Brookside Lecture Series on Sustainable Home Landscapes Starts Tomorrow

A new lecture series at Wheaton's Brookside Gardens is aimed at motivating homeowners to beautify their property by using plants and other techniques that conserve water and provide other environmental benefits.

The "Landscape for Life" series is part of a broader initiative (SITES, or the Sustainable Sites Initiative) among groups including the U.S. Botanic Gardens, the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, to encourage sustainable practices in landscape, design, construction, operations and maintenance.

The Brookside series, which starts tomorrow and continues through Thursdays in July, is aimed at giving home gardeners information to apply sustainable techniques to their own front and back yards.

"There's a ton of information out there," said Mark Richardson, Brookside Gardens' head of adult education programs. "The beauty of this 'landscape for life' program is that it really narrows it down into categories. It's all packaged in an easy-to-digest format that's like one-stop shopping for sustainable information for landscaping."

Homeowners, for instance, might learn which plants require less water, how to minimize soil erosion, and what to do to better manage storm water drainage on their property.

Richardson describes "landscape for life" as a set of guiding principles to help home landscapes "give back" to the environment. Gardens that are cultivated in a sustainable way, and maintained, can contribute to improved water and air quality; greater wildlife habitat and diversity; and natural water storage and flood control, he said.

The series was supposed to begin last week but that first lecture was postponed and has not yet been rescheduled, said Richardson. (The lecture, "Landscapes Give Back," is to focus on sustainable landscaping water, soil and mineral basics, and how this approach need not compromise aesthetics.)

The next three lectures are:

• What plants should I choose? By Bill McLaughlin, U.S. Botanical Garden curator. This talk will focus on emphasizing native plants and eliminating invasive species naturally. Course number 130155; Thursday, July 14, 11:30am-1:00pm.
• Health & Well-being/Water, Soil & Materials By Holly Shimizu, Botanical Garden director, Connect human health to a sustainable landscape and learn how the appropriate use of water, soil and materials is crucial. Course number 130799; Thursday, July 21, 11:30am-1:00pm.
• How should I design my sustainable landscape? By Nick Nelson, Botanical Garden architect. Sustainable design can be aesthetic as well. This talk will focus on techniques to make this a reality. Course number 130800; Thursday, July 28, 11:30am-1:00pm.

The fees are $10 per lecture; or $5 for Friends of Brookside Gardens. To register, visit www.parkpass.org. Registration can also be done at Brookside on the day of the lectures, which take place in the adult classroom at the visitors center at Brookside, 1800 Glenallan Avenue, Wheaton, MD 20902.

For more information, call Brookside at 301-962-1400.