Event Details
All attendees are invited to continue the conversation at a cocktail reception following the formal presentation.
Tickets - $25 in advance
All proceeds from this year’s series will be directed towards our 2025 partner project, Steep Rock Preserve’s “Holiday House” project.
Together, we will transform the space into a “ruin garden”, preserving its historical significance while enhancing its natural beauty and restoring native vegetation.
The White Hart is located at 15 Undermountain Road. Salisbury, CT. We thank them for welcoming this series.
It’s All Relative: A Familial Approach to Plant Selection for Dynamic Landscapes with Patrick Cullina
February 6th - 5:30 pm @ The White Hart, reception to follow
Proceeds & Awareness to benefit the Steep Rock Preserve’s Holiday House Project
With a vast world of plants to navigate while designing landscapes, how does one narrow the field effectively in order to make choices that lead to successful outcomes? This presentation will examine one potential approach to plant selection — considering related plants within select plant families and the inherent cues to be found therein as a key to managing landscape conditions in order to develop appealing compositions that are diverse, durable, and resilient.
Patrick Cullina is an award-winning horticulturist, landscape designer, photographer, lecturer, and planning consultant with nearly thirty years of experience in the landscape and green infrastructure fields. He previously served as founding V. P. of Horticulture and Operations for New York City’s High Line, as Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s V.P. of Horticulture, Operations & Science Research and as Associate Director of the Rutgers University Gardens. His current practice is dedicated to the creation, development, establishment and maintenance of transformational living landscapes through the innovative integration of plants and management strategies, often in collaboration with some of the world’s leading architects, landscape architects and planners.
The Highline: Wild by Design with Richard Hayden
February 20th - 5:30 pm @ The White Hart, reception to follow
Proceeds & Awareness to benefit Steep Rock Preserve’s Holiday House Project
The High Line is the most famous example of Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf's four-season, naturalistic garden designs. The High Line also serves as an important example of urban ecology, featuring many native plants and providing access to nature for many species, most importantly for the more than six million annual human visitors. Join senior director of horticulture, Richard Hayden for an exploration of the ecological habitats, keystone native plants and the horticultural techniques for evolving and caring for this New York City treasure.
Richard Hayden is a professional horticulturist dedicated to an ecological and naturalistic approach to garden care and design. Since 2022, he has served as the Senior Director of Horticulture at the High Line, an elevated railway in New York City reclaimed as a spectacular naturalistic garden.
Nativars: Mixing a New Palette with Christopher Koppel
March 6th - 5:30 pm @ The White Hart, reception to follow
Proceeds & Awareness to benefit Steep Rock Preserve’s Holiday House Project
Chris Koppel returns for an in-depth exploration of the current state and tone of the native plant conversation. Discover how “nativars” can serve as a bridge to inspire gardeners, offering a fresh perspective on enhancing the landscape around us. He’ll highlight the nurseries at the forefront of selecting and propagating these high-value, garden-worthy native plants, mixing a vibrant new palette for landscapes that blend beauty and ecological harmony.
Christopher Koppel is a seasoned nurseryman, gardener, and estate manager. He has a passion for cultivating and caring for plants at every stage of growth, from well-established varieties to rare and exotic gems. From Sales Manager at Broken Arrow Nursery to Woodland Manager at Skylands and Japanese Garden Manager at Iroki, Christopher has held noteworthy roles, shaping his view of horticulture to be reverent and practical. Currently serving as an estate manager in Northwest Connecticut, he continues to apply his wealth of knowledge with both botanical insight and experiential understanding to create and maintain flourishing landscapes. He serves as a member of the Steep Rock Stewardship Committee and the local Inland Wetland Commission, embodying a lifelong dedication to preserving our natural world.
Why “Bad Grass”
The turf grass lawn is uniquely American. It covers the majority of our properties, consuming water, chemicals, time, and money but providing little in terms of support for insects and animals. With the right inspiration, each of us can replace a little of that “bad grass” with something better.
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