I offer numerous talks and hands-on workshops on a range of topics related to ecological gardening such as: attracting and maintaining habitats for pollinators, growing native plants, and growing resilient gardens for our changing climate.
Gardening with Wildlife
In this workshop, learn how gardening with native and conventional plants can give you a garden teeming with life from beneficial insects and birds while also being uninviting to deer and rabbits. We will look at how to attract pollinators to your garden, helping to produce larger fruits and vegetables. Growing berry producing shrubs and seed producing perennials for year-round bird watching pleasure will also be covered. Learn about barrier options for rabbits and deer plus which plants will help repel them. And finally, preferred feeders and houses for wildlife will be discussed.
Drought Tolerant Gardening
Want an abundant garden but you’re under water use restrictions? You can have a healthy garden that produces healthy fresh food throughout hot and dry summers. Learn how to enjoy flowering perennials and bountiful fruit and vegetable production through the use native plants and xeric landscaping techniques. Also covered are water harvesting techniques to help increase your supply of water during the summer, various gardening approaches to reduce evapotranspiration, and tips and tricks for maintaining a thriving garden in our evolving landscape conditions.
Gardening for Climate Change
While our weather is becoming more extreme, hotter in the summers and wetter in the winters, you can build a resilient garden that will continue to produce throughout the temperamental changes we are experiencing. Through garden planning and other techniques we will look at water saving methods and planting crops that tolerate varying water supply. Learn how you can choose flowering perennials and still enjoy fruit and vegetable production by using native plants and xeric landscaping techniques to create gardens that produce throughout the growing season despite the hot, dry summers and wet, wet winters.
Introduction to Mason Bees
In this bee-loving workshop we will explore the importance of our native bees’ incredible pollinating powers to our local ecosystems and agricultural systems. We will look at the lifecycle of the mason bee, the challenges they face, and how best to support them with plants and nesting boxes. We will discuss the seasonal responsibilities of the mason bee keeper, when and how to release them, and what to watch for during the summer season. Finally, we will look at the different styles of mason bee nesting boxes or houses available, how to select the best ones, and where to place them in the garden to meet the needs of both you and the bees. Come and learn how to support these tiny, important and beautiful little creatures!
Managing Mason and Leafcutter Bees
Learn how mason and leafcutter bees can help give you larger and more abundant fruit, vegetables and perennials throughout the spring and summer seasons with their exceptionally high pollination rates. While gaining these benefits, you are also providing needed habitat and food for these important insects, it’s a win-win! Learn how to attract and keep mason and leafcutter bees, manage their houses and properly keep their cocoons throughout winter, ready for the next generation of pollinators when spring arrives.
How to Design Pollinator Gardens
During this workshop discover what all the buzz is about pollinators. Learn about native pollinators, bees and butterflies and birds, their importance to ecosystems and our food supply, and the issues they are facing. Find out how our local pollinators live and what they like to eat with practical information on creating a garden in the Victoria region that will be a pollinator paradise.
Gardening with Native Plants
In this workshop you will learn how gardening with our local native plants can give you a water-saving, low-maintenance garden that brings colour all season long, making them the ultimate ecological choice. Native plants are adapted to the area’s conditions making them ideal for organic gardening, no supplemental fertilizers or pesticides are needed. Whether your garden conditions are wet, salty or dry, there are native plants that will thrive and support pollinators and our local ecology too! With year-round interest in mind, we will explore how to keep the garden beautiful from spring to winter and tap into valuable local and online resources to help you along the way.
Harvesting Mason Bees (hands-on workshop)
Bring your mason bee houses that have been used during the growing season and we will learn how to harvest the cocoons of these native bees. We will identify any pests and parasites that we encounter, learn how to clean the cocoons properly so they are ready for the spring, how to store the cocoons safely over the winter, and how to release the bees again in spring. There will be an opportunity to ask questions and troubleshoot issues you may be facing with your mason bee homes.