Lecture Series
An Evening of Storytelling with the Lenape Nation of PA
Chief Adam Waterbear DePaul, Storykeeper and Director of Education of the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania
Thursday, November 21
6:30 – 8:30 pm
In honor of Native American Heritage Month, you are invited to join the Morris Arboretum & Gardens and Woodmere Art Museum as we welcome Indigenous voices in an evening of storytelling with Chief Adam Waterbear DePaul, storykeeper of the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania, along with other voices from the Lenape Nation of PA. We will hear stories of Lenape history, language, and culture, and will be treated to drumming and singing by the Stone Dog Drum.
This annual celebration of Lenape culture is a collaboration between Woodmere Art Museum, the Morris Arboretum & Gardens, and the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania. The program will take place at the Woodmere Art Museum,
9201 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19118.
Members: $20 • Non-members: $25
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Gardening in a Changing Climate
As temperatures fluctuate and weather patterns become less predictable, home gardeners and landscape professionals must adapt their practices to ensure the health and vitality of their plants and the sustainability of our landscapes.
In this special programming series, participants will explore a variety of strategies and techniques for successful gardening amidst the challenges of a changing climate. Through a combination of interactive discussions, the presentation of successful case studies, and private garden site visits, participants will gain skills and confidence to navigate the complexities of gardening in an era of environmental uncertainty, while simultaneously fostering a deeper connection to the natural world and a commitment to sustainable stewardship.
Edible Ecological Landscaping
Richie Mitchell, Owner, Bear Creek Organics
Saturday, October 5
10:30 am – 12:30 pm
Would you like to learn how to design, install, and manage your own ecological edible landscape? Join in for a presentation packed with ideas, examples, and explanations of how to work with edible fruits, nuts, berries, and native plants in your own yard. Richie Mitchell will lead a presentation demonstrating over seven years of successful edible landscaping projects. He will review amazing examples of the abundance that is possible on all scales, from backyard landscapes to homesteads and small farms, and even school campuses. Diving into the details of how these projects were designed, installed, and managed, you, too, can learn how to apply the most important principles and strategies to your own projects. Learn plant growing requirements, site considerations, land management and growing strategies. There will also be plants on display and passed around to demonstrate pruning techniques, growing habits, and spacing/planting.
Richie Mitchell is an ecological consultant and edible landscape designer. His company, Bear Creek Organics, is a full-service edible landscaping company, regenerative farm, and plant nursery located in White Haven, PA.
Members: $30 • Non-members: $35
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Gardening in a Changing Climate: Native Trees, Shrubs and Vines for a Warmer Future (ONLINE)
Bill Cullina, F. Otto Haas Executive Director, Morris Arboretum & Gardens
Thursday, October 17 (ONLINE)
6:00 – 7:30 pm
Native trees, shrubs and vines are not only beautiful and versatile—they are also cornerstones of local ecosystems, offering food and shelter for a host of birds, mammals, and insects. However, many of the native species we are familiar with are no longer good landscape choices as the climate changes. We must be proactive, promoting and planting species that will thrive in this new environment. In this online talk, Bill Cullina, the F. Otto Haas Executive Director of the Morris Arboretum & Gardens, will showcase beautiful southern natives that show great promise in the rapidly warming Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. A Zoom link will be sent to all participants in advance of the program.
Members: $25 • Non-members: $30
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Xeriscape Gardening & Green Roof Tour
Ryan Drake, McCausland Natural Areas Manager, Morris Arboretum & Gardens
Friday, October 25
10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Gardening with little or no irrigation can save time and water while still providing lush, floriferous gardens. Learn about xeriscaping—we will talk about green roofs, gravel gardens, sand gardens, and more. Ryan will discuss plant selection, techniques for dry gardening, examples of xeriscape landscapes and their wild ecology counterparts, and the class will end with a tour of the green rooftops at Morris Arboretum & Gardens’ Bloomfield Farm. This class will meet in the Horticulture Center on the Bloomfield Farm side of the Morris Arboretum & Gardens, across the street from the main entrance to the Morris. This class has been submitted for 1.5 LA CES CEUs for registered Landscape Architects.
Members: $30 • Non-members: $35
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Successful Stormwater Management at Home
John Majdic, Landscape Designer, GreenWeaver Landscapes
Thursday, November 7
6:00 – 7:30 pm
Join us for a program exploring practical strategies for managing stormwater on a residential scale. You’ll learn a range of approaches, from straightforward measures like reducing turf areas to more advanced solutions such as incorporating planted bioswales. You will leave with an understanding of a variety of green infrastructure techniques that could be implemented on your own property. We will explore plant selection and planting techniques and move through a number of successful case studies that illustrate the aesthetic and environmental benefits of sustainable stormwater management in residential settings.
John Majdic is a landscape designer with GreenWeaver Landscapes. His specialty is incorporating ethical stormwater management, native plantings, and habitat gardens into his plans in an artful manner that reflects the aesthetic desires of his clients along with their sense of environmental stewardship. This class has been submitted for 1.5 LA CES CEUs for registered Landscape Architects.
Members: $30 • Non-members: $35
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Gardening in a Changing Climate: Private Garden Tours
In this portion of our special programming series, participants have the opportunity to visit private garden sites that put into practice various techniques for successful gardening amidst the challenges of a changing climate. Experience sustainable stewardship in action!
Green Light Plants Private Garden Visit
Pawpaws and More: Native and Permaculture Plants for a Resilient Garden
Dale Hendricks, Founder, North Creek Nurseries; Owner, Green Light Plants LLC
Friday, September 27
1:00 – 4:00 pm
Join us on a special site visit and tour of Dale Hendricks’ home and the site of Green Light Plants in Landenberg, PA! Dale’s home and plant nursery sit on a 12-acre piece of a formerly abandoned farm. Dale will take us on a tour of the land where we will see a variety of garden areas, lots of lovely woodland and prairie native plants, a small nursery area, and several food forest plantings that include walnuts, pawpaws, persimmon, and a plethora of other multi-functional trees. Dale will also talk and walk us through his work with habitat enhancement using both plantings and seed addition, also known as rewilding. We will see Dale’s outdoor kitchen featuring a clean-burning (wood) cookstove that produces biochar, and discuss how Dale works to incorporate biochar in his gardening and soil-building efforts.
Dale is a former co-owner of North Creek Nurseries, a regionally renowned native landscape plug provider. He now owns a part-time nursery business, Green Light Plants, a small permaculture plant provider. We will meet at Dale’s home in Landenberg; the address will be emailed to all registrants before the tour.
Members: $45 • Non-members: $50
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Weatherwood Farm Visit: Revitalizing a Piece of Bucks County's Ecological Heritage
David Hughes, Landscape Architect Specializing in Native Plants and Ecological Design
NEW DATE: Wednesday, October 16
1:00 – 4:00 pm
Join us for a private guided tour of this four-acre property. Purchased in 2014, this woodland area that was once overbrowsed by deer and overrun by invasive plants is now a thriving forest-floor community of native plants. The monoculture and ecologically unfriendly lawns have been replaced with native wildflower and warm-season grass meadows. Vernal pools and rain gardens have been created to be a nurturing wetland habitat. Hedgerows that had been degraded due to pests, diseases and overzealous clearing are being re-established as food and nesting sites for birds and insects. Listen to David Hughes give inspired information on healing our degraded landscape and reflect on beautiful native plant communities and the creatures that call it home.
David Hughes is a registered landscape architect and owner of Weatherwood Design LLC that specializes in native plant-based garden design, ecology, and indigenous habitat conservation. He has worked in the green industry for 34 years designing landscapes that focus on bringing back ecological functions to the site and its surrounding community. We will meet at David’s home in Bucks County; the address will be emailed to all registrants before the tour.
Members: $45 • Non-members: $50
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Good Host Plants Private Garden Visit
John Janick, Owner, Good Host Plants Native Plant Nursery
Saturday, October 5
1:00 – 2:30 pm
In the native plant nursery that he runs out of his home in Mt. Airy, Philadelphia, John Janick works to promote biodiversity by growing straight-species native plants, indigenous to Philadelphia and the Mid-Atlantic region, using local-ecotype plants whenever possible to promote genetic variability and healthy ecosystems.
Join us on-site at John’s home and the site of his nursery and learn about how John turned a weedy property covered with invasives into the healthy woodland, aquatic habitat, and thriving native meadow we’ll see together. John will show us his favorite plants for attracting pollinators and providing blooms throughout the growing season covering various site conditions. We will meet at John’s home in Mt. Airy; the address will be emailed to all registrants before the tour.
Members: $35 • Non-members: $40
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Critical Conversations: Native and invasive plants with Rebecca McMackin & Mark Weathington (ONLINE)
Rebecca McMackin, Arboretum Curator, Woodlawn Cemetery
Mark Weathington, Director, JC Raulston Arboretum, NC State University
Thursday, December 12
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Join us for an evening of engaging and thought-provoking discussion with two leading minds in the field of horticulture today, Rebecca McMackin and Mark Weathington. Rebecca and Mark will engage in a critical conversation about native and invasive plants and the future of our managed and wild landscapes.
What is a native plant? What plants are truly invasive? How and when do the plants we choose influence the health and/or function of our ecological environments? Can a plant be ‘good’ or ‘bad’, and how does the language we use when describing plants influence the way we think about and interact with them? You are invited to be a part of this dialogue as we work together to shape our understanding and approach to plant selection. The evening will include a dynamic Q&A session where you will have an opportunity to pose your own questions as we delve deep into these complicated topics, together.
This program has been submitted for 1.5 LA CES and ISA CEUs (choose ‘Professional Rate’ in tiered pricing). This is an online program; a Zoom link will be emailed to registrants.
Mark Weathington is the Director of the JC Raulston Arboretum at North Carolina State University where he is passionate in his work to connect plants to people. Mark travels extensively searching for plants to diversify the American landscape. His explorations have taken him to China, Taiwan, Japan, Ecuador, Europe, Mexico, New Zealand, and throughout the US. Mark writes for Fine Gardening, Horticulture, and other national magazines and is the author of Gardening in the South, The Complete Homeowner’s Guide.
Rebecca McMackin is an ecologically obsessed horticulturist and garden designer. She is currently the Arboretum Curator for Woodlawn Cemetery, after completing the Loeb Fellowship at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Prior to this, she spent a decade as Director of Horticulture of Brooklyn Bridge Park, where she managed 85 acres of diverse parkland organically. Rebecca writes, lectures, and teaches on ecological landscape management and pollination ecology, as well as designs the rare public garden. She has been published by and featured in the New York Times, the Landscape Institute, on NPR and PBS, and recently presented a TED talk.
Students / Young professionals /Subsidized Rate: $15
General Admission: $25
Professionals (CEUs available) / Benefactor Rate: $35
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Endowed Lectures
An annual series of lectures held from late fall to early spring that explore a wide variety of fascinating topics. Lectures are supported in part by the Klein Lecture Endowment given in memory of Dr. William M. Klein who served from 1977-1990 as the Arboretum’s first full-time director, the Laura L. Barnes Lecture Endowment of The Philadelphia Foundation, given in memory of Laura Barnes by students and alumni of her school of horticulture, and the Byron Lukens Lecture Endowment, given in memory of educator and Arboretum volunteer, Byron Lukens and his wife Elizabeth.