An Event Full of Authenticity, Reality, and Relevance  —

With the September 18 Field Day being the largest event of its type to date, about 200 attendees benefitted from the networking, collegiality, and professionalism the event’s coordinators had hoped for! NHLA, NH Arborists’ Association, and UNH Cooperative Extension can celebrate the success of their collaboration and months of planning all evident that day.

Gathering again at the Belknap County Fairgrounds offered the comfort of familiarity for the vendors, presenters, and attendees, with easy parking, comfortable layout, and flexibility in the use of the spaces. Perhaps one outstanding feature was the way The Stone Trust and Pleasant View Gardens could add to the stone patio that was started during last year’s Field Day.

Addressing the subtitle of this article recapping Field Day, people at the morning double session on “Setting a Natural Stone Patio” saw something authentic, real and relevant. While a lot of work went in to staging what was needed to continue the patio with its stone wall from Field Day 2023, Peter Ryder of The Stone Trust and co-presenter Lu Booth realize that one massive stone being used in the demonstration was actually set upside down and needed to be flipped. That authenticity set the stage for a deeply professional workshop tone as Peter Ryder needed to keep the participants engaged meaningfully while Lu and Dave DeJohn (operating the equipment used to lift the massive stone in place) needed to reverse the stone’s correct face side being up for the use on the patio. Peter used this opportunity to show firsthand, in real time, what he had meant by the ways the stones are layered and can flake and fracture – while attention was also on DeJohn’s calm and controlled demeanor while reorienting the stone.

Everyone could identify with seeing how things can stray from original plans and relate to the quick thinking and reassessment of what needed to happen for an effective job site to remain controlled. Peter also shared information about his experiences with using computer modeling to lay out the ways stones could be tessellated for a patio or wall project. When it comes right down to it, he pointed out that as often as not, you just have to see the stones in real life, real time, and make your own real decisions on the materials’ use.

The patio area, with its stone retaining wall and now patio floor, is enhanced and provides a very welcome entryway to the building it flanks and the entryway to the main portion of the fairgrounds. The Field Day afternoon session continued at that location with Ben Huntington (Pleasant View Gardens) demonstrating how to install a large perennial array of plants, in a planter built between the patio and retaining wall. Huntington chose plants with a keen eye on selecting the “right plants for the right place,” with water needs and future growth patterns front and center of the installation. We’ll see how the space looks next September during Field Day ’25!

Check out the website for The Stone Trust, thestonetrust.org, or sign up for their newsletter. Learning more about the art and craft of dry stone walling can enrich the bank of information you might share with a client one day, as you plan a project that could use that type of enhancement – the more you can share with clients, the more trust you build in your professional relationships with clients. It’s interesting to see that just as we want to encourage landscapers to earn NHCLP certification, there are industry standards for dry stone walling, too. The Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain uses The Stone Trust (located in Southern Vermont) as an education and testing site for the US.

There’s hardy applause due for the planning committee members who put their minds, professional backgrounds and experiences staging workshops, conferences ,and prior Field Days together for this event. While “something for everyone” sounds like an overused phrase, this schedule of events truly posed exactly that! Relevance was foremost with trending topics, ways to earn pesticide credits, sharing outreach for the four Cooperative Extension professionals who presented their work, and plant care matched with sessions incorporating safety and technology.

Generally, the schedule of events featured six concurrent sessions; a few of them were presented as “double sessions” so attendees had more time for hands-on or for specific questions to be answered by the presenters. A notable exception to the format was Chad Gagne’s set up for “Climbing Safety” and a “Chance to Try Out Climbing Gear.” Using the convenient features of the fairgrounds, he was able to set up ropes and gear in the Cow Barn which offered the overhead beams making his set up possible. To see the NH Arborists Association working with NHLA and UNH Cooperative Extension really puts a powerful triad together for future collaborations to promote each other’s work and educational outreach. NHAA shares many core beliefs with NHLA. One example is the sense of giving back to the community. NHLA has occasional Community Service projects pinpointing a project and soliciting volunteer help from members. NHAA has a an Annual Fall Work Day. This year, they adopted the NH State Forest in Boscowen and will volunteer their professional skills as they do on these work days for sites with a need but no budget for arborists.

Chad’s 1:1 time with people who had questions or wanted to see equipment firsthand was as meaningful, but in a different way, as the crowd who assembled in the Big Barn for Meg Herndon(M. Herndon Landscape Architecture) on “Matrix Planning: A Guide to Mimicking Natural Plant Communities in the Built Environment.”

During her presentation, she gave frequent citations on her influences and go-to resources. One major takeaway from her presentation was the idea that even with a perennial garden, we should see groundcovers replacing bark mulch. Sharing just what “matrix planting” means, attendees learned that base, emergent, and structural layers are still present in the design, but so much more is interwoven in the site planning.

More important than ever, with costs, water scarcity, and climate change, matrix design focuses on low maintenance and low water requirements. Gardens with year-round interest feature shapes and forms of plants, (evident after heavy frosts) are outpacing dramatic and labor-intensive opulent gardens.

Meg Herndon freely shared her influences – namely Piet Oudolf (Dutch garden designer and prolific author) who is credited with founding the “New Perennial” movement. Her presentation was info-dense, coupled with sharing books and reference materials, and perhaps could have been enhanced with a handout or digital copy being available of the authors/reference books she noted. Oudolf is known for his significant work around the world, including here in the US: notably the High Line in NY, Delaware Botanic Garden, Battery Park, Millennium Park, Chicago. With some photos and graphs, the audience could see what Herndon meant when she spoke of using textures and relying on plant forms more heavily than on flower colors of those plants.

Claudia West also featured in Herndon’s talk. Originally from Germany, West is now affiliated with massive projects we might not first consider as having been revitalized by her philosophy. Arlington National Cemetery expansion project was led by her group called “Phyto” where native trees and plants known for urban tolerance were focal. Biodiversity was a consideration, while keeping the tone and formality with a somber touch that would be expected in this iconic military cemetery. That’s the tip of the portfolio and knowing more about her work and how Meg Herndon’s firm has adopted West and Oudolf could help you and your crews continue to understand how to take care of the grasses, sedges, and shrubbery we’ll see more of as the “New Perennial” movement becomes more prevalent. There’s the authenticity factor, again, present throughout the Field Day. Herndon was presenting her topic with a quiet zeal and a confident enthusiasm which can lead listeners to want to know more and blend in with their body of knowledge about perennials, native plants, and planting for pollinators.

From the topics presenting the newest, and trendiest information, the Field Day also offered attendees the chance to hear from Palmer Koelb of Shin-Boku Nursery. His nursery has hosted several NHLA Twilight meetings, where touring the nursery gives a mix of calming and relaxing feelings being surrounded by stunning pines and dramatic trees pruned to perfection while also bringing a gasp from professionals who know the amount of work involved in keeping such specimen trees looking top notch and truly worthy of the most discerning clientele. Koelb reminds us that Japanese gardens often feature lanterns or other garden sculpture, and that brought some quizzical faces to the audience as they imagined what well-situated statuary means in a garden. Is it an enhancement, a feature, a focal point, OR simply a drag to try and mow around and cautiously prune plants which have outgrown their spaces and now interfere with that garden sculpture?

Sharing his own family history and his history as a nurseryman in Massachusetts (Weston Nurseries) and later here in NH (garden center purchased by Brochu Nursery at one point) Palmer reminded us that landscaping in NH has a rich and varied history which is a foundation for garden centers today. Letting attendees know his impressions of Japanese Gardens to visit in the US, this talk was almost a respite for audience members who were attending for credits as NHCLPs or for pesticide credits. The Field Day was remarkable for the blend of rich history, trending philosophies, and firm and solid health and safety topics.

Reality in the program was handily covered by the Extension presenters, Jeremy Delisle, Lindsay Watkins, Amy Papineau, and Rachel Maccini, who shared current, vetted, and most up-to-date information we need for specific angles of our work. From IPM to jumping worms, it was beneficial to see the Extension share the very real, day-to-day aspects of landscapers’ work in approachable and meaningful ways. After meeting these experts in person, it is so much easier to communicate by email or phone calls when topics come up with your clients. “IPM for Tree Fruit and Berry Crops” was balanced by Eric Taylor, Helena Agri-Chemical on “New Chemicals to Treat Trees and Lawn Problems.” We need to be able to explain to the public that chemicals needn’t be equated with negative connotations, and Agri-Chemicals’ information clarified that.

A returnee to the Field Day, Matt Cahillane, of Ecological Solutions, presented “Treat Your Clothes for Tick & Mosquito Protection.” This was just on the heels of news breaking about EEE and other mosquito-borne illnesses causing fatalities right here in NH, so felt extra meaningful. Cahillane freely shares his own experiences with product efficacy and draws on audience experiences to share with the group, too, making for an authentic presentation that can’t be duplicated by any one product line presentation.

The morning sessions and afternoon sessions were punctuated by a panel discussion which surely offered valuable takeaway info for the audience. Zach Ennis, Snow and Ice Division Manager, North Point Outdoors; Andrew Morse, Director of Recurring Services, Belknap Landscape; and Degan Kelly, Director of Operations, Outdoor Pride, freely shared info from their perspectives about such topics as how to attract and retain employees and how to offer a work culture appreciating employees. These topics are of a deep interest these days, as every business faces worker shortages. How to show appreciation (while maintaining the company’s goals, financial requirements, and mindfulness of employee work/life balance,) is a complex topic and these three people shared freely from their own company perspectives. The informal setting of the Cow Barn lent the relaxed air needed after a morning of concentration and also gave the group a sense of being comfortable and able to listen and learn from the authentic, tried-and-true practices of these three panelists and their companies.

This Field Day is one to remember! It’s not possible to mount such an event without the powerful inter-organization working relationships developing even further AND all attendees are indebted to the vendors who participated with their demos and displays or offered support through advertisements or sponsorships.

If you have ideas or suggestions for topics, please check the websites of the NHLA, NHAA and UNH Cooperative Extension, to see where to direct your idea. Planning committees are only as successful as their constituents enable them to be — so consider how you might participate next year, or who you can suggest as a speaker. Watch for a post-event survey email to help the planners collect input, too.

Thanks, again, to the presenters, planners, and participants, for making such a constructive day possible with each contributing authenticity, reality and relevance!

Photo: The NH Arborists Association teamed up with NHLA and UNH Cooperative Extension to educate the largest crowd to date for the Fall Field Day. Pictured here, Chad Gagne of Enviro Arbor Solutions, is setting up for his “Climbing Safety and Climbing Gear” sessions. The Belknap 4H Fair Grounds offered perfect features such as this barn, for the array of workshops offered.

— photos and text by Chris Blackstone, NHCLP