A free, online talk on using deer-resistant native plants to create thriving backyard habitats will be given by author Ruth Rogers Clausen at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, April 8.
A question and answer session will follow virtual lecture, which costs $30. The talk has been organized by the Greenwich Botanical Center.
— an announcement from the Greenwich Botanical Center
Deer browsing is an integral part of what deer do to eat during the winter. However, their presence can disrupt neighborhood gardens.
“50 Beautiful Dear-Resistant Plants” was first published in 2011.
Clausen will be giving tips on what native plants to use for their beneficial qualities as well as how to use them to minimize deer browsing. She will discuss how fellow Greenwich gardeners can work with native plants to establish deer resistant gardens.
“Deer are a challenge to all of us, but by choosing your plants correctly and how you plant them with other plants you can minimize the impact the deer will have on your garden,” Clausen said.
More than anything, Clausen wants to emphasize the significance of using native plants in your own backyards to help maintain balance in the ecosystem. Native plants form the foundation of the entire food cycle for our ecology. Without plants you have no insects. Without insects you have no animals. Many of the insects and plants have coevolved with each other over thousands of years so that they have become dependent on each other.
You can register here for this $30 lecture.
Clausen was trained in horticulture in England. Since 1976 she has freelanced as a teacher, lecturer, and author in the US and Canada. She has written several books including 50 Beautiful Deer-Resistant Plants (2011), Essential Perennials (2015), and The Proven Winners Garden Book (2019), all from Timber Press and currently in print.
The two latter titles were co-authored by Thomas Christopher. She was Horticulture Editor for Country Living Gardener magazine for 7 ½ years.
All books can be purchased at Greenwich Botanical Center offices.
Currently Ruth is a consultant, and free-lance writer and lecturer at symposia, shows, and to garden clubs across the country. In 2017 she was awarded the Garden Media Award from the Perennial Plant Association.
Formerly she was on the board of Lasdon Park & Arboretum in New York and on the Board of Directors at Delaware Botanic Gardens.
She is a member of the Corporation for The New York Botanical Garden and serves on the Advisory Committee for the School of Professional Horticulture.
Greenwich Botanical Center, located on the grounds of the Montgomery Pinetum, is a nonprofit volunteer organization dedicated to developing interest and involvement in horticulture, nature and the arts through educational programs, outreach, and special events. It was founded in 1957, by Greenwich citizens whose vision was to provide horticulture education for the community.
The Greenwich Botanical Center is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and can be reached at 203-869-9242.