Brains over brawn

Native meadows can be stunningly beautiful bird and butterfly magnets that require far less maintenance than mown turf or virtually any garden bed. Sounds great right? But it is only true if planned with an understanding of actual meadow ecology. This series will examine native meadow making through the eyes of one of its most highly respected and influential practitioners.

Landscape Designer Larry Weaner will share his experience through a deep dive into ecology-based meadow design, planting and management; as well as a series of case studies ranging in age from three to thirty years. Larry and Sara Weaner Cooper will also briefly share the latest updates about their highly successful experimental organic lawn-to-meadow conversion that was featured in The New York Times in 2024.

 

Attendees will receive an extensive digital course manual expanding upon the content discussed in the presentations. 

Please note: This course will be less applicable to those residing in subtropical climates (ie. Florida) and arid climates (ie. Nevada, Arizona, etc.). 

Note to Landscaping with Nature: Turning Battles into Partnerships participants: While the Course Manual will have significant overlap, additional material specific to meadows will be included.

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Fridays, March 14, 21, 28, April 11, 2025 | 6:00 - 7:15 PM ET

Registration will be open and recordings will be viewable for 3 months after each live session date.

Group and Gift Orders
Student & Wild Ones member discounts available
Scroll down for registration and discount details

Prefer to join live?

Stay tuned, as our September 2025 Meadow Making Virtual Intensive for Home Gardeners will soon be open for registration.
If you’re not already, sign up for our email list to learn when we open registration.

“If you want to know about ecological design, NDAL classes are a must.”

-Barbera B., 2024 participant

Above photo: Lawn-to-meadow landscape in its second year

Previously Held Sessions:

Recordings viewable for 3 months

Upcoming Sessions:

Instructor Bios

  • Larry Weaner, FAPLD, founded Larry Weaner Landscape Associates in 1982 and New Directions in the American Landscape in 1990. His nationally recognized work combines horticulture, landscape design, and ecological restoration, and spans more than twenty U.S. states and the U.K. He has been profiled in national publications. His book, Garden Revolution: How Our Landscapes Can Be a Source of Environmental Change (Timber Press, 2016) received an American Horticultural Society (AHS) Book Award in 2017. In 2021 he received the AHS Landscape Design Award and the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) Award of Distinction.

  • Sara Weaner Cooper, New Directions in the American Landscape (NDAL)'s executive director, began her role with NDAL in 2018 as educational program coordinator. In addition to programs for landscape professionals, Sara has added programming for home gardeners, students, and educators. She holds a M.A. in anthropology and education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a B.A. in anthropology and education from Bryn Mawr College. One of her passions and long-term goals is to work with schools on eco-cultural land stewardship curricula. In 2024 NDAL received the American Horticultural Society (AHS) Award for Horticultural Innovation, which recognizes an individual/organization “whose innovations have made the field of horticulture more sustainable and accessible to all.” 

 
“I have attended multiple NDAL presentations and they are the greatest! I always leave them inspired with new ideas for my landscape.”
— Audrey W., 2024 participant
“Rather than just considering a property as just a cleanable slate for my designs, Larry’s programs alway encourage me to evaluate the existing environment and think deeper about how I can use that as canvas and paint for my works.”
— Barbara Y., 2024 participant
“Larry provided foundational concepts clearly, then reinforced these by giving us examples from his own experience working with ecologically-designed landscapes! He’s also a storyteller, and these stories help us connect concepts to real life. ”
— 2024 participant

Photo by Mark Weaner

Registration Details

  • When registering on the NDAL Participants Portal you will be asked to either sign into your existing account or create one. This account will give you exclusive access to the session recordings and course materials. These materials will be available until three (3) months after the live event dates.

    Please note: 2025 Home Gardener Intensive Courses are available as full courses, not individual session registrations.

    Group Orders: To register multiple people/staff members PLEASE NOTE THE TWO-STEP PROCESS BELOW:
    1. Go to your chosen course, click Register, then enter the number of registrations needed under Quantity on the left side. You will receive an email with an invite link to send to all the registrants in your group.
    2. To complete the registration, you must send the invite link to all group members to click and redeem their registrations. Please note if you are registering yourself as well, you will NOT be automatically registered under a Group Order; you will also need to click the invite link to redeem your registration.

    Gift Orders: To purchase a course as a gift for someone else, go to your chosen course, click Register, then check off “This is a gift.”

    Students please email verification of student status (ie. course schedule, student ID) to info@ndal.org for student discount code.

    Registration will be refunded only if notification is received before ten (10) working days prior to the live event date less a $10 processing fee.

  • If you’ve already emailed for Wild Ones Member discount codes in the past, please keep an eye out for an email with the new code, as we are sending it to anyone who has previously used a Wild Ones-NDAL discount code.

    If you haven’t used a code previously, please email info@ndal.org with your Wild Ones member ID # or other verification of membership for the Series discount code.

FAQs

  • The entire course will be recorded and available (not downloadable) to all registrants after the live session ends for three (3) months. If you are registered, you do not need to attend the live session in order to access the recording.

  • You can register for 3 months past the live session date, and access the materials - including the recording - until that point.

  • Zoom Webinar. Please make sure to download the Zoom application (https://zoom.us/download) and download the latest Zoom update if needed prior to the live course. We recommend that you join ~5 minutes prior to the start time. The instructor(s) will use PowerPoint presentations. If you have any technical difficulties during the session and need to contact us, please email info@ndal.org instead of calling.

  • As this is not a professional course, no CEUs are offered.

Questions? Please contact:

New Directions in the American Landscape
info@ndal.org
510-518-0430

NDAL receives the 2024 AHS award in Horticultural Innovation!

We are thrilled and honored to announce that NDAL has received the 2024 Horticultural Innovation Award by American Horticultural Society (AHS). This award is part of AHS’s annual Great American Gardeners Awards, in which six individuals/organizations are recognized. The Horticultural Innovation Award is presented to an individual/organization “whose innovations have made the field of horticulture more sustainable and accessible to all.”

Expand your company’s reach and support ecology-based landscape practice!