The Farmscape Ecology Program at Hawthorne Valley Farm, Columbia County, is offering a four-session workshop on gardening with native plants on a budget, which will be facilitated by experienced landscaper Ruth Dufault of Bittersweet Gardens. The workshop will take place once a month during the summer and will be held at the Creekhouse on Hawthorne Valley Farm in Harlemville, Ghent.
So, what is a native plant? Why should we worry about whether the plants we cultivate in our gardens are native or not? And are there even any native plants decorative enough to warrant their cultivation in an ornamental garden? How about their susceptibility to deer browsing? Which ones need shade, which ones love sun, which ones go together well? And where would I get these native plants from, short of going out and digging them up in their natural habitat?
If you have you ever wondered about any of these questions, this hands-on gardening workshop with landscaper Ruth Dufault (Bittersweet Gardens) offered by the Farmscape Ecology Program at Hawthorne Valley Farm might be for you. Supported by Judy Sullivan from Project Native, who will showcase examples of native plants available at some local nurseries, Ruth will start the four-session workshop with an in-door introduction to gardening with native plants. During the following practical, hands-on, half-day, out-door sessions, Ruth will facilitate the participant’s involvement in planning and implementing a native plant garden around the newly renovated home of the Farmscape Ecology Program, the “Creekhouse” (former Hawthorn Clinic) in Harlemville. She will help participants envision the different native habitats that might be represented in the future garden, facilitate the selection of appropriate plant species, demonstrate soil preparation, and begin the planting process. The workshop is very much geared towards creating an esthetically pleasing, ecologically sound, low cost, low maintenance ornamental garden through a process that can be adapted to the conditions around your own house.
The sessions are planned for:
Friday, July 16th, 7-9pm (Introduction)
Saturday, July 17th, 9-12am (Planning the Garden)
Saturday, August 21st, 9-12am (Implementation)
Saturday, September 18th, 9-12am (Implementation)
The workshop will be held at the Creekhouse, 1075 Harlemville Road, on Hawthorne Valley Farm in Ghent, Columbia County, New York.
Suggested donation is $15/session, $50 for entire workshop, but nobody will be turned away for lack of resources. If you are interested in participating in some or all sessions, please register with the Farmscape Ecology Program, fep@hawthornevalleyfarm.org or 672-7994. For more information on the Farmscape Ecology Program, see www.hawthornevalleyfarm.org/fep.
Hawthorne Valley Farm