The landscape at Glenstone, a newly-constructed, contemporary art museum in Potomac, Maryland, received the ASLA Honor Award in 2019. The property contains 90 acres of planted meadows, shrub thickets, and reforestation that stretch from the property borders to the museum buildings. This organically planted and maintained landscape illustrates how landscape architects (PWP Landscape Architecture), native plant consultants (Larry Weaner Landscape Associates), and an in-house management team can collaborate in the service of ecology, art, and a stimulating visitor experience. Our day will combine classroom instruction with a heavy dose of field observation to illustrate how this landscape went from landscape plans to vibrant reality.

Uncovering the often-hidden vegetative characteristics of a site can help designers enhance botanic diversity, while curating inspirational places that elicit a true sense of place. This full day session will include classroom presentations and field exploration of both meadow and woodland landscapes. Presenters, including designer Larry Weaner and ecologist/horticulturist Steven Conaway, PhD, will show how deep site analysis can help designers recognize and incorporate a site’s inherent inclinations - be it for a restoration, a garden, or a blend of the two.

A 4-part Virtual Intensive Course for Home Gardeners

Presented by Larry Weaner, FAPLD and Sara Weaner Cooper

Native meadows can be stunningly beautiful bird and butterfly magnets that require far less maintenance than mown turf or virtually any garden bed. Sounds great right? But it is only true if planned with an understanding of actual meadow ecology.

A 4-part Virtual Intensive Course for Home Gardeners
Presented by Larry Weaner, FAPLD

Our expansive format will allow Landscape Designer Larry Weaner to provide an in-depth guide for creating wildlife inclusive, ecologically productive, and highly manageable residential landscapes. Throughout the program Larry will interweave garden aesthetics with garden ecology, demonstrating how home environments can be both ecologically productive and experientially rich.

Topics will include how to make a meadow seed mix, indigenous edible landscapes, a season-by-season guide to gardening for pollinators (with Doug Tallamy & Larry Weaner), “garden break rooms” for mental wellness, an organic lawn-to-meadow transition, introduction to ecology-based home gardening, and more.

Learn the basics to this landscaping approach with award-winning Landscape Designer Larry Weaner. Part One is a presentation by Larry and Sara Weaner Cooper, and Part Two is a Landscapes Open House at both of their respective homes.

Our Symposium will begin by zooming in on techniques for regionally-specific landscape analysis and design. We will then widen the lens and learn how disturbance, ecological science, and cultural land practices across regions can factor into those processes. Finally, we will explore how an expansive view of landscape art can unify this micro/macro divide in landscapes ranging from expansive to intimate.

Join Landscape Designer Larry Weaner and native plant expert Ian Caton on a deep dive into the integration of restoration ecology and garden design. From technical instruction to personal anecdotes, Larry and Ian will share over 70 years of combined experience on the fine points of designing, planting, and managing ecology-based landscapes.

Read the April 2025 article, “'Meadowscaping': The people turning their lawns into meadows.”

“Turning lawns into meadows can have big benefits for people, wildlife and the climate. Here's why 'meadowscaping' has become the latest gardening craze.”

Sara Weaner Cooper and Evan Cooper knew that weekly mowing was not for them. So in place of their lawn, they began to imagine a meadow. The method, however, would not involve killing the turf grass first. Instead, they would plant and seed directly into it using some strategic techniques...with results that exceeded expectations.

Article written by Margaret Roach

Part of American Horticultural Society’s Great American Gardeners Awards, the Horticultural Innovation Award is “given to an individual or company whose innovations have made the field of horticulture more sustainable and accessible to all.”