This article by Shannon Kingsley first appeared in WildfloraRI, Spring 2023 Shannon Kingsley is the botanist for ReSeeding RI For the ReSeeding Rhode Island Initiative—RIWPS’s five-year plan to amplify native, ecotypic…
A Case for Designing Your Own Meadow Seed Mix: Convenience Can Come at a Cost
By Nick Novick, Small Planet Landscaping Many ecologically-inclined homeowners, landscape practitioners, and property stewards are increasingly turning to meadows and meadow-inspired designs, not only for their naturalistic beauty and ecological…
Spirituality and Landscape Design
By Thomas Christopher When I spoke up at the recent New Directions in the American Landscape Annual (NDAL) Symposium, I spooked a number of my fellow participants. Toward the end…
New Member Spotlight: Studio FARM
Studio FARM is a landscape architecture firm located at the foothills to the Berkshires in Westfield, Massachusetts. Our practice is organized around a clear vision, to design landscapes that steward…
ELA Meet Ups
By Julie Snell, ELA President, Co-Chair of Membership Committee We’ve just completed another season of inspiring ELA meet-ups in the Mid-Atlantic area. You might be wondering, “What exactly is a…
Grounded in the Future: The ELA Marketplace
By Trevor Smith Marketplace: (noun) an area for people to come together to purchase and sell goods and services The Ecological Landscape Alliance (ELA) has always been about looking toward…
Sourcery: Where Do We Get the Plants?
Text and photos by Roxanne Finn, the Conway School A question Conway School staff are often asked by current and past clients is, “Where can I find all those plants…
Goldenrods for a Gilded Garden Party
Text and photos by Laura Harrigan Planting for biodiversity is like hosting a garden party—the more native species on the guest list, the more wildlife will show up. And no…
Weeds to Reconsider
by Leslie Duthie, ELA Publications Committee Chair There are plants that appear in my garden that I did not personally plant. Weeds? Maybe. It might depend on your perspective. As…
Native Plant Sanctuary Faces Its Own Extinction
Fayetteville, GA If you’ve ever seen a plant marked “endangered” in a botanical garden, did you ever wonder how it got there? When a curator wants to bring a rare…
Creating a pollinator friendly landscape
By Mark Richardson on July 14, 2025 in Beneficials/Pollinators, Bulletin, Designing Ecological Landscapes, Developing Healthy Landscapes, ELA Publications, Landscaping for Wildlife, Native Plants, Sustainability, Wildlife Habitats
by Lauren Kurtz There are some things to consider when planting a pollinator garden. Who will come The species that will visit the pollinator garden depends on the region where…
Plant of the Month – Bradbury’s beebalm
By Mark Richardson on June 23, 2025 in Bulletin, Designing Ecological Landscapes, ELA Publications, Native Plants
by Leslie Duthie, Publications Committee Chair Beebalm (Monarda spp.) is a welcome addition to any perennial border. Its large size and bright flowers are attractive to gardeners and pollinators alike….
ELA President’s Farewell Message
by Rie Macchiarolo I first learned of the Ecological Landscape Alliance while studying at the Conway School of Landscape Design. After I graduated I was eager to learn more about…