All Scheduled Programs

What’s on the horizon:

Free Q&As!

Garden Chats with Larry

Get your questions answered by Landscape Designer Larry Weaner. Ask anything related to ecology-based gardening and landscape practice.

Where: Zoom

When:
Friday, August 8th, 2025
Monday, November 3rd, 2025

6:00 - 6:30 PM ET

NDAL In the Field:

Upcoming In-Person Program for Professionals

Filtering by: “Home gardener”
At Home With Nature: Beauty, Ecology, and Experience (Fall Virtual Series)
Sep
2

At Home With Nature: Beauty, Ecology, and Experience (Fall Virtual Series)

Larry Weaner, FAPLD

Even on the smallest residential property, sharing garden decisions with nature changes everything. In this eye opening presentation, Larry will illustrate how an ecology-based, brains-over-brawn approach to home landscaping can reduce management needs, increase desirable wildlife habitat, and enhance the visual and intellectual experience of being in your yard.

FREE SESSION

Learn more

Register today!

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Lawn to Meadow: A Light and Gradual Transition (Fall Virtual Series)
Sep
3

Lawn to Meadow: A Light and Gradual Transition (Fall Virtual Series)

Larry Weaner, FAPLD and Sara Weaner Cooper

No chemical use, no hauling, no digging, no smothering - no early-stage ugly phase. 

Sounds too good to be true.

Yet by gradually applying a series of light touch actions, you can achieve this organic transition without breaking your back, sparking ecological angst, or infuriating your neighbors. These actions can include timed mowing, selective height cutting, pH manipulation, and organic herbicide application.

In this session, Sara will discuss her lawn to meadow conversion (featured in The New York Times, 2024), including 2025 updates and plans, illustrating a homeowner’s perspective. Larry will explore case studies exemplifying the technical underpinnings behind this approach, from a landscape designer's perspective. This brains over brawn approach can transform the experience of creating residential meadows from daunting to uplifting.

Category: Home Gardener & Professional

Fee: $35

Learn more

Register today!

View Event →
Landscaping with Nature: Turning Battles into Partnerships | Session 1 of 4 | Design
Sep
10

Landscaping with Nature: Turning Battles into Partnerships | Session 1 of 4 | Design

Larry Weaner, FAPLD

Designing with site-adapted native plants is a good thing, but designing with the ecological processes that govern those plants in the wild is even better. Our opening session will examine a series of garden-relevant concepts from the ecological sciences including plant community, plant proliferation, competition, and ecological succession. Each concept will be defined and followed by a concrete example of its incorporation into a residential design. While rarely considered in traditional garden design, these ecological characteristics are actually key to achieving the environmental, aesthetic, and maintenance promise of ecology-based garden design.

6:00 - 7:15 PM ET

Register today for Landscaping with Nature

View Event →
Meadow Making: A Brains Over Brawn Approach | Session 1 of 4 | Design
Sep
11

Meadow Making: A Brains Over Brawn Approach | Session 1 of 4 | Design

Larry Weaner, FAPLD

In our opening session we will illustrate how to select the meadow plants that are most likely to thrive on your property as well as fit your aesthetic and practical preferences. This will include guidance for site analysis, seed mix formulation, and the potential to hasten meadow development through the supplemental addition of live plants.    

6:00 - 7:15 PM ET

Registration includes Sessions 1 - 4.

Register for Meadow Making today

View Event →
Landscaping with Nature: Turning Battles into Partnerships | Session 2 of 4: Planting
Sep
17

Landscaping with Nature: Turning Battles into Partnerships | Session 2 of 4: Planting

Larry Weaner, FAPLD

In this session we will learn how “light touch” planting techniques can increase plant survival and reduce post-planting maintenance. The disturbance that results from deep digging, soil enhancement, and soil replacement always stimulates a flush of weeds. Applying fertilizer helps those weeds grow faster. In this session we will learn to match the plant to the soil, not the soil to the plant, an approach that avoids weed-enacting soil disturbance and places plants in soils that are familiar and conducive to their survival. We will also discuss how to select nursery plants that are most likely to thrive and proliferate in your landscape.

6:00 - 7:15 PM ET

Register today for Landscaping with Nature

View Event →
Meadow Making: A Brains Over Brawn Approach | Session 2 of 4 | Planting
Sep
18

Meadow Making: A Brains Over Brawn Approach | Session 2 of 4 | Planting

Larry Weaner, FAPLD and Sara Weaner Cooper

From rototilling to fertilizing, many garden planting techniques are actually counterproductive when it comes to meadow making. In this session we will illustrate how to sow meadow seeds and plant live plants in a manner that puts them in a position to succeed without the intensive maintenance requirements of turf grass or traditional gardens. This session will also include a brief presentation by Sara Weaner Cooper who will describe her chemical-free/no kill lawn-to-meadow transition project, now in its highly successful second year. 

6:00 - 7:15 PM ET

Registration includes Sessions 1 - 4.

Register for Meadow Making today

View Event →
Landscaping with Nature: Turning Battles into Partnerships | Session 3 of 4: Managing
Sep
22

Landscaping with Nature: Turning Battles into Partnerships | Session 3 of 4: Managing

Larry Weaner, FAPLD

“Relative ecological stability” is a term used by ecologists to describe a highly competitive vegetative composition that allows few new individuals to enter the system. In garden-speak, that translates to “low maintenance.” In our final session we will illustrate how piggybacking on this and other ecological processes can change garden management from a battle to a partnership. Using examples from his own property as well as diverse client projects, Larry will share how a brains-over-brawn approach can result in compelling, easily managed landscapes that liberate both plants and people. 

6:00 - 7:15 PM ET

Register today for Landscaping with Nature

View Event →
Meadow Making: A Brains Over Brawn Approach | Session 3 of 4 | Managing
Sep
25

Meadow Making: A Brains Over Brawn Approach | Session 3 of 4 | Managing

Larry Weaner, FAPLD

Meadow management, particularly in the first two years, is every bit as important as planning and planting. Here we will show how piggybacking on ecological processes can preserve the meadow’s long term integrity without the need to add supplements, cut incessantly, and  endlessly pull weeds. In scientific terms this vegetative condition is called “relative ecological stability.” In landscape terms it is called “low maintenance.”

6:00 - 7:15 PM ET

Registration includes Sessions 1 - 4.

Register for Meadow Making today

View Event →
Indigenous Edible Landscape Design: Lessons from the Past and Present (Fall Virtual Series)
Oct
7

Indigenous Edible Landscape Design: Lessons from the Past and Present (Fall Virtual Series)

Lyla June Johnston

The notion that the Americas were "wilderness" prior to European arrival is false. The notion that Native Americans were sparsely populated and technologically stunted are also false. The Americas were inhabited for 25,000+ years according to recent archaeological finds, and within this time period humanity managed to transform vast regions into edible ecosystems that benefitted both humans and non-humans alike. Dr. Johnston's extensive research in the area draws lessons from paleo-archaeological stories of abundant and sustainable bioregional food systems and applies them to contemporary landscape design, with a focus on edibility ratings. How can we (and why should we) make our household, municipality and community landscapes more edible, moving away from the "ornamental" goals of Euro-centric landscape design?

Fee: $35

Learn more

Register today!

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Landscaping with Nature: Turning Battles into Partnerships | Session 4 of 4 | Conversation and Q&A
Oct
15

Landscaping with Nature: Turning Battles into Partnerships | Session 4 of 4 | Conversation and Q&A

Larry Weaner, FAPLD

After a three-week opportunity to digest the information provided in the previous three sessions, attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the course information. The freewheeling format will allow for exploration of the many variations inherent to an ecology-based approach.

6:00 - 7:15 PM ET

Register today for Landscaping with Nature

Photo by Steve Ford

View Event →
Meadow Making: A Brains Over Brawn Approach | Session 4 of 4 | Conversation and Q&A
Oct
16

Meadow Making: A Brains Over Brawn Approach | Session 4 of 4 | Conversation and Q&A

Larry Weaner, FAPLD and Sara Weaner Cooper

After a three-week opportunity to digest the information provided in the previous three sessions, attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the course information. The freewheeling format will allow for exploration of the many “variations on the meadow theme” that can arise from the individual experiences and interests of course attendees. 

6:00 - 7:15 PM ET

Register today for Meadow Making

Photo by Steve Ford

View Event →
What Makes a Garden Break “Room” Truly Restorative? (Fall Virtual Series)
Oct
23

What Makes a Garden Break “Room” Truly Restorative? (Fall Virtual Series)

Perla Sofía Curbelo-Santiago

More and more people are turning to nature to recharge. Whether you have a patio, a balcony, or a small corner by the window, you’ll discover how to create a space that supports relaxation and meaningful pauses. But simply adding plants to a room or intimate outdoor space doesn’t guarantee rest or well-being.

In this thoughtful and inspiring session, you’ll learn what truly makes a Garden Break Room effective. Through stories, research-backed insights, and real examples from both home and office settings, author and garden communicator Perla Sofía Curbelo-Santiago will guide you through the essential elements—both visible and invisible—that help people feel restored, not just impressed.

Fee: $32

Learn more

Register today!

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Tallamy and Weaner: A Season by Season Guide to Plant-Wildlife Connections (Fall Virtual Series)
Dec
4

Tallamy and Weaner: A Season by Season Guide to Plant-Wildlife Connections (Fall Virtual Series)

Doug Tallamy, PhD & Larry Weaner, FAPLD

To support native birds and pollinators you need native plants. For those plants to thrive, you need to know how to plant, arrange, and manage them. And to optimize the wildlife benefits, those plants must provide habitat throughout the year. In this presentation, entomologist & wildlife ecologist Doug Tallamy and landscape designer Larry Weaner will illustrate an all too rare, integrated approach to habitat creation on residential properties. In an alternating series of presentations, they will connect plants, wildlife, and their specific seasonal needs to illustrate the dynamic landscapes that this integrated approach can provide. They will conclude by comparing notes on their personal experience, interacting with plants and wildlife on their respective home landscapes. 

Fee: $38

Learn more

Register today!

Photo by Ian Caton

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Native Perennials: Flower Border or Functional Ground Layer (Spring Virtual Series)
May
29

Native Perennials: Flower Border or Functional Ground Layer (Spring Virtual Series)

Larry Weaner, FAPLD

Perennials have long been planted for the beauty of their flowers, but in the wild they are a functioning part of virtually every ecological system. Their roots hold soil in place. Their seeds provide food for birds. Their flowers provide crucial nectar for pollinators while their stems and leaves host insect eggs (including declining Monarch butterflies). Finally, when planted as a dense ground layer, they can reduce the most time-consuming aspect of garden maintenance....weeding. In this presentation you will learn how to use seed and live plants to create perennial compositions that enhance the aesthetic, practical, and ecological character of any landscape.  

Category: Home Gardener & Professional

Fee: $35

Learn more

Register today!

View Event →
Lawn to Meadow: Transition with a “Light Touch” (Spring Virtual Series)
May
9

Lawn to Meadow: Transition with a “Light Touch” (Spring Virtual Series)

Larry Weaner, FAPLD and Sara Weaner Cooper

No chemical use, no hauling, no digging, no smothering - no early-stage ugly phase. 

Sounds too good to be true.

Yet by gradually applying a series of light touch actions, you can achieve this organic transition without breaking your back, sparking ecological angst, or infuriating your neighbors. These actions can include timed mowing, selective height cutting, pH manipulation, and organic herbicide application.

In this session, Sara will discuss her lawn to meadow conversion (featured in The New York Times, 2024), including 2025 updates and plans, illustrating a homeowner’s perspective. Larry will explore case studies exemplifying the technical underpinnings behind this approach, from a landscape designer's perspective. This brains over brawn approach can transform the experience of creating residential meadows from daunting to uplifting.

Category: Home Gardener & Professional

Fee: $28

Learn more

Register today!

View Event →
Meadow Making: A Brains Over Brawn Approach | Session 4 of 4 | Conversation and Q&A
Apr
11

Meadow Making: A Brains Over Brawn Approach | Session 4 of 4 | Conversation and Q&A

Larry Weaner, FAPLD and Sara Weaner Cooper

After a two-week opportunity to digest the information provided in the previous three sessions, attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the course information. The freewheeling format will allow for exploration of the many “variations on the meadow theme” that can arise from the individual experiences and interests of course attendees. 

6:00 - 7:15 PM ET

Register today for Meadow Making

Photo by Steve Ford

View Event →
Landscaping with Nature: Turning Battles into Partnerships | Session 4 of 4 | Conversation and Q&A
Apr
7

Landscaping with Nature: Turning Battles into Partnerships | Session 4 of 4 | Conversation and Q&A

Larry Weaner, FAPLD

After a two-week opportunity to digest the information provided in the previous three sessions, attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the course information. The freewheeling format will allow for exploration of the many variations inherent to an ecology-based approach.

6:00 - 7:15 PM ET

Register today for Landscaping with Nature

Photo by Steve Ford

View Event →
Meadow Making: A Brains Over Brawn Approach | Session 3 of 4 | Managing
Mar
28

Meadow Making: A Brains Over Brawn Approach | Session 3 of 4 | Managing

Larry Weaner, FAPLD

Meadow management, particularly in the first two years, is every bit as important as planning and planting. Here we will show how piggybacking on ecological processes can preserve the meadow’s long term integrity without the need to add supplements, cut incessantly, and  endlessly pull weeds. In scientific terms this vegetative condition is called “relative ecological stability.” In landscape terms it is called “low maintenance.”ir questions and individual meadow-making experiences.

6:00 - 7:15 PM ET

Registration includes Sessions 1 - 4.

Register for Meadow Making today

View Event →
Landscaping with Nature: Turning Battles into Partnerships | Session 3 of 4: Managing |
Mar
24

Landscaping with Nature: Turning Battles into Partnerships | Session 3 of 4: Managing |

Larry Weaner, FAPLD

“Relative ecological stability” is a term used by ecologists to describe a highly competitive vegetative composition that allows few new individuals to enter the system. In garden-speak, that translates to “low maintenance.” In our final session we will illustrate how piggybacking on this and other ecological processes can change garden management from a battle to a partnership. Using examples from his own property as well as diverse client projects, Larry will share how a brains-over-brawn approach can result in compelling, easily managed landscapes that liberate both plants and people. 

6:00 - 7:15 PM ET

Register today for Landscaping with Nature

View Event →
Meadow Making: A Brains Over Brawn Approach | Session 2 of 4 | Planting
Mar
21

Meadow Making: A Brains Over Brawn Approach | Session 2 of 4 | Planting

Larry Weaner, FAPLD and Sara Weaner Cooper

From rototilling to fertilizing, many garden planting techniques are actually counterproductive when it comes to meadow making. In this session we will illustrate how to sow meadow seeds and plant live plants in a manner that puts them in a position to succeed without the intensive maintenance requirements of turf grass or traditional gardens. This session will also include a brief presentation by Sara Weaner Cooper who will describe her chemical-free/no kill lawn-to-meadow transition project, now in its highly successful second year. 

6:00 - 7:15 PM ET

Registration includes Sessions 1 - 4.

Register for Meadow Making today

View Event →
Landscaping with Nature: Turning Battles into Partnerships | Session 2 of 4: Planting |
Mar
17

Landscaping with Nature: Turning Battles into Partnerships | Session 2 of 4: Planting |

Larry Weaner, FAPLD

In this session we will learn how “light touch” planting techniques can increase plant survival and reduce post-planting maintenance. The disturbance that results from deep digging, soil enhancement, and soil replacement always stimulates a flush of weeds. Applying fertilizer helps those weeds grow faster. In this session we will learn to match the plant to the soil, not the soil to the plant, an approach that avoids weed-enacting soil disturbance and places plants in soils that are familiar and conducive to their survival. We will also discuss how to select nursery plants that are most likely to thrive and proliferate in your landscape.

6:00 - 7:15 PM ET

Register today for Landscaping with Nature

View Event →
Meadow Making: A Brains Over Brawn Approach | Session 1 of 4 | Design
Mar
14

Meadow Making: A Brains Over Brawn Approach | Session 1 of 4 | Design

Larry Weaner, FAPLD

In our opening session we will illustrate how to select the meadow plants that are most likely to thrive on your property as well as fit your aesthetic and practical preferences. This will include guidance for site analysis, seed mix formulation, and the potential to hasten meadow development through the supplemental addition of live plants.    

6:00 - 7:15 PM ET

Registration includes Sessions 1 - 4.

Register for Meadow Making today

View Event →
Landscaping with Nature: Turning Battles into Partnerships | Session 1 of 4 | Design
Mar
10

Landscaping with Nature: Turning Battles into Partnerships | Session 1 of 4 | Design

Larry Weaner, FAPLD

Designing with site-adapted native plants is a good thing, but designing with the ecological processes that govern those plants in the wild is even better. Our opening session will examine a series of garden-relevant concepts from the ecological sciences including plant community, plant proliferation, competition, and ecological succession. Each concept will be defined and followed by a concrete example of its incorporation into a residential design. While rarely considered in traditional garden design, these ecological characteristics are actually key to achieving the environmental, aesthetic, and maintenance promise of ecology-based garden design.

6:00 - 7:15 PM ET

Register today for Landscaping with Nature

View Event →