Winter doesn’t mean your garden has to lose its charm. The Sourland Conservancy presents an evening with Rosalind Doremus, owner of My Backyard At Nectars, who will unveil the secrets to designing and maintaining a garden that remains beautiful, functional, and alive even in the coldest months as she explains how native plants can transform your winter landscape into a vibrant haven for both the eyes and the ecosystem.
The free presentation takes place Thursday, February 27, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at The Watershed Institute, 31 Titus Mill Road, Pennington, and via Zoom. Registration is required at tinyurl.com/SC-WinterGarden.
This free event is part of the Talk of the Sourlands series, designed to educate and inspire audiences on topics related to nature and conservation. Donations are appreciated.
Doremus’s talk, titled, “The Winter Garden — Beautiful and Alive as any Season,” explores the understated beauty of the winter garden, focusing on its “bones” and showcasing native plants that thrive in the colder months.
Doremus will share practical tips for winter garden maintenance, emphasizing how a well-planned garden can support the ecosystem year-round. Through photography and insightful discussion, attendees will gain a fresh perspective on the winter season’s vitality and charm.
A life-long New Jersey resident, Doremus and her sisters practically lived in their big backyard as chidren, playing in their hideouts and sneaking vegetables from their dad’s gardens. Her mom would bring her around the yard, pointing out different plants and flowers, and then wait patiently until a daughter would name the plants correctly. Their vacations were spent camping or a the Jersey shore.
Doremus began working at nurseries at the age of 16, learning each plant that crossed her path, including Latin nomenclature, how big or small a plant gets to be, and where it should be planted. By 25, she had started working at Pleasant Run Nursery, where she not only broadened her plant knowledge but also began to understand the importance of planting native and green infrastructure. Learning about native plants came to be one of her biggest passions.
At the age of 33, she was awarded Young Professional of the Year by the New Jersey Nursery and Landscape Association for her volunteer work and enthusiasm for the association. She is a Certified Nursery Landscape Professional, believing that continued education and networking with other industry professionals is of great importance.
At 38, she opened My Backyard at Nectars garden center in Titusville, where she has found a home base for selling native and pollinator-friendly plants. She considers each customer a friend and hopes to make choosing the right plant for the right spot a little less scary for anyone who comes through the door.
In her free time, Rosalind enjoys gardening in her own yard, photography, writing, and going hiking with her husband and two dogs. She also runs a Facebook gardening page in which she advocates for natives but also strives to help people build a connection with the natural world around them.
The Winter Garden — Beautiful and Alive as any Season, Talk of the Sourlands, The Watershed Institute, 31 Titus Mill Road, Pennington, or via Zoom. Thursday, February 27, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Register. Free. tinyurl.com/SC-WinterGarden.
More information about the Sourland Conservancy: www.sourland.org.
