Designing and Maintaining Naturalistic Plant Communities
On 24 and 25 August 2023, the international symposium "The Dynamic Vision - Designing and Maintaining Naturalistic Plant Communities" will take place in the Baumhainhalle in Mannheim's Luisenpark. Plant planners, architects, gardeners and plant enthusiasts from all over the world will come together to exchange ideas on the planning, creation and maintenance of naturalistic, dynamic plant communities.
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Around 15 speakers from the USA, Great Britain, Portugal, France, the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy will present their current projects and research results. Other topics will be public relations and public relations work as well as the education and training of people working with plants.
The conference language will be English.
This year, the city of Mannheim has become a magnet for garden culture because the German National Garden Show (“Bundesgartenschau” or BUGA for short) is taking place from 14 April to 8 October in the city on the river Neckar.
BUGA 23 has set itself a clear goal: to become the most sustainable BUGA of all time. In addition to attractive flower displays and garden landscapes, the focus will be on environmental and climate protection, sustainable energy production and food security. The issue of sustainability is also becoming increasingly important in the planning and creation of gardens and public green spaces. This was the driving force behind the German Perennial Society (Gesellschaft der Staudenfreunde e.V., “GdS”) to organise an international symposium around the design and maintenance of naturalistic plantings and plant communities in cooperation with the Weinheim landscape architect Bettina Jaugstetter and with Anna Lena Hahn from Atelier Za'atar in France.
Excursions
Visits to BUGA 23 at the Luisenpark and the Spinelli sites will be possible during the conference. The nearby Ebertpark in Ludwigshafen and the Hermannshof Garden in Weinheim can also be visited.
At a glance
The Dynamic Vision. Designing and Maintaining Naturalistic Plant Communities
- Date: 24 & 25 August 2023
- Location: Mannheim, Baumhainhalle in the Luisenpark
- Fee: € 350 (includes access to BUGA 23, snacks and beverages)
- Information and booking: shop.gds-staudenfreunde.de
The event will be registered with the relevant architectural chambers as an advanced training event.
Programme
Thursday, 24 August 2023
- Introduction: Naturalistic planting design - Noel Kingsbury (Great Britain/Portugal)
- Thematic block: In practice - planning, planting and practice
- On dynamic plantings (to be confirmed) - Nigel Dunnett (UK)
- Working with the existing in industrial landscapes - Julie Bargmann (USA)
- Creating complexity to create habitats (tbc) - John Little (UK)
- Thematic block: In progress - Development and maintenance
- Creating and maintaining naturalistic plantings in the USA (tbc) - Roy Diblik (USA)
- Infinity is not the target - Longevity is the target - Reducing maintenance(panel discussion) - Jonas Reif (Germany), Noel Kingsbury (Great Britain/Portugal), Heiner Luz (Germany), Bettina Jaugstetter (Germany), Christian Meier (Germany), Anna Lena Hahn (France)
- Optional: informal end of the first day at Hermannshof, Weinheim
Friday, 25 August 2023
- Introduction: Nature as an ecological palette - Cassian Schmidt
- Thematic block: In the public realm - public perception, education and training
- Changing lifestyles and the role of green spaces (tbc) - Gilles Clément & Véronique Mure, France
- Learning how to look after things - Tom Stuart-Smith, Great Britain
- The well-gardened mind - Sue Stuart-Smith, Great Britain
- Perspectives on creating and guiding long-lasting plantings in urban environments - Giacomo Guzzon (UK, Italy) & Ton Muller (Netherlands)
- Creating Jardin Extraordinaire in Nantes (tbc) - Jacques Soignon (France)
- Extra: BUGA
- Perennial plantings at the BUGA - Bettina Jaugstetter
- Optional: Visit to the BUGA Spinelli site and the Ebertpark in Ludwigshafen with perennial plantings by Harald Sauer.
Please note: Speakers and topics are subject to change
The German Perennial Society
The Gesellschaft der Staudenfreunde e.V. (the German Perennial Society, or “GdS”) is one of the largest plant associations in Germany with almost 6,000 members. Perennials enthusiasts from Germany, Austria and Switzerland meet in around 60 regional and specialist groups, exchange their knowledge and experiences, organising lectures, excursions and garden excursions.
Further information: www.gds-staudenfreunde.de/symposium-2023
Please contact:
Folko Kullmann and Klaus Zimmermann
E-mail: symposium@gds-staudenfreunde.de
