Do you find yourself in a habit of using wood mulch each year in your garden beds to suppress weeds? In this online workshop, attendees learned how to integrate native groundcovers (“green or living mulch”) amidst their perennial beds to reduce the time and energy spent towards editing out unwanted plants. This layer of your landscape also has the potential to hold the greatest plant diversity, helping to rebound dwindling pollinator populations! Through mimicking natural landscapes in your home garden, you can cut back on the financial and time resources used to apply wood mulch and spend more time enjoying the garden you created. Participants will practice a hands-on plant layering technique that they can use for future planning of their home landscape.

Elyse Jurgen, owner of Waxwing EcoWorks Co., is a community collaborator working to rebuild ecological literacy and biodiversity through hands-on ecological gardening experiences in Lancaster/York County, PA.

She is certified as a Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional and Ecological/Permaculture Designer, along with earning an Ecological Gardening Certification from Mt. Cuba Center. In addition to her ecological design skills, she has a Master’s Degree in Environmental Education, 7–12 Biology Teaching Certification, and participated in Cornell University’s Civic Ecology program.

Elyse works alongside homeowners in a participatory approach to their gardening for wildlife needs, infusing educational opportunities during the design, installation, and management process. She invites homeowners to deeply engage with their land to maximize its potential in supporting dwindling bee, butterfly, and bird populations.