Landscaping with Native Plants

It's been a lovely couple of days at the Landscaping with Native Plants Conference in Cullowhee, NC.  Now in its 32nd year, the conference brings together native plant enthusiasts of all sorts, from horticulturists to academics, homeowners to designers, wonderful native plant vendors, and everyone in between.

I've been coming sporadically since the mid 80's, but have been here the last three years, as I've had more time in the summer (and my gardening companion has, too). And we've both been involved with programs, as well.

It's a great conference, and it's been wonderful to see how it's still flourishing, continuing to bring in new people interested in native plants in all of their guises (field trips to wonderful natural areas nearby is a core part of the Cullowhee experience).

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MORE meadows, pocket meadows, and prairie gardens

I've been immersing myself in learning more about meadow gardening (and prairie gardening) and naturalistic gardens as practiced by Piet Oudolf and Noel Kingsbury and others. It's not an unfamiliar topic for me, but I've having fun revisiting it.

I'm doing a pocket native gardening program at the Cullowhee Native Plants Conference next week, so I'm wanting to be up to date.

It's so interesting that our North American natives (prairie species, but also our successional meadow species in the Eastern U.S.) have been embraced by naturalistic garden designers in the UK, the Netherlands, and Germany.

I would so like to visit Piet and Anya Oudolf's private garden this fall and some of the German gardens that are being experimental with naturalistic gardens.

I've got just enough frequent flier miles to book a flight -- perhaps that's a signal that I need to go!

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