Free Spring Lecture: ‘Horticultural Futurism,’ featuring Thomas Rainer, a leading voice in ecological landscape design
The Center at Belvedere, 540 Belvedere Boulevard, Charlottesville, VA
Landscape architect Thomas Rainer, a leading authority in ecological landscape design, will deliver PMG’s 2025 Spring Lecture, “Horticultural Futurism: Designing a Plant-Centric Future.” The 6:30 p.m. lecture will be preceded by a public open house beginning at 5:30 p.m. in The Center at Belvedere’s Rose and Pollinator Demonstration Gardens.
As climate change and mass extinctions reshape our environment, traditional horticulture falls short—too carbon-intensive, too resource-heavy, too high-maintenance, according to Rainer. In this visionary session, you will discover how to create thriving plant systems that mimic nature’s aesthetics and resilience, transforming wild inspirations into sophisticated, biodiverse landscapes.
Rainer is a principal of the Arlington-based firm Phyto Studio and has produced signature designs at landmark locations such as the U.S. Capitol grounds, Toronto Botanical Garden, and The New York Botanical Garden. He also has designed more than 125 residential gardens stretching from Maine to Florida, merging ecology with horticulture to create dynamic, high-impact landscapes.
With his colleague Claudia West he co-authored Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes, published by Timber Press. It lays out design principles that combine both the wild and the cultivated to create resilient plant communities that will thrive and provide vital ecological services in urban and suburban environments.
Drawing on his firm’s cutting-edge public and botanical garden projects, Rainer will redefine for us how we design, install, and sustain plant systems.
To register for this free program, visit https://thecentercville.org/calendar/rsvp/136614.
Invasive Plants in Your Landscape and What You Can Do (Live)
Saturday, April 12, 2025 • 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM
Fluvanna County Library, 214 Commons Blvd, Palmyra, VA 22963
Join Fluvanna Master Gardeners and Blue Ridge PRISM to learn more about invasive plants in your community. Discover which plants you are likely to find in your lawn, flower beds, shade gardens, and neighborhood, and learn about techniques for how to remove and control them. This is a FREE event at the Fluvanna County Public Library and is open to the public.
Restoration After Invasive Plant Removal (Webinar)
Wednesday, April 16, 2025 • 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM
Join guest speaker Maddie Bright, executive director of Earth Sangha, as she shares her extensive experience with native plant restoration in Virginia. Explore questions such as, “Should I plant now, or wait and see what comes up,” “What kind of native plants should I choose,” and “How do I start the process?” This is a FREE webinar and will be recorded.
Garden Basics: Foodscaping—The Edible Landscape
Trinity Episcopal Church, 1118 Preston Avenue, Charlottesville
In this Garden Basics session, learn how you can turn your landscape into a sustainable, perennial, ecologically healthy space that provides food. We will focus on how to grow edible crops without ripping out flowers and shrubs to convert the beds into a vegetable garden. Ornamentals, fruits, vegetables, and herbs can co-exist and thrive in the same space.
Space is limited. Registration opens Feb. 15 and closes at 5 p.m. April 25, 2025, or when the class is full. Garden Basics is a partnership with the Bread and Roses Ministry at Trinity Episcopal Church in Charlottesville.
There are a number of interesting events coming up at the Botanical Garden of the Piedmont — including some for children. Check them out at the Garden’s Events page HERE.Coming up in May . . .
Spring Plant Sale
Albemarle Square Shopping Center Albemarle Square, Charlottesville, VA, United States
Our Spring Plant Sale will once again offer thousands of annuals, perennials, vegetables, fruit-bearing plants, trees, shrubs, herbs and houseplants, including a large assortment of native plants. In addition, shoppers can purchase gently used garden implements, yard décor, and other “Green Elephants.” The sale will also feature a Help Desk for answering gardening questions and an array of displays and information tables. Cash and credit cards will be accepted. All proceeds support the many free and low-cost programs the Piedmont Master Gardeners offer to the community.
Garden Basics: Invasive Species—Not All Plants Are Created Equal
Trinity Episcopal Church, 1118 Preston Avenue, Charlottesville
All too often, unsuspecting homeowners come home from a local nursery with an invasive species. Sadly, invasives wreak havoc on our ecosystems, denying birds and other native fauna the nutrition necessary to sustain them. Come learn why a Butterfly Bush is comparable to giving an 18-year-old junk food before running a marathon. You will learn how to recognize and eradicate the top 10 invasive species in the Piedmont region, with a particular focus on invasives still sold in retail nurseries. And you will come away with a list of native species to plant in their place.
Space is limited. Registration opens March 8 and closes at 5 p.m. May 16, 2025, or when the class is full. Garden Basics is a partnership with the Bread and Roses ministry at Trinity Episcopal Church in Charlottesville.
At James Monroe’s Highland: Native Plant Swap
James Monroe’s Highland, 2050 James Monroe Parkway, Charlottesville, VA,
Highland welcomes you to a native plant swap with the Piedmont Master Gardeners. We’ll have lots of healthy, hearty starter plants for your summer gardens and a community table where swappers can share their (pest free!) plants, drop pots and pottery, and other garden goods. Attendees can stop by the Master Gardener Help Desk for tips on native alternatives to imported ornamentals, and to learn how to identify and remove invasive plants from their gardens. Remember, pests are a part of gardening life: please inspect your plants before sharing, and swap at your own risk.