Paradise Reclaimed: Gardens Real & Imagined
Sat Jun 21, 2025
11AM panel discussion
12 PM- 2 PM plant swap
In conjunction with Aisha Imdad’s The Allegorical Gardens, the program will be a community exchange of greenery and ideas centered on garden design, sustainability of native plants, and the therapeutic power of nature.
The event will begin with a discussion, followed by a friendly plant swap. Guests can bring a potted plant or cutting and swap it for something new to grow at home.
This interactive gathering celebrates the joy of nurturing plants, fostering connections among fellow plant lovers, and underscores the restorative impact of nature on our well-being.
- Andrea DeLong-Amaya oversees the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center’s gardens and nursery programs and is passionate about sharing the value of
native plants in planned landscapes. She’s been a staff member since 1998 and has over 30 years of experience with Texas native plants in horticulture, ecology and garden design.
She teaches classes in native plant horticulture and has contributed numerous gardening articles to publications such as Taunton’s Fine Gardening, Rodale’s
Organic Gardening, American Public Gardens Association’s Public Garden, Neil Sperry’s Gardens and e-Gardens, Texas Gardener and Wildflower (the Center’s member magazine). Her regionally best-selling book, the Texas Native Plant Primer (Timber Press), was released in March of 2025. - Bindu Nicholson is a landscape designer, gardener, and nature educator. She is passionate about increasing access to urban green spaces for disenfranchised communities. Nicholson aspires to create beautiful and inclusive green spaces where people, plants, animals, and other beings harmoniously coexist. She believes that the way we design our outdoor spaces can help people develop a deeper connection and feeling of belonging to a place, and can empower people to take care of each other and the environment. stewardship, sustainability, and ethics. She strives to design landscapes that allow people to develop a deeper connection and feeling of belonging to a place.
- Marsha Riti is an advocate for mother nature and stewarding native spaces whether big or small. A self-described native plant nerd, she is an artist, children’s book illustrator, landscape educator and specialist at the Elisabet Ney Museum. Riti is also the former vice president of Sunshine Community Gardens, a master naturalist (CAMN class of fall 24), and mother to one smart brave 10 year old girl.
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Elona Rose is the Head of Plants & Maintenance for Lattice Studio; Rose is a lifelong Austinite with deep expertise in sustenance gardening and native plants. Since joining the studio in 2017, she has cultivated a passion for flowers and edible gardens, bringing enthusiasm and dedication to every project. When she’s not tending to client landscapes, Rose enjoys spending time in her own garden, surrounded by her children and a lively flock of chickens.