Education & Events
Lawn Alternatives & HOAs: How to Build a Beautiful Landscape Under HOA Constraints
Saturday, March 28 2026, 10:00am - 12:00pm
Meet at the Asheville Botanical Garden Visitor's Center (indoor and outdoor class)
This class is a panel discussion with three home landscaping experts!
The home landscapes of today demand a lot more than was true of the simple lawns and conventional plantings of previous decades. Today our landscape has to be biodynamic, supportive of insects and wildlife, low maintenance, require less water, and manage runoff and erosion. The presentations and discussions in this class will tackle those multifunctional lawn alternatives, and how to make them aesthetically pleasing to your neighbors and Home Owners Associations, and the process of transitions from then... to now.
Drew Lathin is the owner of Mountain Native Landscape Design and a certified Blue Ridge Naturalist. He has been playing around with native plants in built landscapes for over 25 years as a native plant nursery manager, designer, installer, and consultant.
Ben Pick is from Asheville, North Carolina. He started working in a local garden center in his teens and then doing landscape work during summers through high school. This led to pursuing a horticulture degree from NC State University. He spent the next 10 years working in a variety of horticulture jobs, including world-class gardens across the US and abroad, learning a wide range of gardening skills and practices. He now uses this knowledge locally at his nursery, as well as his garden services company and in classes he teaches.
Nathan Buchanan, founder & Owner of Wildbud Natives, grew up on a Fraser Fir farm in Mitchell County and has been listening to plants for as long as he can remember. After studying horticulture through 4-H and briefly in college, he earned degrees in psychology before returning to his roots in 2016 to start Wildbud Natives. Guided by mentors—both human and botanical—Nathan is drawn to meadows for their resilience, layered structure, and the way they invite people into the life of the landscape. Through Wildbud, he applies ecological principles to build vibrant, functional meadows that weave biodiversity back into the land.
COST : $35 for non-members, ABG MEMBERS get 25% OFF
CLASS SIZE : 40
The Great Buzz Gathering
Join Wildbud Natives and the whole buzzing community to celebrate and learn about native pollinator habitats. This year’s theme is “Going Public with Pollinator Habitat.” Six speakers have 10 minutes each to tell inspiring stories of how they rallied their communities to plant natives in public spaces—and possibly more importantly, how they rallied their communities to continue caring for those spaces.
Live Stake and Bare Root Class
Led by Nathan Buchanan of Wildbud Natives. Saturday, February 28. 10 am. Choose Your Price: $30 – $5
Discover how to establish native plants on a budget using two powerful, conservation-proven techniques: live staking and bare-root planting. You’ll master the low-cost methods professionals use for stream bank restoration, erosion control, and larger native habitat projects. Perfect for landowners and native plant enthusiasts alike, and the option to pre-order live stakes for pickup at the event.
Replanting in Storm Damaged Areas with Meadows and Native Grasses
Nathan Buchanan - Wildbud Natives
Looking for guidance on planting in places that are newly opened after trees were downed by Helene? Nathan Buchanan, owner of Wildbud Natives will highlight the ecological themes of disturbance and succession to discuss the use of native meadows and grasses in disturbed areas. Practical tools, including seed recommendations, seed sources, and sowing techniques, will be provided.
Creekbank Restoration
Wildbud Natives’ owner Nathan Buchanan will host an outdoor demo discussing creekbank restoration at the Asheville Botanical Gardens.
To register visit the Asheville Botanical Garden’s website.
