We all know trends come and go. Some good, some not so good. The late 80’s fashion with neon colors and big hair is something I was hoping to never see again…. but stores are showing up with those neon colors again! – hopefully the big hair isn’t revisited.

Gardening is no different. When following gardening trends, we see types of flowers and plants coming and going. Design styles, such as focal points, geometric shapes, informal, and random plantings are all different styles that come and go into and out of fashion.

It wasn’t that long ago when coneflowers were all the rage. So many new crosses were being introduced: new colors, new flower petal formation, new sizes…all exciting – and still today new coneflowers are being introduced. We just aren’t’ seeing quite the excitement we did a few years ago. Trends come and go.

Eco Landscaping is a relatively new word to many. Although it’s been around for awhile in the landscape industry, the public is just beginning to pick up on the word and wondering what, exactly, it means and how is "it" accomplished.

Eco Landscaping is a general term that just indicates a style of landscaping that takes the environment and the ecology into consideration when making design and plant choices. We know, from much research by many universities, that there is a direct correlation between insects, plants, and our food supply. With less native plants, there are less insects that have evolved with those native plants. With less insects, the less pollination that happens from plant to plant (whether native or introduced). With less pollination, the less diverse food supply we have for our bellies. The less food supply, the higher the prices, and so on.

This means that we must do what we can as consumers, gardeners, landowners, apartment dwellers, to provide plants that the insects will visit so pollination occurs. Diversity in plants and insects had a direct impact on our ecology, our environment, and our food sources.

So how do we incorporate this wild and crazy concept into our landscapes? Eco Landscaping, of course! When we make good planting decisions we are considering what that plant will provide, not just if it is pretty. Does it act as a food source for caterpillars? Does it produce the nectar that attracts the bees? Does it provide shade for a diverse group of plants that can grow under it?

When we start considering landscaping as plant choices for our critters, and not just for us, we begin to think about the interactions of plants, insects and mammals. How can we make those choices a better place for everyone and everything?

Consider plant communities. What grows together naturally. When walking though the forest, what types of plants at every level – trees, shrubs and the ground – are growing together? If it’s an oak forest, what types of plants are you seeing? If it’s a full sun area with no trees, what is growing in the herbaceous layer on the ground? What flowers are mixed in with what grasses?

This is when we can really start to create spaces and diversity in our own yards. We can create those full sun areas with a diverse planting of perennial flowers – some may call this a meadow. We can create those pockets of shade by planting a few native trees. We can have a background or understory of larger shrubs like sweetshrub, or spicebush. And as a groundcover, maybe introduce plants like woodland phlox, Virginia bluebells, and ragwort.

Although we may consider this type of landscaping as a "fad", it really needs to be a way of life that continues into our future if we want to have diversity of plant life, insects, mammals, and food. We have the power to change the insect population decline. We have the power to make choices that positively affect our critters around us.

On June 17, The Master Gardeners are providing a program specifically addressing this topic. By attending the class and trips on that day, you will hear and see how each of us can make changes, even small ones, that will positively affect our environment. From creating a grouping of containers with plants for the bees on the balcony of your apartment, to planting a riparian buffer along the stream that flows through your property, we ALL can make a difference.

We will start our morning at the Agricultural and Natural Resources Center, 670 Old Harrisburg Road, with a chat about Eco Landscaping and Forest Gardening. You will learn more about the concepts of this type of design and how you can incorporate them into your property, big or small. We will also chat about forest gardening, which integrates these concepts into a vegetable garden.

Then we will travel to three different properties – all very different, so you can see and learn how the homeowners are incorporating these concepts. The first property is in a typical development that is overseen by a Homeowners Association. Often those of us that live ecological landscaping may see this as a roadblock for our natural world, but this home owner has worked within the parameters of the regulations and developed a wonderful space for her family and the critters that need native plants to survive.

Our second stop will be a larger property in the county. Here we will have lunch and an opportunity to see what can be done with rules only enforced by the township. You will see meadows and riparian buffers and get some ideas how you can incorporate some of these concepts, even in little ways, on your property.

We will finish up at a property that is incorporating concepts of forest gardening. Forest gardening is a way of vegetable gardening that links plants for pollinating insects to vegetable crops. By attending this program, you will learn more about forest gardening and see how these homeowners are incorporating and combining plants in a vegetable garden.

To register, go to: https://extension.psu.edu/home-gardening-essentials-ecological-landscaping Registrant numbers are limited. Lunch is included in the registration fee, selection of lunch preference at time of registration. Transportation to gardens is not provided, carpooling is suggested. Rain or Shine. Fee is $30. June 17, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. We start at the Agricultural and Natural Resources Center, 670 Old Harrisburg Road, Gettysburg, and will visit three gardens that have integrated these ideas into their properties. Look forward to seeing you there!

Read other articles on plants and gardens