With the spring thaw still a couple of months away, gardeners can take advantage of virtual programs on shade gardens and deer-resistant native plants, coming in February from the Horticultural Alliance of the Hamptons.
“Creating a Beautiful Shade Garden,” a free roundtable discussion with Lydia Wallis and Abby Jane Brody, will take place Saturday at 10 a.m. via Zoom. Ms. Wallis, a master gardener and past alliance president, will recommend plants that thrive in shady conditions, including bulbs, rhizomes, corns, perennials, groundcovers, and shrubs.
She will also discuss types of shade, how to create shade if your garden doesn’t have it, incorporating colorful foliage plants, and how low light can show off plants to their best advantage.
Ms. Brody, an East End horticulturalist, will offer commentary and answer questions; Pamela Harwood will moderate.
Ruth Rogers Clausen, the former horticulture editor for Country Living Garden magazine and co-author with Gregory D. Tepper of “Deer-Resistant Native Plants for the Northeast,” will discuss the benefits of native plants via Zoom on Feb. 13 at 2 p.m.
Her interest in deer-resistant plants resulted from a move to Westchester County, where deer thrive. From annuals and perennials to grasses and shrubs, her recommendations will include a deer-resistance rating, growing advice, companion species, and the beneficial wildlife the plants attract. The talk is $10, free for alliance members.
The alliance’s book group will meet via Zoom on Feb. 19 from 11 a.m. to noon. The books to be discussed are “A Year at North Hill: Four Seasons in a Vermont Garden” by Joe Eck and Wayne Winterrowd; “Napoleon: A Life Told in Gardens and Shadows” by Ruth Scurr, and “The Beauty of the Wild: A Life Designing Landscapes Inspired by Nature” by Darrel Morrison. Participants are not required to have read the books.
Registration at HAHgarden.org will secure Zoom links for each of the programs.
