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In some events, you’ll also have the chance to contribute to a larger project.
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Enjoy snacks, coffee, and tea while connecting with like-minded gardeners.
Click on each image to find out more about the event, and scroll down to register.
Some plants are difficult to grow from seed, or seeds are hard to come by.
You can check out our plant sale with exciting plants like Wahoo, wild lupine, American ginseng, Sullivant's milkweed and the all-important backbones of our natural systems like swamp milkweed, black-eyed Susan and wild columbine.
Native Plant Sale 2025
Past Community Winter Events
Similar events will happen next January, 2026. Get ready!
Grow Your Garden From Seed
It is surprisingly easy and successful to grow beautiful native plants from seed.
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Join a community seed workshop to learn how to grow abundant plants, get free seeds and create a pollinator garden at practically no cost.
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See the events below.
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You can also Contact me to schedule a private workshop for your organization, school or group of friends.
Why growing native plants from seed matters:
It is my greatest passion to grow native plants from seed, including prairie plants, grasses, shrubs and trees. It is magical to see a seed, often as small as a dust speck, grow into a beautiful flowering plant within a few months. Nature is abundant. From hundreds of seeds nature disperses, one lucky seed might land in a perfect location under perfect conditions, be overlooked by hungry creatures and grow into a healthy plant. I teach you methods to get high seed germination rates and tricks to care for the seedlings to become healthy plants.
Growing plants from seed is also critical conservation work. Every plant that is grown from seed is an individual with a unique genetic makeup. Almost all ornamental plants offered in nurseries and garden centres are clones, produced from cell tissue or cuttings. That means plants of one species are all genetically identical. Biodiversity is not only significant on the species level but also on the level of genetic diversity within one species. Greater biodiversity makes ecosystems more resilient. In our turbulent time of climate change, we need the greatest possible genetic diversity in plants so they can adapt to change. Since native plants became more popular, the big nursery machinery has started to produce native plants in mass through cloning. Often conventional nurseries offer cultivars, sometimes referred to as nativars to cater to our human preference in aesthetics and growth habits. Those don't consider the needs of bees and butterflies. - Because science is only just starting to discover the intricacy and complexity of nature's fascinating relations, the relationships between plants, flowers and insects.
Additionally, the nursery network distributes plants way beyond their ideal geographic range. But we can grow native plants from locally sourced seeds, which will be better adapted to our ecoregion. So let's get started.
Boutique Seed Workshop
Learn how to grow your own native plants successfully
In this workshop, you will find suitable plants for your garden conditions and learn different methods to grow these plants from seed. We will sow some samples, and you can choose seeds from the list below that will thrive in your garden to take home.
January, 2025 - May 2025
$ 45 per person
According to interest, we can also talk about:
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Host plants for butterflies and pollen specialist bees and the takeaway for our gardens.
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A step-by-step plan to create a beautiful pollinator garden by next summer.
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The importance of living soil and soft landings.
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Beneficial garden maintenance practices for insects, soil, birds and all wildlife.
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Increase vegetable yields with native plants and how to implement them in a vegetable garden.
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Native plants for container gardening on a balcony or terrasse.
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Practices to improve your soil, its water retention and fertility.
Boutique Workshops:
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You will learn the ins and outs and tricks of growing native plants from seed so that you can do this every year.
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You can choose free seeds from a variety of species that you like to grow.
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We will find plants that will thrive in your garden conditions and look stunning together.
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Native plants can be started from November to May. You will learn which method to use at different start times so that you can select the correct method for your schedule, needs and convenience.
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I advise you on the best ways to protect your seeds and seedlings.
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And guide you through the entire growing process for optimal seedling growth.
Book a Seed Workshop and Get Seeds
Boutique seed workshops will be held indoors throughout winter and will be limited to 5 attendees and will run 3 hours. We will sow some samples to take home. Participants can choose seeds from up to 15 different native plant species, including grasses, sedges, roses, trees and shrubs, to grow at home.
Boutique Seed Workshop
January, March, April, May 2025
Learn how to grow your garden from seed and receive seeds for native plants.
Courses run until the end of May
$45.- per person.
Private Seed Workshop +
Garden Plan
Winter Special!
Come alone or with a partner to plan a garden makeover. If you like, get the seeds for the plants you need for your new garden and learn how to grow, care for and plant them. Learn how to prepare the planting area and get set up with the right connections to achieve your goals.
$100.-
Group Workshop
Ideal for Buildings and Garden Clubs
I will come to your location.
You invite the participants.
We can customize the content according to your interest.
Starting at $150.-
Other available Services:
Fast-track your success in creating a pollinator garden and save money by getting help determining suitable areas, selecting plants and finding them.
Have you ever wondered which microorganisms are working in your compost or your soil? Get some pictures of them and learn about their functions.
Informative · Current · Provocative
In Person or on Zoom.
For Garden Clubs, Community Groups, Schools, Events, or Companies.
