Please join the VCE Loudoun Master Gardeners for this wonderful educational event. Four prominent speakers will share their knowledge and inspire us as we start preparing our gardens for the spring and subsequent growing seasons. 

Academies of Loudoun
42075 Loudoun Academy Dr.
Leesburg, Virginia 20175

The symposium will also feature a marketplace with gardening items from local vendors and lightly used books.

Shannon Currey, Education & Outreach, Izel Native Plants

Soft Landings Add Life Under Trees 
Native trees provide a host of benefits in cultivated spaces, from reducing ambient temperatures, to raising property values, to creating habitat for wildlife. However, because the sun exposure and soil moisture vary greatly under the tree canopy, figuring out what to plant underneath trees can be challenging. The default is often turfgrass or mulch. But this default misses an opportunity to realize the full potential of the trees and our landscapes. Soft landings is a strategy that uses diverse native plantings to help support wildlife and add ecological function. Many pollinators start their lives up in our native trees. Soft landings provide the critical shelter and habitat underneath those trees that many species need to complete their life cycle. This approach also helps support the trees, improve soil health, and manage stormwater. It’s also much more appealing than mulch or turfgrass! Join us to go beyond the default and use herbaceous, native plants to add life, function, and beauty under your trees.

John Magee, President/Landscape Designer, Magee Design, Middleburg, VA

Let’s Talk About This
Ecological responsibility and landscape design have finally intersected and now go hand-in-hand. The demand and goals of public and private gardens alike, are to strive to be more sustainable and wildlife friendly. How can the horticulture industry support the shift to avoid invasive species and the damage they can do? How can we better design our landscapes to evade the pitfalls of potential ecological collapse? John will start by showing examples of invasive species that have escaped cultivation and the ecological ramifications they can cause, then share beautiful garden designs with more native plants, and natural areas for inspiration. We can make a difference, and still have gorgeous designs, so let’s talk about this!

Kathy Jentz, Garden Communicator, Author of Urban Gardener, Ground Revolution, Editor of Washington Gardener

Groundcovers: Great Alternatives to Turf Grass 
Groundcovers are low-growing plants that serve many different purposes in the landscape from limiting weed growth to stabilizing slopes to adding texture to your garden. Kathy Jentz, author of Groundcover Revolution and host of the GardenDC Podcast, will cover several of these beautiful, hard-working plants and the best kinds to use for your region.

Thomas Rainer, Landscape Architect, Teacher, Author

The Ecologically Abundant Garden: Practical Strategies for Resilient Home Landscapes
What if your garden could be easier to care for and more alive with beauty and wildlife? By thinking like a plant community—layering species, matching plants to niches, and letting them work together—you can create a landscape that thrives with less maintenance. This systems-based approach also offers a powerful response to invasive species. Instead of constant removal battles, homeowners can combine holistic land management with native plantings that match invasive plants in competitive vigor. In this talk, landscape architect Thomas Rainer of Phyto Studio shows how lessons from ecological design can be applied in backyards of any size. Learn how to choose vigorous, compatible natives, design for seasonal abundance, and encourage natural processes that suppress weeds and invasives. With clear examples and take-home strategies, this presentation will inspire you to transform your yard into a resilient, joy-filled garden that practically takes care of itself.