01-31-23 | 9

Landscape Architect, Preston Montague presented a live and recorded session on May 16th for LandscapeWebinars.org to help professionals develop sustainable landscapes with Piedmont Prairies.

Montague gave examples from his own designs and gardens to show attendees how meadows are not only beautiful but act as erosion control, rebuild habitats, reduce maintenance, and weed control.

Attendees heard about the North Carolina bill, SB 318 which specifies the use of seeds and plants the U.S. Department of Agriculture has classified as native to North Carolina in the highway right-of-way to promote erosion control, landscaping, and protection of highways. This, now law, is a leap towards the introduction of native plantings as green infrastructure that will assist in the growth of green landscapes as a priority.

 

The session is a great resource and a must see for landscape professionals to progress and introduce grasslands into landscapes across the country.

To register for the OnDemand course, click here: https://landscapewebinars.org/landscape-webinars/webinar/experiments-in-piedmont-prairies


Learning Objectives:
1. Ecosystem services provided by large scale herbaceous plantings.
2. Definition of a Piedmont Prairie.
3. Different approaches to creating a Piedmont Prairie.
Webinar Description:
The demand for ecologically productive gardening practices has sparked enormous interest in using perennials and ornamental grasses to cultivate rich grasslands, prairies and meadows in the pursuit of providing resources to pollinating insects and birds. While the desire to support the environment is everywhere, the complexity and intricacy of these dynamic mini-ecosystems can be a major roadblock for the home gardener interested in supporting wildlife by maintaining such a garden space. This class aims to simplify this overwhelming complexity, and provide a practical, actionable approach to designing and installing large herbaceous plantings. Though the presentation focuses on plants and approaches to creating prairies using plants endemic to the Southeastern US, the course is intended to provide insight into large herbaceous plantings in any region.

Preston Montague
Preston Montague is a landscape architect and artist who developed a passion for the natural world while growing up in the rural foothills of Virginia. Currently, he leads an environmental design and fine arts studio in Durham, North Carolina developing projects that encourage stronger relationships between people and the natural world for the purpose of improving public and environmental health. Preston can be found at www.prestonmontague.com