Natural gardening

The New Prairie Xeriscape Saturday, April 13 at 2 p.m.

Saskatchewan-based horticulturist Sara Williams, author of the new and revised Creating the Prairie Xeriscape, will preview the best hardy and drought-tolerant plants for the Prairies in her talk, The New Prairie Xeriscape.

“Xeriscape is not rocks and gravel. It can look just as colourful and attractive as a conventional landscape,” says Williams, noting that xeriscaping is now widely accepted, and mulching is a common practice.

Her presentation will cover the principles of xeriscaping, and the wide range of plant materials that are moderately or extremely drought tolerant for the Prairies.

Williams will also discuss how to save water in your landscape. “Water is a finite resource — it’s getting more expensive — and we should do all we can to conserve it.”

Gardening Naturally: Reducing Chemical Pesticides in Your Landscape

Sunday, April 14 at 2 p.m.

Most people realize it’s important to reduce pesticides, but they haven’t had a tool box that is readily available to them,” says Sara Williams, co-author of Gardening Naturally with Hugh Skinner.

Gardening Naturally is a chemical-free handbook for the Prairies that presents alternative tools for gardeners who want to reduce their use of chemicals and pesticides. It covers ornamental plants — trees, shrubs, flowers and lawns — and edibles, both vegetables and fruit.

Williams will discuss cultural methods for gardening naturally. Any gardener interested in reducing pesticides should attend this talk, says Williams, noting natural gardening methods might become a requirement as more municipalities adopt bylaws reducing the use of 2-4-D and other cosmetic pesticides.