The Mt. Cuba Center in Hockessin, Delaware is an excellent resource for those interested in learning more about native landscaping and witnessing ecologically conscious gardening techniques in action. Mt. Cuba has a beautiful botanical garden of its own with vibrant native landscapes that are open to visitors from April 1st to October 29th. Mt. Cuba also offers multi-week classes, a certificate program, and single day educational events. 

On Saturday, February 11th from 11AM to noon, Carol Gracie will be leading a session called, ‘Wildflower Ecology: A Naturalist’s Perspective.’ In this session, visitors will learn about the ecology and life histories of spring ephemerals. Gaining an education in each component of native landscape design enables gardeners to create more environmentally friendly, resilient ecosystems in their own backyards. Mt. Cuba’s courses are an excellent resource, and their gardens make for outstanding sources of inspiration. If you are interested in experiencing a day at Mt. Cuba, take a look at their calendar or sign up for Carol Gracie’s Wildflower Ecology session.

As some of you may have noticed, there was a photo of the non-native snow drops, or Galanthus nivalis, in our previous version of this blog post! As aesthetically pleasant as snow drops may be, they are actually native to Europe and southwestern Asia. Snow drops can outcompete our own native spring ephemerals, like spring beauty (Claytonia virginica) and Virginia bluebell (Mertensia virginica), for resources when they emerge alongside one another early on in the season. We apologize for our error, and hope a few of you will head over to the Wildflower Ecology course at Mt. Cuba this weekend!