Is your group seeking a fun, energetic, and educational speaker?

"Design Ideas to Shrink your Lawn" is a colorful digital slideshow and talk by Evelyn J. Hadden, editor of LessLawn and author of the award-winning book Shrink Your Lawn: Design ideas for any landscape.

Explore the possibilities of less lawn with award-winning author Evelyn J. Hadden! In her colorful presentation "Design Ideas to Shrink Your Lawn" you'll encounter fresh ideas from large-scale (Stroll Gardens, Woodland Gardens, Lawnless Front Gardens) to small (Welcome Gardens, Herb Gardens, Island Beds), and you'll return to your own yard with a renewed sense of its possibilities.

Are you interested in using landscaping to lower your heating and cooling costs? What about different ways to catch and soak up runoff before it creates pooling, erosion, and other problems? Want to plant some edibles, create more privacy, add habitat for birds or butterflies? Or do you just want a dose of inspiration to help you design a new garden area?

• Where to start if your family is uncertain about shrinking the lawn,
• How to add outdoor "rooms" and what they get you,
• Native plants, hardscapes, and other low-maintenance elements,
• Functional plantings that solve problems and provide services, and
• Many models for lawnless landscapes.

Hadden introduces many strategies rather than supplying detailed instruction in any particular one. For instance, she won't take you step-by-step through the process of building a Rain Garden or give you a list of appropriate plants. Instead she describes Rain Gardens and how you might use them, showing real-life examples. You'll also see examples of Swale Gardens, Shoreline Buffers, different styles of Slope Gardens, and other ideas that can address runoff depending on your site, your situation, and your preferences.

Across the country, people are gaining variety, year-round interest, birds and butterflies, and relief from the routines of mowing and watering. Let their landscaping ideas inspire you!