March 20, 2025
Central Texas gardeners, be part of me (tickets on sale now) on Thursday, April tenth at 7:30 pm for a Backyard Spark speak by Lisa Negri, the visionary proprietor of SummerHome Backyard in Denver. I visited SummerHome final fall and was stunned by its waterwise, native-plant magnificence and by the idea behind it: offering much-needed inexperienced house and pollinator habitat in Lisa’s city neighborhood by means of a daring, garden-making transfer.
With the assistance of designer Kevin Philip Williams of Denver Botanic Gardens and buy-in from volunteer helpers, neighbors, and town, Lisa turned what might have been a non-public oasis right into a public pocket park. SummerHome exhibits the worth of planting native crops and pollinator habitat, even on a small lot. It presents a spot of serenity and sweetness for anybody who visits.
Tickets for this speak are on sale now! I hope you’ll come out to study, be impressed, and luxuriate in a night of neighborhood with Backyard Spark. That is an in-person occasion and seating is restricted, so seize your spot immediately.
Saving Inexperienced House: How an Empty Lot Grew to become an Oasis for Wildlife and Neighbors
In her Denver neighborhood, Lisa Negri noticed small bungalows changed by towering new-builds, their modest yards vanishing beneath sq. footage. Decided to create a special story, she purchased the property subsequent door and reworked it into SummerHome, a public pocket park and nature refuge brimming with drought-tolerant crops that invite pollinators and wildlife into town. Be part of Lisa as she shares SummerHome’s creation, from obstacles overcome to sudden magical moments. Texas gardeners going through comparable pressures — overdevelopment, a harsh local weather, drought — will achieve worthwhile insights on creating resilient landscapes in their very own yards and designing neighborhood inexperienced areas that carry magnificence and biodiversity to the center of our city neighborhoods.
Speaker Bio
Lisa Negri is NOT a botanist, horticulturist, or panorama designer. She’s an engineer who constructed a profitable environmental engineering firm by cleansing up hazardous waste websites throughout the U.S. After promoting her firm attributable to critical sickness, Lisa started volunteering at Denver Botanic Gardens and located a brand new love — crops and gardening. Her curiosity is immense, and whereas working on the gardens, she started imagining a public pocket park in her city, high-density neighborhood. When the pandemic shut down the world in 2020, she teamed up with Kevin Williams, a horticulturist at Denver Botanic Gardens, and so they designed, constructed, and put in SummerHome on the lot subsequent door to Lisa’s residence. Observe SummerHome on Instagram.
When/The place: April 10, 7:30 to eight:30 pm
Lisa will converse on Thursday, April tenth at 7:30 pm. The roughly 1-hour speak with Q&A can be held at Leaf Panorama Provide’s North Austin location on Pond Springs Highway. Seating can be inside the primary constructing.
Tickets
Buy your ticket at this hyperlink. Ticket worth is $35.50, plus a small charge that goes to the ticket-processing web site. Tickets should be bought upfront.
Refund Coverage
Tickets are nonrefundable. Your buy helps cowl a good talking charge for our presenters and different bills, and collectively we’re in a position to carry proficient design and ecology thinkers to talk to us!
Thank You to Our Sponsor!
The 2025 spring season of Backyard Spark is sponsored by Leaf Panorama Provide, which brings the visions of Central Texas gardeners to life by means of superior high quality, a wonderful choice, and individualized customer support. Take a look at their web site and on-line retailer for pricing and availability.
Subscribe to Backyard Spark
GARDEN SPARK is a speaker collection on backyard design and ecology held in-person in Austin. To be notified about future Backyard Spark talks, be part of my e-mail checklist. Merely ship me an e-mail with “Subscribe” within the topic line.
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Digging Deeper
Store the Spring Native Plant Sale on the Woman Chicken Johnson Wildflower Heart every weekend from March 28 to April 27, 9 am to 1 pm (final entry at 12:30 pm). The primary weekend (March 28-30) is open solely to Wildflower Heart members, however it’s straightforward to hitch. Plant sale admission is free. Deliver your individual wagon or cart to move your treasures.
Come to the Austin Cactus and Succulent Society Present & Sale at Zilker Botanical Backyard on March 29-30 from 10 am to five pm. Features a plant present with specimen cacti and succulents, handcrafted pottery, day by day silent public sale and hourly plant raffles, and skilled recommendation. Admission is included with paid admission to Zilker Backyard.
Tour 5 distinctive Houston gardens on Saturday, April 26, from 10 am to 4 pm, in the course of the Backyard Conservancy’s Open Day Tour for Houston. Tickets should be bought on-line upfront by means of the Backyard Conservancy.
Come find out about gardening and design at Backyard Spark! I arrange in-person talks by inspiring designers, panorama architects, authors, and gardeners just a few occasions a yr in Austin. These are limited-attendance occasions that promote out rapidly, so be part of the Backyard Spark e-mail checklist to be notified upfront; merely click on this hyperlink and ask to be added. Learn all concerning the Season 8 lineup right here!
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