Evelyn Hadden
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Overview
Plymouth, Minnesota 55446National speaker and award-winning author EVELYN HADDEN showcases the diverse beauties and the many rewards of nature-friendly, soul-satisfying landscapes with less lawn.
w: the book BEAUTIFUL NO-MOW YARDS
e: view email evelyn@lesslawn.com
Description
Is your group seeking a fun, energetic, and educational speaker?
Minnesota gardener and award-winning author Evelyn J. Hadden is an entertaining speaker and passionate about her subject -- sharing the innovative ways that gardeners all over the USA are landscaping with less lawn. She presents color slideshows packed with ideas for converting part or all of a lawn to a more satisfying and more sustainable landscape. Examples include Slope Gardens, Kitchen Gardens, Island Beds, Welcome Gardens, Rain Gardens, Tea Gardens, Stroll Gardens, and many more.
Evelyn has written that lawns are our "little black dress" of landscaping, and we roll them out across our land because they are familiar, socially acceptable, and we know how to maintain them. Her approach is a positive one, emphasizing how much more we could get from our landscapes.
Lawn alternatives can provide services such as:
- reducing our water and energy use,
- increasing our comfort both indoors and out,
- solving drainage problems,
- yielding edibles & other useful products, and
- expanding our outdoor activities and experiences.
Not to mention 4 seasons of interest, diversity, wildlife habitat, and sensory stimulation!
Evelyn Hadden founded the LessLawn website in 2001. Her newest book Beautiful No-Mow Yards: 50 Amazing Lawn Alternatives (Timber Press, February 2012) offers over a hundred pages of inspiring example gardens plus profiles for 100 of the best ground plants for replacing lawns, design tips for eco-friendly gardens, and guidelines for making smaller and more eco-friendly lawns.
Topics
BEAUTIFUL NO-MOW YARDS
Tired of mowing? Evelyn Hadden will help you rethink your yard. See an array of inspiring designs and ideas that you can adapt to your own yard, from lively prairies to elegant edibles to lawnless stroll gardens to low-care living carpets. Learn some first steps you can take to reduce your maintenance and expenses while making your landscape more eco-friendly. Savor the comfort, functionality, and beauty of a no-mow yard!
DESIGN IDEAS TO SHRINK YOUR LAWN
A whirlwind tour of the many possibilities! Evelyn Hadden introduces fresh ideas from large-scale (Stroll Gardens, Woodland Gardens, Lawnless Front Gardens) to small (Welcome Gardens, Herb Gardens, Island Beds). Learn where to start if your family is uncertain about shrinking the lawn. Understand the concept of outdoor "rooms" and what they get you. See examples of functional plantings that solve problems and provide services. Add year-round interest with native woody plants, hardscapes, and other low-maintenance elements. You'll return to your yard with a renewed sense of its possibilities. Suitable for gardeners of all experience levels, and non-gardeners as well.
STORY GARDENS
Every piece of land has many stories, and even if we won't be living in one place all our lives, it can be so rewarding to learn some of those stories and contribute our own. From plants that are passed down through generations (your grandmother's peonies, heirloom vegetables), to memorial gardens marking the passing of a person or pet, to landmarks that give meaning to our landscape and make it legible (like the witch tree of Lake Superior), to historically significant landscapes (ancient trees, the prairies of the pioneers), "Story Gardens" examines how we make our mark on our landscapes, and how they in turn affect us.
ECO-FRIENDLY GARDENS
Help your garden to function more like a self-sufficient natural community. Evelyn Hadden presents new information about how to encourage natural processes like nutrient cycling, drought tolerance, runoff absorption, and insect population control. See many examples of healthy, sustainable landscapes that are also comfortable and rewarding places for people to spend time in. Eco-friendly ideas include Rain Gardens, Slope Gardens, Vegie & Herb Gardens, Pavement Islands, and more! Developed for gardeners who want to add sustainability and wildlife habitat, as well as functionality and beauty, to their gardens.
Locations
Based in Minnesota, Evelyn frequently schedules "mini-tours" to other parts of the country. Watch for her on the East Coast in spring 2012 and in the arid West and Southwest in fall 2012.
Photo Gallery
Video
Audience Reviews
Timely program for "green" gardeners
L. Wisdorf from Northfield, MN - 04/11/2012 15:39:38
Evelyn spoke at our annual Friends of the Library meeting to a full house. Her presentation was informal and encouraging, allowing for audience questions and included projected screen shots that illuminated the ideas in her book.
Patrons offered positive feedback the following day and our Friends group was very happy with the program and audience turn out.
Enthusiastic and Engaging
Chantelle from Stillwater MN - 11/16/2011 15:13:54
Evelyn gave an inspiring talk on to our local garden club. Her presentation featured lots of fantastic gardens. Her manner was energetic and friendly and the group enjoyed her presentation. Thank you Evelyn!
out standing
Lisa Weidema from Brooklyn Park MN, 55444 - 07/18/2010 22:09:48
I was truly amazed
