New Years Resolutions & New Directions
Happy 2025, friends! We’re back and ready for a brand new year of growin’, nursin’, and slingin’ plants.
It’s a jam-packed January starting as soon as next week. We are proud sponsors of the New Directions in the American Landscape’s (NDAL) Annual Symposium, split across two fantastic event spaces over the course of two weeks.
First held in 1990, this annual two-day symposium has long presented ecology-based landscape design programs for professional practitioners. Presenters reflect the diverse factors that shape our landscapes including landscape architects, landscape designers, horticulturists, ecologists, historians, anthropologists, artists and others. From theory to practical application, the series explores forward-looking and frequently overlooked landscape topics. Join us as we continue to connect the dots between ecological restoration, cultural landscape practice, and fine garden design.
Our event this year will include a varied group of presenters from Gerould Wilhelm, who developed a highly regarded technique for vegetative site analysis; to Wagon Landscaping, a French landscape architecture firm whose innovative gardening approaches apply both regionally and globally.
Click here for more information on NDAL.
January 9th and 10th finds us at historic Ambler Arboretum of Temple University - my alma mater - but more importantly, a landscape rich with horticultural history from its formal and naturalistic garden spaces to its marred canopy, now in a state of healing due to the impacts of the unprecedented September 2021 tornado that left the campus grounds war torn. Due to the help from countless volunteers, neighbors, and surrounding communities, as well as the resilient Temple community itself and the tireless Ambler Arboretum staff, tragedy has evolved into an opportunity for educating others about the pending impacts of climate change and how to mitigate its damage through both natural and human processes.
Click here for more information on Ambler Arboretum.
The following week on January 16th and 17th, the Symposium congregates at the Connecticut College Arboretum, which encompasses 750 acres of landscaping and liberal arts institutions and prides itself on ecological research, restoration, conservation, and long-standing environmental sustainability practices. The Arboretum is complete with three major plant collections spanning over 150 acres, 200 acres dedicated to natural processes, and another 200 acres dedicated to human-manipulated naturalized landscapes.
The College aims to create a "living laboratory" that stimulates environmental awareness in students and those working at or visiting Connecticut College.
