Start Date
09/28/2023
End Date
09/28/2023
Description
The Plant Communities and Ecological Processes of Southern New England (1+¾ hrs)
Ted Elliman
Understanding the patterns and processes that affect spontaneous plant assemblages is the foundation of ecology-based design. In this presentation, one of New England’s premier botanists will provide an analysis of the key forest, meadow, and wetland communities of southern New England. He will discuss their physical environments, spatial structures, plant compositions, and basic wildlife habitat associations. He will also examine the ecological processes that affect these communities, including successional dynamics, disturbance, and how warming temperatures and pests may influence future vegetative patterns in New England.
Interactive Landscape Design: Plants, Wildlife, and People (1+¾ hrs)
Larry Weaner
Landscape designers and restoration ecologists both manipulate environments to influence vegetation, yet cross communication is all too rare. In this presentation Larry Weaner will show how the compositions, patterns, and processes of New England’s plant communities can be incorporated into the designed landscape. He will demonstrate how an understanding of specific ecological concepts like disturbance, competition, conservatism, ecotype, senescence, and succession can lead to specific protocols that enhance the habitat value and experiential quality of landscapes designed to interact with people.
Ecological Horticulture: Growing With the Landscape (1+¾ hrs)
Uli Lorimer
Uli Lorimer has practiced horticulture at some of America's most esteemed public gardens including The National Arboretum, Wave Hill, The Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and currently The Native Plant Trust in Framingham, MA. This wide ranging experience has taught him how garden stewardship can be significantly enhanced when ecological principles and processes are also applied. He will discuss the potentials of this approach, as well as the limitations of cultivating wild plants in a fine garden setting. He also will explore some of the long-term considerations that arise once design projects are set in motion including "editing" spontaneous growth, altering the original design intent due to site-specific changes and pressures, and the never-ending ecological progression of plants.
Comparing Notes: A Wrap-up Conversation (45 min)
Ted Elliman, Uli Lorimer, & Larry Weaner
Our presenters and session attendees will participate in a freewheeling discussion on the real-world hurdles of plant community design, and anything else “landscape” that’s on their minds.
Location
Boylston, MA
Distance Learning
No
Course Equivalency
No
Subjects
Horticulture / Plants
Residential Design
Health, Safety and Welfare
Yes
Hours
6.0
Learning Outcomes
1. Examine the ecological patterns of native plant communities in Southern New England and their applicability to the landscape development and enhancement.
2. Understand the ecological processes that are relevant to landscape development and enhancement including but not limited to disturbance, succession, competition, and plant proliferation strategies.
3. Apply the ecological patterns and processes described above to specific protocols for designing meadows, shrublands, woodlands, and naturalistic gardens, with a particular emphasis on those techniques that differ from traditional practice.
Instructors
Ted Elliman, Uli Lorimer, and Larry Weaner, FAPLD
Course Codes
Provider
New Directions in the American Landscape