2025 Agenda
From the 2025 festival • March 1–16, 2025
Original schedule. All times Eastern (ET).
This archive preserves schedules, speakers, and session descriptions; it is not a video library.Descriptions reflect the original event. Invitations to join, tune in, or check social media refer to 2025.
Six days. Three weekends. Plenty to grow.
The 2025 festival brings gardeners together over three weekends, March 1–2, 8–9, and 15–16. Thirty sessions share ideas for the growing season, from houseplants and container design to growing food, supporting wildlife, and finding creative solutions for small spaces.
Epic Gardening is the 2025 title sponsor. The festival also recognizes garden-industry supporters, nonprofit organizations, and live-event partners, including National Wildlife Federation and National Garden Bureau.
Meet our sponsors & partners
Fresh starts
Speaker: Kamili Bell Hill
Session title: Houseplant Container Design
Session description: Learn the art of designing beautiful container arrangements with houseplants that share the same watering and lighting needs, then see how to arrange compatible plants for an eye-catching display.
Speakers: Kevin Espiritu & Jacques Lyakov
Session title: What We're Excited to Grow in 2025 — Part 1
Session description: Discover the crops, varieties, and stories behind what is getting Kevin and Jacques excited for the 2025 growing season.
Presenter: Great Grow Along
Session title: Inspiration Hour
Session description: Highlights from our in-person shows, garden conservatory tours, slow flower farms, National Garden Bureau plant picks, and more surprises from across the gardening world.
Speaker: Jennifer McGuinness
Session title: Gardening for the Birds
Session description: Make gardens of every size more welcoming for songbirds with organic practices, native plants, food, shelter, nesting areas, and access to fresh water.
Speaker: Penny Barthel
Session title: The Cannabis Gardener
Session description: An approachable guide for the canna-curious gardener covering legality, limits, and natural practices for growing healthy cannabis plants outdoors.
Small-space abundance
Moderator: Moderated by Jacques Lyakov
Session title: Small Space Solutions (Panel Discussion)
Session description: Jacques hosts Ashlie Thomas, Bailey Van Tassel, and Wendi Phan for a lively discussion of the best ways to grow successfully in small spaces.
Speaker: Ashlie Thomas
Session title: Tiny Seeds to Big Feasts: Growing Nutritious Gardens in Limited Spaces
Session description: Explore the key concepts behind abundant small-space gardens and discover why every harvest is worth the wait.
Presenter: Great Grow Along
Session title: Inspiration Hour
Session description: Highlights from our in-person shows, garden conservatory tours, slow flower farms, National Garden Bureau plant picks, and more surprises from across the gardening world.
Speaker: Bailey Van Tassel
Session title: Grocery Gardening
Session description: Map out a vegetable garden that can replace trips to the grocery store, with guidance on companion plants, priorities, return on investment, quantities, and spacing.
Speaker: Wendi Phan
Session title: Vertical & Versatile: How to Maximize Your Small Garden’s Potential
Session description: A rare-plant grower and small-space gardening creator shares her community-minded approach to growing healing plants for people and pets.
Designed to thrive
Speaker: Kate David
Session title: Container Geometry
Session description: Demystify how shape, proportion, lines, and surfaces work together to create a beautifully designed container arrangement.
Speakers: Sean & Allison McManus
Session title: New 2025 Plants for Your Garden: 30 New Plants to Grow This Year!
Session description: Tour 30 colorful new annuals, perennials, vegetables, shrubs, and trees that Sean and Allison grew in their 2024 garden.
Presenter: Great Grow Along
Session title: Inspiration Hour
Session description: Highlights from our in-person shows, garden conservatory tours, slow flower farms, National Garden Bureau plant picks, and more surprises from across the gardening world.
Speaker: Resh Gala
Session title: Abundance in All Spaces
Session description: Professional kitchen garden designer Resh Gala shares ways to maximize harvest and beauty in containers and small spaces while minimizing work.
Speakers: Kevin Espiritu & Jacques Lyakov
Session title: What We're Excited to Grow in 2025 — Part 2
Session description: The Epic Gardening duo share more of the crops, varieties, and stories inspiring their 2025 season.
Beyond the garden
Moderator: Moderated by Logan Hailey
Session title: So You Want to Homestead? (Panel)
Session description: Shannie McCabe, Meagan Lloyd, and Nikki Husted join Logan to discuss food forests, bees, chickens, and the first steps toward a homestead.
Speaker: Shannie McCabe
Session title: Food Forest Feast!
Session description: A horticulturist, heirloom seed professional, writer, and teacher shares lessons from 15 years of growing diverse gardens in a wide range of climates.
Presenter: Great Grow Along
Session title: Inspiration Hour
Session description: Highlights from our in-person shows, garden conservatory tours, slow flower farms, National Garden Bureau plant picks, and more surprises from across the gardening world.
Speaker: Meagan Lloyd
Session title: Beginning with Bees
Session description: The creator behind @meggrowsplants introduces a low-effort, ecosystem-based approach to growing, preserving, cooking, and keeping backyard bees.
Speaker: Nikki Husted
Session title: Considering the Coop?
Session description: Chicken educator Nikki Husted shares the enthusiasm and practical experience behind a flock of 50 and her book Chicken Keeping Pure and Simple.
Plant with personality
Speaker: Elizabeth Richardson
Session title: Wonderful Window Boxes
Session description: The founder of Adorn brings more than 20 years of gardening experience to creating impactful, distinctive planters for homes and businesses.
Speakers: Kevin Espiritu & Jacques Lyakov
Session title: What We're Excited to Grow in 2025 — Part 3
Session description: The final installment explores more of Kevin and Jacques’ trusted favorites, new crops, standout varieties, and garden stories.
Presenter: Great Grow Along
Session title: Inspiration Hour
Session description: Highlights from our in-person shows, garden conservatory tours, slow flower farms, National Garden Bureau plant picks, and more surprises from across the gardening world.
Speaker: Jennifer Gulizia
Session title: Favorites for the Cut Flower Garden
Session description: Flower farmer and Backyard Bouquet Podcast host Jennifer Gulizia shares inspiration for growing dahlias and cut flowers that bring beauty and joy.
Speaker: Matt Mattus
Session title: Essential Guide to Perennial Gardening
Session description: Explore favorite lessons from the American Horticultural Society’s Essential Guide to Perennials, from plant selection and care to lower-maintenance design.
Garden for the future
Moderator: Moderated by Mary Phillips
Session title: Knowing Native Plants (Panel)
Session description: Untangle regional definitions and common misconceptions so you can choose native plants that truly support pollinators in your garden.
Speaker: Juliet Sargeant
Session title: From the Ground Up: Start with Soil
Session description: Award-winning garden designer and Sussex Garden School leader Juliet Sargeant brings science, art, and three decades of practice to the subject of soil.
Presenter: Great Grow Along
Session title: Inspiration Hour
Session description: Highlights from our in-person shows, garden conservatory tours, slow flower farms, National Garden Bureau plant picks, and more surprises from across the gardening world.
Speaker: Noelle Johnson
Session title: Watersmart Gardening
Session description: Learn actionable ways to reduce supplemental water through plant choice, soil amendments, efficient irrigation, rain harvesting, and waterwise container and vegetable gardening.
Speaker: David Mizejewski
Session title: Five Gardening Rules to Ignore
Session description: National Wildlife Federation naturalist David Mizejewski challenges five familiar practices and offers alternatives that help gardens support the natural world.