Free Webinar In Essex County: Native Gardening For Beginners

MONTCLAIR, NJ — The following news release comes courtesy of the New Jersey Native Plant Society, Essex Chapter. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site.

The Essex Chapter of the Native Plant Society of New Jersey will hold a free webinar on Tuesday, March 30 from 7 to 8 p.m., titled: "Native Gardening for Beginners." The event is free, but registration is required. To register, go to https://bit.ly/3ceNVCg.

Whether you are a total newbie gardener or want to see more butterflies, bees, dragonflies and birds or just want to find out what is meant by a "native” plant, our speaker, Dennis Hillerud, will teach you why they are ecologically important and how you can work them into your garden. He will showcase 10 native plants that are easy to grow and to buy, and explain how to plant and maintain them.

Dennis Hillerud is a founding member of the Steering Committee of NJ's Essex Chapter, owner of DNH Gardens, and a Master Gardener who has taught and lectured widely about horticulture.

Deb Ellis, a co-leader of the Essex Chapter, said, “With the increased interest in gardening since the pandemic, we are excited to be offering this webinar. Native plants have a unique and innate beauty, but they also provide irreplaceable wildlife habitat and are key elements in sustaining the earth’s cycle of natural life.

She added “It is especially important to “plant native” in heavily urbanized Essex County. Anyone can be an eco-hero by simply adding to their garden a few native plants like milkweed or purple coneflower!”

The Native Plant Society of New Jersey, founded in 1985, is dedicated to the appreciation, protection, and study of the native plants of New Jersey. The Essex Chapter began in 2019 and sponsors garden tours, plant sales, nature hikes, and information tables at plant sales.

To join the Native Plant Society, go to its website http://npsnj.org. For questions, email Deb Ellis at essex@npsnj.org.

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