Selecting Native Woody Plants

Friday, September 9 from 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. | Online
Saturday, September 17 from 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. | Bosarge Family Education Center

Learn how native woody plants enhance both our landscapes and local biodiversity. Over two days, study these plants, from identification to habitat to their role as host plants for the insects and pollinators critical for plant management and reproduction. Online and in the field, the Gardens’ Director of Horticulture, Andy Brand, will recommend species and cultivars, discuss cultivation, landscape use, soil consideration, and give students the opportunity to practice their own ecological observations of plant-pollinator interrelationships.

Please note this class requires participants to show proof of having received all eligible Covid-19 vaccinations, as recommended for their age by the CDC, in order to participate. Because of the dynamic nature of this situation, we ask that you agree to abide by potential future changes in CMBG’s Covid-19 policy designed to address evolving public health recommendations.

Andy Brand is the Director of Horticulture at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. Prior to joining the staff in 2018, he was the nursery manager at Broken Arrow Nursery for over 20 years, where he and his colleagues specialized in growing rare and unusual plants. Andy is an avid naturalist and has focused on the interaction of the insects and native plants of New England. He is a cofounder and past President of the Connecticut Butterfly Association and is also past President of the Connecticut Nursery and Landscape Association.  He speaks to groups throughout the Northeast on a range of topics including native plants, new and unusual ornamentals, butterfly gardening, and butterflies of Connecticut and their life histories.