Native Landscaping 101
A Free, In-Person Program for Home Gardeners
Presented by Larry Weaner and Sara Weaner Cooper
Photo by Larry Weaner Landscape Associates
Less weeding? Check.
Less watering? Check.
Less fertilizer? Check.
Less ongoing cost? Check.
More biodiversity? Check.
More personal engagement with the natural world? Triple Check.
Part One: Presentation at Wissahickon Valley Public Library, Blue Bell, PA
Monday, September 8th, 2025 | 6:00 PM - 7:45 PM ET
Learn the basics to this landscaping approach with award-winning Landscape Designer Larry Weaner. Participants will learn how ecology-based landscaping differs from traditional gardening including site-adapted native plant selection, nursery purchasing guidance, and light-touch planting and management techniques.
Sara Weaner Cooper will share the latest updates about her home front landscape, an experimental yet highly successful organic lawn-to-meadow conversion that was featured in the BBC in 2025 and The New York Times in 2024.
Part Two: Landscapes Open House in Blue Bell & Erdenheim, PA
Saturday, September 13th, 2025 | 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM ET
Participants will stop by Larry’s over 30-year-old woodland landscape and Sara’s 3-year-old organic lawn-turned-meadow.
This program is Open House-style, meaning participants are welcome to come and go at the two residences. There will be no formal instructional schedule, but the hosts will be at their respective landscapes to explain their process and answer questions.
You’ll never look at gardening the same way again.
Instructor Bios:
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Larry Weaner, FAPLD founded Larry Weaner Landscape Associates (based in Glenside, PA) in 1982 and its educational affiliate, 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. His book, Garden Revolution: How Our Landscapes Can Be a Source of Environmental Change (Timber Press 2016), co-authored with Tom Christopher, 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.
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Sara Weaner Cooper is executive director of New Directions in the American Landscape (NDAL). In 2024 NDAL received the American Horticultural Society (AHS) Award for Horticultural Innovation. Her and her husband Evan Cooper’s home landscape was featured in a BBC article in 2025 and The New York Times article in 2024. Sara has presented about their lawn-to-meadow transition for the Ecological Landscape Alliance’s Annual Conference, Grow Native MA, and the Southern Adirondack Audubon Society. Sara 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 long-term goals is to work with educators & students on transdisciplinary, eco-cultural curricula.
Part One registration is through the Wissahickon Valley Public Library:
Part Two registration is through NDAL:
Scroll down for registration, NDAL Portal, and group & gift order details.
“You have made a great contribution to the field through your conferences.”
– Leslie Sauer, Andropogon Associates, Philadelphia, PA
Photo by Max Touhey
What NDAL program participants are saying:
“I have attended multiple NDAL presentations and they are the greatest! I always leave them inspired with new ideas for my landscape.”
“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. ”
“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.”
“Sara’s talk was one of the best I’ve been to on this topic - and I’ve been to many! Her style is friendly and approachable and she talks to you not at you. You could tell she was invested 100% in the project and, just like her dad, graciously and thoroughly walked us through the process.”
Registration Details:
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Registration for Part One is through the Wissahickon Valley Public Library.
When registering for Part Two 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.
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To register multiple people/staff members at once, 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. **Please note: 1) ALL participants must click the invite link to officially redeem their registration for the program and 2) 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.**
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Offer your colleague, friend, or relative a chance to attend this program. Gift them registration by selecting “This is a gift” on the checkout page.
Thank you to our Institutional Ally:
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Questions? Please contact:
New Directions in the American Landscape
info@ndal.org
510-518-0430
Photo by Mark Weaner