Nancy Lawson

Nancy Lawson, founder of Humane Gardener, author, habitat consultant, national speaker on garden ecology, naturalist, and certified Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional, will be a featured speaker at the 27th Gardening in the Northern Neck seminar.

 

The seminar, hosted by the Northern Neck Master Gardeners (NNMG) and Virginia Cooperative Extension, will be held from 8:45 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 20, 2021. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the seminar will be conducted virtually as an online webinar via Zoom.

 

Lawson is author of the book “The Humane Gardener: Nurturing Wildlife Habitats.” Her talk will discuss this approach to gardening that focuses on developing and preserving animal-friendly landscaping methods.

 

Lawson relates an incident that was pivotal in leading her to pioneer creative planting strategies to support wildlife. After cutting down a plant in her garden because she thought it was invasive, she saw it in bloom along a roadside and realized she’d destroyed a stand of milkweed. If left alone, the milkweed would have soon been covered in Monarch caterpillars.

 

Lawson describes her garden as a place where all creatures and plants are welcome. She explains, “Only two things are unwelcome: chemicals and invasive vegetation known to supplant wildlife habitat. Everyone else, from smartweed to milkweed, from ground beetles to groundhogs, has an open invitation.”

 

Her talk will explore a variety of topics such as why some insects are viewed as “beneficial” and others as “pests” or why some plants are considered “desirable” and others are “weeds.”

 

Lawson will discuss practical ways to put humane gardening philosophies into action by protecting nesting sites, and provide insight on nurturing plants that provide food and shelter for wildlife. Her focus is to humanely resolve conflicts with mammals and other commonly misunderstood creatures.

 

Lawson is the also a columnist for “All Animals” magazine and a frequent speaker on garden ecology. More information can be found on her website www.humanegardener.com.

 

The seminar’s theme is “Be Intentional: Create Livable, Edible, Sustainable Garden Spaces,” reported Marge Gibson, NNMG president. “Other speakers will include Brie Arthur, horticulturist and foodscape consultant, and Vincent Simeone, garden writer and horticulturist.”

NNMG Logo

The Northern Neck Master Gardeners (NNMG) Association is pleased to announce that the Gardening in the Northern Neck seminar (GNN) will return on Saturday, March 20, 2021, after a one-year hiatus due to COVID-19. This will be the 27th Gardening in the Northern Neck Seminar. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, the 2021 seminar will be conducted virtually as an online webinar using the Zoom platform.

The theme of the seminar is “Be Intentional: Create Livable, Edible, Sustainable Garden Spaces.” The 2021 seminar speakers are nationally recognized for their innovative approaches to gardening.

Speakers will be Brie Arthur, a celebrated speaker, bestselling author, and known for her leadership with the Foodscape movement; Nancy Lawson, a habitat consultant and national speaker on garden ecology; and Vincent Simeone, horticulturist, lecturer, and garden writer.

“We are excited about the range of topics that will be covered in the seminar and are confident there will be information that will have wide appeal,” said NNMG president Marge Gibson.

 

Brie Arthur in garden

Brie Arthur , a nationally known horticulturist, bestselling author, foodscape consultant, and celebrated speaker, will be the lead presenter at the 27th annual Gardening in the Northern Neck Seminar.

The seminar, hosted by the Northern Neck Master Gardeners (NNMG) and Virginia Cooperative Extension, will be held virtually on Saturday, March 20, 2021. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, this year’s seminar will be conducted as an online webinar hosted via Zoom’s online platform. 

The theme of this year’s seminar is “Be Intentional: Create Livable, Edible, Sustainable Garden Spaces,” said NNMG president Marge Gibson. “As the lead speaker, Brie Arthur’s presentation ‘Foodscaping in the Norther Neck: Brie’s Spring Tricks for Success,’ will reflect the seminar’s theme with her unique approach to gardening.”

In the introduction of her book “The Foodscape Revolution,” Arthur defines foodscaping as “…the logical integration of edibles in a traditional ornamental landscape. In other words, to foodscape is to grow food alongside your flowers, within the landscape the already exists.” 

Arthur’s approach to gardening is realistic, flexible, scalable, and meant to be both fun and beautiful. Her journey into foodscaping began when she was a horticulture student who could not afford farmers market organic vegetables but wanted to eat pesticide-free, healthy food. Her solution was to plant lettuce on her windowsill, which evolved into her current comprehensive strategy of gardening. Arthur’s presentation will provide a guide on how to develop and nurture a successful foodscape for any level of gardener.

Other speakers include Nancy Lawson, author of “The Humane Gardener: Nurturing a Backyard Habitat for Wildlife,” and Vincent Simeone, whose presentation will be “Grow More with Less: Sustainable Garden Methods.”

“The annual Gardening in the Northern Neck seminar has gained a strong following due largely to the high quality of the speakers,” reported NNMG vice-president Lynn Osborn. “This year is no exception with nationally recognized speakers addressing a range of topics. While the format will be different this year to reflect the times we are in, the high quality this seminar is known for will remain unchanged.”