Keynote speaker

In a time of mass extinction and climate change, how and for whom we garden matters more than ever. Our built landscapes reflect social ethics and values that guide our response to reviving wildness in and outside the urban environment. How can we recognize and develop compassion for other species? What role do native plants have in opening us to the perspective of others? What happens to our society when we advocate for the equality and freedom of a silent majority? Through ecology, psychology, landscape design, horticulture, philosophy, social science, and over 100 inspiring images, we'll explore the rich complexity of rethinking pretty and what a garden means in the anthropocene.  

 Benjamin Vogt is author of A New Garden Ethic: Cultivating Defiant Compassion for an Uncertain Future, as well as Prairie Up: An Introduction to Natural Garden Design. He owns Monarch Gardens, an award-winning landscape design firm, and his work has been featured in Garden Design, Fine Gardening, Midwest Living, The Guardian, Houzz, and various books. Benjamin lives in Lincoln, Nebraska with his wife and son.