People often think that gardening with native plants means accepting a “wild” or unkept aesthetic. Not so! Acclaimed garden designers, Page Dickey and Deb Munson, share their secrets for using native plants to create gardens that are a feast for the eyes…and the birds, bees and butterflies. And, discuss why that matters.

Page Dickey has been writing about gardening and designing gardens for others for the last three decades. She uses native plants extensively in her design work and writes about the importance of designing gardens that reflect their settings. Her most recent book, Uprooted: A Gardener Reflects on Beginning Again, describes her process of finding a home in NWC and falling in love with its land.

Deborah Munson is a horticulturist and landscape designer working in the NW corner of CT. She has combined her background in Natural Resource Conservation and passion for garden history, and ecological and sustainable design into the projects and properties she designs and oversees. Enjoying watching landscapes mature and evolve, she at times prefers editing the natural landscape over planting.  She has frequently taught on-site field studies on ecological landscaping. Deb has co-chaired and consulted on Trade Secrets – A Rare Plant and Garden Antiques Sale to benefit Women’s Support Services – for many years and enjoys volunteer work for the Garden Conservancy, Berkshire Botanic Garden, and the Native Plant Trust. She resides with her husband, Brian, on a mountaintop in Falls Village in an energy-efficient home of their design where rainwater collection and solar panels are put to use.

The White Hart
15 Under Mountain Road
Salisbury, CT
Bad Grass 2023 Tickets