Speakers Directory

IN-PERSON OR VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

• Plant Geeks are Us; Oddball Plants for Oddball People
• Fun with Color: Variegated Foliage in the Garden
• Magical Witches of Winter; A Closer Look at the Genus Hamamelis
• Lacecaps, Mopheads and Sterile Florets: Great Hydrangeas for Adventurous Gardeners
• I Like It, I love It and the Deer Don’t Eat It!
• Pawpaw, Persimmon and Passionfruit: North America’s Forgotten Fruits

Contact for more presentations

IN-PERSON OR VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

• Low Maintenance Gardening: Tips/Hacks to Ease Garden Drudgery
• Multiple Hydrangea topics (details on website)
• Multiple Rose Gardening Topics (details on website)
• Multiple Shade Gardening Topics (details on website)
• Multiple Shrub Gardening Topics (details on website)
• Multiple Vegetable Gardening Topics (details on website)
• Safe Solutions: Let’s Not Poison the Planet or Gardeners!

Call/email for additional topics or customized talks

IN PERSON OR VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

• Wonderful Wildflowers from Around the World
• Around the World in 80 Gardens
• The Great Botanic Gardens of the World
• The Weird and Wonderful World of Flowers
• Thieves, Charlatans and James Bond: the murky history of our top ten plants
• Tulipmania: The flower that made a nation
• A Year in the Life of a Biogeographer: Gardens, Gorillas and the Glory of Global Greenery

IN-PERSON PRESENTATIONS PREFERRED; VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE IN WINTER

• Growing Irises in New England – Focus on culture and hardy irises hybridized in New England
• Newer Novelty Irises and Inter-Species Crosses for New England Gardens
• Judging Irises

IN PERSON OR VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE:

• Butterflies: Nature’s Jewels for your Garden
• Hummingbirds: Jeweled Acrobats in the Garden
• Experiencing Alaska: Birds, Blooms and Beasts
• The Amazing Abilities of Birds: How do they do that?
• The Marvelous Mason Bee: A Super Pollinator
• Experiencing Falconry
• Bluebirds in Your Backyard
• The State of Our Birds: Past and Present

IN PERSON OR VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

• Where Bulbs Shine…On and On
• The Unsung Season: Gardens in Winter
• Naturescape Your Yard
• Planting the Year-Round Pollinator Garden
• Jazzing Up the Garden with Color, Contrast and Movement
• The Edible/Ornamental Garden
• Landscaping with Native Plants: Healing Our Home Turf

For complete list of talks with descriptions, visit my website

There are two-dozen CAES scientists and staff available for speaking engagements.

Many of their talks are intended for general audiences.

With approximately twenty-four general topic areas and over one-hundred titles there will definitely be something of interest for your club members.

Visit the CAES Speakers web page to search by topic or speaker name:
https://portal.ct.gov/CAES/ABOUT-CAES/Speakers/Available-Speakers

VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

• Nature’s Pharmacy
• Healing Kitchen, Natural Cold and Flu Prevention and Remedies
• The Healing Kitchen
• The Healing Harvest
• The Healing Power of Herbs
• Natural Approaches to Addressing and Preventing Lyme Disease
• Develop a new relationship to your plants by learning their medicinal benefits

QUALIFICATIONS

• Master Herbalist
• Award winning author
• 25 yr Instructor for NY Botanical Garden

VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

• Matrix Planting for Home Gardeners: Matrix planting is naturalistic gardening in its purest form. It’s been the hottest professional design trend over the past few years, but it hasn’t gained much traction among home gardeners. Why? I believe it’s because people don’t know where to start. This presentation provides a starting point. (Appropriate for gardeners at every level.)
• New Perennials: A Love Story: This is a personal introduction to the design principles underlying major naturalistic gardens such as New York’s High Line and Chicago’s Lurie Garden. Deborah’s talk is part memoir, part landscape design history, and part design theory – with some practical “do’s and don’ts” for gardeners at every level.
• Not Your Mother’s Garden: Deborah takes the audience on a photo tour of her highly unusual “New Perennial” garden and describes the design principles underlying it. Many of the plants are unfamiliar – they constitute special plants that shift toward naturalistic landscape design.
• Reimagined Gardens: Deborah describes the thought process behind garden makeovers from her portfolio. She shows how features of wild landscapes inspire naturalistic solutions to garden dilemmas. The modest scale of the plantings makes them relevant to most residential gardens, and the concepts and strategies she presents have practical applications for home gardeners.

• Foundation Gardens and Native Plants
• Native Ground Covers
• Discover Meadow-making
• Site Preparation for Landscape Transformation
• Leave the Leaves, Save the Stems

Other topics include invasive plant reduction strategies and design for naturalized landscapes.

IN-PERSON PRESENTATIONS ONLY

Demonstration Programs:

1. Spiral Bouquet Technique: Mastering the Basics and Beyond
2. Modern Floral Design Trends: Bringing Freshness to Classic Styles
3. Creative Centerpieces: Unique Designs for Every Occasion
4. Eco-Friendly Floristry: Sustainable Practices in Modern Floral Design
5. Seasonal Florals: Designing with Nature’s Calendar

Design Workshops:

6. Floral Color Theory: Choosing the Perfect Palette
7. Texture and Form: Adding Depth to Your Arrangements
8. Bridal Bouquets: Personalization and Trends
9. Holiday Floral Designs: Celebrating with Flowers
10. Floral Installations: Designing for Larger Spaces

If there is some other Topic you would like presented, let’s discuss.

IN PERSON PRESENTATIONS ONLY

• Trade Secrets: An Insider’s Guide To Plant Selection, Hardiness and More!
• How to be a Lazy Gardener–or Working With Nature Instead of Against It
• Gardening for Pollinators (Butterflies, Hummingbirds and Bees)
• Herb Gardening Made Easy
• Top 5 Garden Problems and How to Solve Them
• Waking Up the Garden in the Early Spring
• Pruning Made Practical
• Hot Gardening Trends
• Easy Organic Gardening for Everyone
• Birding for Gardeners
• Backyard Bird and Wildlife Gardening
• Critter and Deer Proofing
• Houseplants for the Four Exposures
• Creative Container Design

Additional Information:

Karla’s lecture experience dates back to 2001, when she began offering lectures at Gledhill nursery in West Hartford, CT.

She has taught gardening at Capital Community College where she offered various one-hour courses on gardening, both at their Hartford campus and throughout the community. She currently lectures to homeowner’s associations, garden clubs, women’s groups, and in various special places like the Southeast Home and Garden Show at Mohegan Sun and at Gardeners Supply in Burlington, Vermont.

Currently she is the garden columnist for We-Ha Magazine and the Book Reviewer for the Connecticut Horticulture Society, as well as the sole author of an organic gardening blog, “Gardendaze.”

Her backyard is certified as a Backyard Habitat by both the Connecticut Dept. of Environmental Protection (Certification #22) and the National Wildlife Federation (Certification # 34,999). She has been a totally organic gardener since 1994.

IN PERSON OR VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

• Garden Design in a Time of Climate Change
• Color Your Garden: Flowering Bulbs for Every Season
• (How to Be) An Artist in the Garden
• Extreme Weather Plants: 26 Perennials that Can Take the Heat
• Prairie Plants into the Home Garden
• Naturalistic Planting Design: Creating High-Impact and Low-Input Gardens
• Transform Your Garden With Native Plants

IN-PERSON OR VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE:

Connecticut Gardens: A Celebration of the State’s Historic, Public, and Private Gardens
Caryn will present an overview of some the 44 gardens showcased in her book, Connecticut Gardens. She will share their fascinating histories, designs, and human stories accompanied accompanied by beautiful images from her book. Her talk will include an overview of Connecticut’s 15 historic gardens – why these gardens were established, how they were used and how they evolved from utilitarian use to aesthetic; an introduction to CT’s public gardens – their establishment and benefit, along with notable designers of the day; and an introduction to some of CT’s finest private gardens – their owners, and the stories behind their inception and design. Connecticut Gardens is also in part a travel guide that will introduce attendees to new gardens to explore.

Workshop Information:

Capturing the Garden: A Workshop in Garden Photography
This immersive workshop is designed for garden enthusiasts, and beginner to intermediate photographers who want to explore the art of capturing gardens and landscape design in all their glory. Whether you’re drawn to lush landscapes, intimate floral portraits, or the interplay of light and shadow among foliage, this hands-on experience will teach you how to see and photograph gardens with both a creative and technical eye. Through a combination of virtual and in-person sessions, you’ll learn how to compose compelling garden scenes, work with natural light, and use lenses and camera settings to enhance mood and detail. The workshop also explores storytelling through imagery and basic editing techniques to refine your photos. With practical instruction, creative inspiration, and personalized feedback, you’ll gain the tools and confidence to elevate your photography—whether for personal enjoyment, publication, or professional development.

IN PERSON OR VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

• Beyond Sustainability: Using Our Landscapes as a Source of Environmental Change
• EcoBeneficial Landscape Strategies for the Climate Crisis
• The Pollinator Victory Garden: Winning the War on Pollinator Decline
• Creating a Succession of Bloom in the Native Garden
• Unlocking the Mysteries of Native Plant Selection
• Great Native Plants for Containers
• Replacing the Green Desert: Native Plant Alternatives to Turf
• See more on www.ecobeneficial.com

IN PERSON OR VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

• History of Cannabis
• African Violets, history, growing
• History, fun facts and growing: banana, coffee, lemons, pineapple, potatoes, tomatoes
• Bulbs, history of the tulip, growing
• De Hortus – herbs, history fun facts
• Gardening Outdoors – raised beds, best techniques
• Holiday Trifecta: holiday cactus, amaryllis, poinsettia
• Plants that clean the air – Electricity from plants, best plants for the home, growing tips
• Call – Jeff has over 70 programs to choose from

Screening/Lecture: “The Life and Gardens of Beatrix Farrand” (40 minute film) about the trailblazing female landscape architect who designed Dumbarton Oaks, the Rose Garden at the New York Botanical Garden, and the Rockefeller Garden in Seal Harbor, Maine among over 200 commissions during her 50 year career. Karyl will introduce the film and take questions after the screening.

Powerpoint and Lecture: “Beatrix Farrand’s Landscape Architecture Work at Yale University” describes in detail the work of Farrand on the Yale campus from 1922 – 1945; the University’s first campus landscape architect who designed over 75% of the campus.

• Heirloom Gardening with Traditional Plants and Skills *
• New England Garden History
• Herb Gardening and Herbalism
• Native and Heirloom Plants – A Living History
• Edible Landscapes for Health, Habitat, Families and the Future.
• Slow Food & Sustainable Landscapes

*Illustrated author book talk

IN PERSON OR VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

• Northeast Native Plant ID and Notable Features: An illustrative description of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants found in nature and in local nurseries.
• Northeast Invasive Plant ID and Management Techniques: An illustrative description of common invasive trees, shrubs, herbs, and vines and how to manage them.
• Natural Play Spaces: Design and Installation: A description of public and private play spaces I’ve worked on in New York City, Connecticut and in St. Louis that incorporate only wood, stone and plants to create engaging play spaces for children. Can focus on design process, installation process or theory on why to design spaces like this. Scale of projects range from 1000 sq. ft. residential yards to 16 acre public parks and everything in between.
• Designing with Native Plants – Letting your Site Inform Your Choices: From either an institutional or residential perspective, learn how to read your site and choose native plants that will thrive and enhance hyper local habitats.

• Landscape Design with Case Studies: A presentation of five different property makeovers, looking at site issues, the planning process, and the final product.
• Low Maintenance Techniques, Sustainability, and Native Plants: How to create landscapes with less maintenance requirements, work with natural areas and rain gardens, and choose the right plants for your environment.
• Dye Plants, Dye Gardens, and Local History: The plants that have impacted our history through the story of weavers, spinsters, dyers, and slaves, plus creating a 21st century dye garden for an historic homestead museum.

IN PERSON OR VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

• Edith Wharton and the Villas of Rome
• Edith Wharton, Europhile: Influencing American Gardens
• Europe Transplanted: Edith Wharton and American Garden Design
• Roman Villas and American Gardens: Transplanting the Renaissance
• Medici Revisited: Tuscan Villas and Transplanted Englishmen
• The Gardens of Paris
• Gatsby and Beyond: The Fabled Gardens of Long Island’s Gold Coast
• Native Grasslands: Protecting and Rebuilding the Original Green
• Beyond Turfgrass: Sustainability and Landscape Design
• Landscape Quandaries and New Plant Faces

• The Golden Age of Horticulture

IN-PERSON OR VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

• Butterflies & Their Gardens
• Discovering Moths: Nighttime Jewels in Your Own Backyard
• Birds: Their Side of the Story
• Singing Leaves: The Stories & Songs of Crickets and Katydids
• Insects & Their Amazingosity!
• Discovering Amphibians: Frogs & Salamanders of the Northeast

Click on Nature Presentations on the website for more information.

IN-PERSON OR VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

• What is a Pollinator Pathway and what does it mean to “bee on it”?
• How does connecting habitat support healthy ecosystems, protect the biodiversity of butterflies, bees and birds and why is this vitally important.
• How do we make our lawns safe for people, pets and pollinators?
• What are the alternatives to using dangerous pesticides?
• What native plant choices form the backbone of a pollinator garden across the seasons?

Additional Information:

• Speakers will be one of the founders of the Pollinator Pathway movement begun in Connecticut in 2017.

Ever wish you could experience the thrill of being up close to a magnificent eagle, hawk, falcon, or owl? Well, this is your opportunity! Horizon Wings will bring a variety of environmental programs featuring these extraordinary birds right to your classroom, library, outdoor center, garden club, or home. All of the program birds in our care are unable to survive in the wild, but have overcome their individual challenges and have learned to adapt to their new lives as feathered ambassadors. Be inspired by their individual stories of survival, explore fascinating facts about each species, and learn what you can do to help them.

In-person Programs:

• A Case of Mistaken Identity
• Birds of Prey
• The Secret Life of Owls
• Principles of Flight
• Threatened and Endangered
• Wee Wings
• Bird Brains
• Owls Birthday Parties
• Birds of Prey/Night and Day
• Clever Corvids

For descriptions of these Educational Programs, go to: https://www.horizonwings.org/programDescriptions.html

For more about our Program Birds, go to: https://www.horizonwings.org/programBirds.html

Virtual Program:

Explore the world of raptors from the comfort of your own home. Join us for this 30-minute program including three of our Ambassadors. We will highlight their stories and learn about these hawks, eagles, falcons, owls, and other birds at Horizon Wings. Everyone, young or old, teachers, students, families, and scouts can learn something new from this virtual program.

IN-PERSON OR VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE, ALSO FIELD WALKS

• Rain Gardens
• Composting and Soil Health
• Designing Gardens using Native Plants or Native Alternatives to Invasive Species
• Color, Texture, Structure and more – Garden Design for Four-Season Interest
• Poetry, Prose and Art in the Garden
• Poison Ivy Facts & Myths
• Using Newcomb’s Field Guide: Wildflower & Native Plant ID (talk and/or field walk)
• Meditation Gardens
• Herbs and Kitchen Gardens
• Moon Gardening

Contact for more presentations

IN PERSON OR VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

• Essential Native Pollinators
• Native Plants – Beautiful Yes… and So Much More
• Invasive Plants are Threatening Biodiversity

IN PERSON (PREFERRED) OR VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

• Beyond Blooms: Creative Design with Color, Structure & Seasonal Senescence
• Celebrating the Winter Garden
• Classic Design for Contemporary Gardens
• Designing, Constructing & Planting the Entry Garden
• Drought Tolerant Gardening and Landscaping
• Fluid Imagination – The Artful Design of Water in the Landscape
• Gardening Beyond Horizontal Plane – Planted Walls and Inclines
• Plant Combinations for a Long Season of Bloom
• Plants for the Late Season Garden
• Planning and Planting for Sustainable Landscapes
• Planting a Garden for Pollinators
• Probing Phenology: Compensating For Climate Changes in the Landscape
• Quenching Heat, Humidity & Drought: Gardens that Dazzle – Withstanding the Dog Days and Onward
• Turf Alternatives and Groundcovers

IN PERSON PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

Demonstrations – usually 5 designs; programs with an asterick* are Power Point with 1-3 designs demonstrated.

• A Glass Act – Unique Floral Designs in Glass (what to do with all those glassvases!)
• Floral Mechanics: The Past, Present and Future for Eco-friendly Designs *
• “Snipped” – Floral Design Challenge (club supplies flowers & containers – Trish creates on the spot! AKA Food Network’s “Chopped”)
• Interpreting Art with Flowers *
• Creative Floral Designs from Nature
• Intro to Creative Floral Design
• Intro to Principles & Elements of Floral Design (& how designs are judged) *
• Creative Floral Designs for the Holidays
• The Final Touch for Blue Ribbon Horticulture (preparing your plants for a show)
• Hands-on Creative Design Workshops (customized for your club – contact for more information

IN PERSON OR VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

• Garden Jeopardy
• Groundcovers – Beyond Pachysandra
• Conifers for Every Garden
• Container Gardening – Beyond Annuals
• Garden Design Basics
• Designing with Containers
• Garden Thugs I Love
• See website for more presentations including soils, insects, vegetables, herbs, grasses and more

IN PERSON OR VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

• Issues and Answers: Harnessing Plants to Solve Problems
• Bringing the Outdoors Inside: Creating a Garden In Your Home
• In Unison: Creating Harmonious Combinations for Pollinators & You
• Easiest Houseplants Ever, with Style
• Houseplants by Design
• Your Flower Child Update: How You Can be More in Bloom
• Gardening as if The World Depends on Us
• Maximizing Space in the Garden: Creating More of a Good Thing
• Terrariums and You
• Contact for more presentations

• No Waste. No Hunger – Food Recovery as Environmental Justice
• Feeding Two Birds with One Scone – Building Community Through Shared Abundance
• Connecticut Can: Zero Waste. Full Plates – Toward a Zero Food Waste State by 2030

Custom talks are available on food recovery, sustainability, and community building

IN-PERSON OR VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

• Why Our Brains Need Nature – Protecting our brain health and protecting areas for natural processes are both vitally important for our long-term wellbeing. This presentation will review emerging interdisciplinary science of supporting human potential by reengaging with nature and protecting it for the future.
• Wildlands in New England: What Where and Why – This presentation/workshop will showcase a first-of-its-kind regional report published in 2023 and titled “Wildlands in New England: Past, Present, and Future.” It will be customized and will share strategies to identify and document local Wildlands that support short- and long-term public health.
• A Bold Vision for New National Parks: Olmsted and America’s 250th: Nature is our common lifeline. This presentation features a bold vision, in collaboration with www.RESTORE.org, for new and expanded National Parks across the country and especially in New England. This integrates and coincides with aspirational and unifying goals in honor of America’s 250thand builds on timeless and foundational values of Frederick Law Olmsted: nature, beauty, democracy, and mental health. Specific proposed areas with outstanding natural and cultural heritage will be featured along with ample time for Q&A
• Forests and Brain Health – New England is predominantly forested, and the benefits of forests for brain health spans across cultures and has been noted throughout history. New research shows cost-effective short and long-term brain health opportunities across ages and abilities – physiological, hormonal, cognitive, and emotional.
• Proforestation, the Biotic Pump, and Global Wellbeing -The international climate conversation centers on the atmosphere and energy use. Despite this persistent focus, the most critical planetary limits are biological. This presentation focuses on forests as the most biodiverse land-based ecosystem and essential for stabilizing the climate and enabling life on land – including us.
• Guided Nature and Forest Therapy – Guided nature and forest therapy is a flexible opportunity to be in local nature in a new way. The experience requires approximately 2 hours and it can be conducted in-person or virtually. I will be offering a local adaptation of a standards-based protocol established by the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (www.anft.earth).

• Bird-Friendly Gardening: How to Make Your Garden Attractive to Birds*
• Pollinators and Native Plants
• Micro Food Gardening*
• Gardening for Birds Throughout the Seasons
• Bird Feeders 101: What to Feed, Where to Hang and Tips to Keep the Squirrels Away

* These presentations directly tie to published books.

VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

• Gardening Simplified: Plants and Design Solutions for Time-Pressed and Maturing Gardeners
• Power Up Garden Beauty; Power Down Garden Maintenance
• Small Landscapes with BIG Attitudes!
• Remarkable Natives for Beautiful, Planet-Friendly Gardens
• Three Seasons of Outrageous Color from Perennials
• Clever Design Tips for Everblooming, Low-Maintenance Gardens
• Hydrangeas Demystified – Great Hydrangeas and Tips for Exceptional Flowering
• The Art of Shade Gardening – Seeing Your Way Out of the Dark
• Heavenly Plants for Tough Spots and Hellstrips
• plus additional titles…..

IN PERSON OR VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS

• Rise and Shine: Waking up Your Garden in Spring
• FallScaping
• Design a Sunny Perennial Border
• The Magic of a Winter Garden
• Pots with Pizzazz
• Philadelphia: America’s Garden Capital
• Gardens of the Gilded Age
• The Garden World of Jane Austen
• The Garden Tourist’s Charleston
• The Garden Tourist’s Florida
• The Garden Tourist’s Hudson River Valley
• The Garden Tourist’s New England
• The Garden Tourist’s Northeast
• Artists’ Gardens in New England
• Decked Out for the Holidays
• Satisfying Your Plant Lust
• Gardens of Cornwall & Devon
• Gardens of the Scottish Highlands
• The Magical Gardens of Wales
• Gardens of the Emerald Isle

Heirloom and Specialty Tomatoes

Program covers the rich history of heirloom tomatoes and tips on how to have an epic tomato harvest in your own garden. Tomatoes were once thought to be poisonous and now are one of the most popular plants to grow in home gardens.

From the basics of growing tomatoes to demystifying terms like open-pollinated, hybrid, determinate and indeterminate you will be set up for success. Favorite varieties are presented including compact varieties that perform well in containers and small spaces. Environmentally friendly approaches to avoiding and controlling diseases and plant issues are also covered. The program is available at the farm in Stafford Springs (up to 20 people) or at your location. If presented at our farm, a tour of the greenhouses and specimen plants is included depending on time of the year.

Foster Hill Farm grows over 150 varieties of heirloom and specialty tomato plants including varieties dating back to the 1800’s.

IN-PERSON AND VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

• Starting Plants from Seeds: geared to the home gardener, unique method of pre-sprouting large seeds, making pots from newspapers, using found materials for plant markers and mini greenhouses to start small seeds, proper watering and fertilizing, hardening off of plants, and catalogues where heirloom, rare or exotic seeds can be found.
• Cooking, Baking and Garnishing with Herbs & Edible Flowers includes a PowerPoint presentation using fresh herbs and edible flowers that are grown in the home garden, short introduction to growing culinary herbs – finding places in your yard that are suitable for herb cultivation, many different ways to use your bountiful harvest deliciously.
• Growing Fabulous Strawberries, Blackberries, Blueberries and Raspberries: Learn about proper pruning, fertilizing, when to harvest berries, and what to do with your spectacular harvest.
• Gardening with Xeric Plants: Xeric plants are drought tolerant species adapted to dry conditions, requiring low water, high heat and UV tolerance. Learn how to plant water-wise plants in your existing perennial garden.

IN PERSON OR VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

• Edible Wild Plants and Fungi of Spring: Covers the shoots, edible flowers, early fruits, and mushrooms of spring – April through mid-June.
• Edible Wild Plants and Fungi of Summer: Covers the greens, fruits, and plentiful mushrooms of summer – mid June through August.
• Edible Wild Plants and Fungi of Autumn: Covers the nuts, tubers, fruits, and abundant mushrooms of autumn – September through November.
• Invasive Plants as Food: Discusses the edible parts of our common invasive plants and shows some of the delicious recipes that can be made with them; let’s use our appetite as a weapon to control invasive plants.
• Your Edible Landscape: Discusses the surprisingly edible and delicious plants that most people plant in their yard as ornamentals.
• Edible Wild Mushrooms of Connecticut: Covers the best edible mushrooms in southern New England by season.
• Mushroom Identification for Beginners: An instructional class about the steps that should be taken and features that need to be observed to identify wild mushrooms using multiple resources.
• Foraging Fantastic, Delicious, Deadly and Mushrooms: An entertaining look at some of the most amazing and delicious mushrooms we have encountered.

In-Person only:

• Customized Walks a your location of choice: A forager-led walk to explore and identify edible plants and mushrooms; these work well at nearby state or town-owned properties or at land trusts.

IN PERSON PRESENTATIONS ONLY

• Every Flower Tells a Story… Inspired by a reading from Sylvia’s book, Tulips Talk…are you listening? Each design will begin by using fresh seasonal blooms, many grown by local flower farms, to tell a personal story shared in the book. Perhaps- inspiring your own floral memory.
• Colors of the Season, Stories of the Soul: The colors and textures of the world around us will be reflected as we explore our emotional responses to color. Awaken your own color inspirations memories, and leave with beauty and comfort in your heart.
• Reflections of Autumn Glory: Today’s flowering adventure is all about Texture! Seasonal pods, seeds, nuts and grasses and floral containers,, add interest to the colorful flowers as we weave in the personal stories flowers inspire.
• Spirited, Bewitching Blooms: Darkly divine florals with a hint of whimsy and a spark of blazing color! This time we will experiment with unusual blooms that suggest a “spooky” Halloween adventure. What stories will these blossoms tell?
• Sharing Gratitude for Friends, Family and Flowers: Celebrate seasonal abundance with a group of 3 tablescapes that will encourage meaningful conversation and family stories. Learn how to how to personalize your table settings by choosing from a variety of elements to complement this evening’s design.
• A Floral Celebration of the Year’s End: Choose foliage from the landscape, add a bit of magnolia, a little holly, maybe a bit of sparkle, roses, orchids, and family heirlooms to tell the story of your own holiday celebrations. Whatever you celebration you will celebrate your own personal holiday.

Inspirational designs to grow your own floral spirit! Approximately 1 hour, minimum of 4 designs. Designs can be tailored to your group. Day or evening possible.

• Container Gardening for Every Season
• Seasonal Container Gardening for Stunning Results (season-specific)
• Windowbox 101
• Foliage Favorites for Container Gardening
• Succulent Containers for Inside and Out
• Holiday Wreaths from Traditional to WOW
• A Wreath for Every Season

Please see web site for above descriptions and additional Speaker Titles and workshops: https://www.susannockgardendesign.com/presentationsandworkshops

• Back Saving Moves for Garden Groves
• Stretch, Plant, Repeat
• The Ergonomics of Gardening
• Health & Safety Gardening 101
• Functional Fitness for Flourishing Gardens
• The Fit Gardener’s Guide to Longevity
• Weeding, Walking, and Wellness

• Compostology – Your Guide to Composting
• Introduction to Soils
• Garden Ornaments – Focal Elements to Enhance Gardens
• Fall for Gardening – Tips/Chores for the Autumn Season
• Fertilizers – What, When & Why
• Healthy Soils, Healthy Plants
• IPM for Home Gardeners
• Making Sense of Soil Tests
• When Good Worms Go Bad – Asian Jumping Worms
• Subterranean Society – aka The Soil Food Web
• A Pruning Primer
• ABC’s of Vegetable Gardening

• Winning Window Boxes & Perfect Planters: Update from “plants living in pots” to living works of art. Through selecting the strongest performing species and arranging plants for their best visual impact, container gardens can be utilized to highlight the best each season has to offer.
• Fall/Holiday Planters & Outdoor Accents: Explore the unique design opportunities of the fall and holiday seasons within planters and beyond, with a focus on design styles that offer high visual impact, materials that have longevity, and effective construction methods.
• Designing for Competition & Exhibition: Art museum events, holiday house tours, flower show competitions, community planters/plantings – there are many opportunities to showcase your horticultural talents! Confidence lies within understanding the elements & principles of design, as well as, building your creative arsenal.
• Transformative Techniques for Floral Designs: Discover how techniques such as basing, grouping, shadowing, sheltering, framing, collaring, and the use of armatures can elevate your floral compositions.

IN-PERSON (PREFERRED) OR VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

• The Wonders and Perils of Bird Migration
• Humans and the Night Sky – Our Last Heritage
• Light Pollution and its Effect on Birds, Humans, and Wildlife

IN PERSON OR VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

• Build a Do-it-Yourself Mini-Bog with Pitcher Plants and Orchids in Your Front Yard
• Spring Wildflowers of Connecticut
• Summer Wildflowers of Connecticut
• Autumn Wildflowers of Connecticut
• What Do Plants Know? Are Plants Intelligent?
• Stinkology: Plant Fragrances of Field and Forest
• The Wildflowers of Iceland
• The Wonderful World of Lichens
• Galls of Plants and Trees

• Gardening Is Murder
• Gardening Is Painless (and other lies we tell ourselves)
• How to Create Your Very Own Homegrown National Park

These are talks that combine horticulture with humor. They are observations about gardening from the point of view of a supportive spouse of an accomplished horticulturalist. Your club will be treated to a horticultural lecture unlike any you have every heard. My presentations are MS Powerpoint supported talks.

VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

• Sustainable Gardening: Grow a Greener, Low Maintenance Landscape with Less Resources
• Versatile Viburnums: The Great American Shrub for Every Landscape
• Delightful Dogwoods: An In-depth Look at an Iconic Group of Flowering Trees and Shrubs
• Southern Plants for Northern Climates
• New York & New Jersey Getting Started Garden Guide
• Dogscaping: Creating a Pet Friendly Garden
• Common Sense Rose Selection and Care for the Organic Gardener
• Selecting Deer Resistant Plants
• Contact for more information: Can provide programs on various topics related to trees and shrubs, winter gardening, historic landscape preservation and much more.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Director – Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park – NY
• Author – 6 books

• Propagating Wild Flowers from Seed, lecture and/or workshop
• Creating a Healthy Ecosystem in Your Landscape, and Why It Matters
• Gardening for Frogs: Water Features to Attract Wildlife to Your Yard
• Plant It and They Will Come: Attracting Connecticut Butterflies to Your Garden
• A Safe Haven for Pollinators: Creating a Backyard Oasis
• Beyond Your Backdoor: Connecting With Nature Where You Live
• Leaves Are Not Litter: Benefits of Using Leaves in Your Yard and Garden

IN-PERSON OR VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

• My Garden: Lessons Learned
• Using Tropical Plants in the Connecticut Landscape
• Container Gardening Unlimited
• Unraveling the Mysteries of Pruning
• Landscape Design: The Creative Process
• A Tree for Every Yard
• Embracing Volunteer Seedlings and Aggressive Plants
• Diverse and Versatile Succulents
• A Walk Through the Seasons in My Garden
• Creating a Showcase Garden on a Third of an Acre
• Hardscape in Your Landscape
• Rethinking Your Foundation Planting
• Special Hardscape Projects
• How I Ditched My Front Lawn

For complete list of talks with descriptions, visit my website

IN-PERSON OR VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

• Gardening Under the Stars: Saving our Nocturnal Pollinators
• Spring Wildflowers
• Plant Communication: Let’s Listen In
• Gardening Under the Stars: Saving our Nocturnal Pollinators
• Soil – It’s Not Just Dirt
• Beyond Birdfeeders
• Butterfly Gardens Are For The Birds
• Gardening for Bees, Butterflies and Other Pollinators
• Beyond Flower Gardens: Native Woody Plants in a Pollinator Garden
• Gardening with Frog & Toad
• Gardening for Wildlife
• Contact for more information

IN-PERSON OR VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

• Honey – Delicious and Healthy as Nature Intended
• Protecting our Pollinators – Bees and Butterflies
• The Famous Innovators in Beekeeping
• The History of Beekeeping in The United States and Connecticut’s Role in Apiculture.
• The Honey Bee Files, A Bees Life – Children’s Presentation
• Honey Bees and Me – Children’s Presentation
• The Sweet History of Honey and Honey Tasting
• Why and How I became a Beekeeper – A how to guide to your first season of Keeping bees.
• Pollinators and Their Effect on Our Ecosystem
• The History of Honey and Beekeeping in Antiquity
• A Guide to Honey’s Healing Properties
• Honey, the Science Behind the Fruit

Please see website: www.humblebeehoneycompany.com/beekeeping-lectures for more presentations and descriptions of programs