When Wild Ones put out a request for chapter leaders to host upcoming National webinars, Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay president Marlene Smith jumped at the opportunity. And she was delighted to be chosen to introduce Honorary Director Larry Weaner’s presentation, “Living in a Liberated Landscape: My Yard.”
Larry Weaner is a nationally recognized landscape designer and an expert in native meadow and ecological restoration. His work bridges art and ecology helping communities create landscapes that are both beautiful and self-sustaining. During his term as Wild Ones Honorary Director, Larry created the Wild Ones, Washington, DC Native garden design and has continued to provide invaluable educational content and long-term guidance to our organization. This webinar was the capstone to Larry’s term as Wild Ones’ Honorary Director.
Larry’s work has inspired thousands of homeowners and professionals to view their gardens not as static designs, but as living evolving ecosystems, and this webinar is no exception. He mentioned that decades ago, there was a disconnect between advocates of ecological gardening and garden designers. But all this changed when Wild Ones brought the two together.
Key takeaways from the presentation illustrate a holistic, ecological approach to landscaping that emphasizes working with natural processes, reducing maintenance, and fostering biodiversity. Taking us on a tour of his 1/3 acre landscape, Larry offers both philosophical guidance and practical strategies for anyone interested in transforming their yard into a dynamic, resilient ecosystem.
1. Liberated Landscape Philosophy: Larry Weaner describes a “liberated landscape” as one where both the gardener and the plants are freed from rigid control. Gardeners participate with nature, allowing ecological processes to guide the evolution of the landscape, rather than constantly manipulating it. He offered a practical approach to editing and pruning tall plants.
2. Using native plants is beneficial, but Weaner encourages going further and devoting a larger percentage of your property to natives, which fosters self-sustaining ecosystems and reduces maintenance. You don’t need a large property; increasing the proportion of native plantings on any size lot can have a big impact.
3. Work with Existing Soil and minimize disturbance: Instead of enriching poor soils, select plants adapted to those conditions. Enriching soil can invite more weeds and disrupt the existing seed bank. Disturbance (like tilling or digging) increases weed germination. Instead, preserve existing soil structure and use selective disturbance only where you want new plants to establish.
4. Plant Proliferation Strategies: Combine plants that spread by seed (sexual) and those that spread by roots or stolons (asexual). This diversity helps fill gaps and suppress weeds more effectively. Plant patches of desirable species, then gradually expand their territory by selectively removing weeds around them.
5. Help Plants Move: Understanding how seeds travel (e.g., cardinal flower seeds attach to soil particles and don’t move easily) allows you to assist their dispersal by placing seeds or seed stalks in strategic locations. Hearing his approach to helping plants self-propagate by such simple techniques as scratching the soil surface to help cardinal flower seeds make contact with the soil to selectively encouraging runners to fill in open spaces is an easy way we can all help native plants move around our gardens to establish more dense vegetation.
6. Dense Plantings Suppress Weeds: Dense, multi-layered plantings make it hard for weeds to establish. Maintenance focuses on cutting weeds at the base rather than pulling them, which avoids further soil disturbance. Over time, by preventing weeds from seeding and encouraging natives, the soil’s seed bank shifts in favor of desirable plants.
“I would refer back to living in this kind of a landscape is very liberating for the people and the plants. And it’s very rewarding and a very different experience. I would encourage you to give it a try even if it’s in a small patch of property, and work your way bigger. But I think you’ll find it gives a whole other dimension to how you live and how you interact with your property and how you feel about it.” ~ Larry Weaner
Following the presentation, there was a question-and-answer session that allowed Larry to elaborate on some of the key points he had introduced.
The first question, one I think a lot of people are wondering as we head into the season: What does your fall cleanup look like? (Answer at the 57:24 mark of the presentation)
The next question, one that a lot of people echoed in different ways: I have an average-sized suburban lot with native shrubs, perennials, and grasses that attract all kinds of wonderful wildlife—frogs, birds, and insects—but also a thriving population of cottontail rabbits. They’ve made it hard to get new plantings established, even with fencing. Over your years in the field, have you dealt with this challenge in your own garden or in clients’ landscapes? What advice do you have for managing or coping with rabbits when a dog isn’t an option? (Answer at the 1:00 mark)
Another question asked about something that sits right at the heart of ecological design: How do you balance the idea central to matrix planting—that covering the soil horizontally with continuous plantings which fill the visual horizon vertically—with the need for open ground to accept plants that re-seed? Larry, your work often celebrates this dynamic between structure and spontaneity—how a designed landscape can still evolve on its own. How do you approach that balance?” (Answer at the 1:03:15 mark)
The last question: Thank you for sharing your expertise with us. As someone looking to pursue a career in the ecological field, what advice would you give to someone facing challenges in finding their initial footing and aspiring to a leadership role? Could you share how you first established yourself in this field and what steps helped you get there?” (Answer at the 1:07:15 mark)
Resource Links
Native Landscaping 101 with Larry Weaner – Discover how to transform your yard into a thriving, low-maintenance native landscape with renowned ecological designer Larry Weaner. In this educational video, Larry shares practical strategies for designing landscapes that work with nature, not against it using native plants adapted to your eco-region. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced gardener, this video offers essential guidance for anyone looking to create a biodiverse, resilient, and beautiful landscape using Wild Ones’ Native Garden Designs as your guide.
Garden Visit: Out with the Lawn, In with the Native Plants – Lary takes us on a tour of suburban garden in Huntingdon Valley, PA, a suburb outside of Philadelphia, where he transformed a landscape that was mostly lawn into a native plant wonderland, equipped with a managed woodland, meadow, and bog garden. He designed more formal elements closer to the house that gradually grew wilder the farther one moves away. Growing plants native to their region supports biodiversity, he points out. “You don’t need to grow a special pollinator garden,” says Weaner. “The entire landscape is one.”
Wild Ones Native Gardens Designs
Creating Your Own Native Garden Design – A Guide to Creating Beautiful Home Landscapes by Wild Ones
Climate Resilient Landscapes by Wild Ones
Ecoregions, Native Ranges, and Hardiness Zones Explained
Larry Weaner Landscape Associates
New Directions of the American Landscape
Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay is deeply rooted in native plants and cultivating partnerships, while striving to educate, advocate, and collaborate to connect people and native plants for a healthy planet. Our vision is native plants and natural landscapes thriving in every community. Check out our Events page, Google calendar, Facebook, and/or Instagram for our upcoming events. And don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel and email list!
