How to watch
Check back later for the meeting link.
We'll post it here a few hours before the event.
This is a hands-on workshop, so you'll want to attend live.
Designing with native plants isn't just about what you grow, it's about how you shape your space. In this hands-on workshop, Zoe Evans and Heather Evans guide you through building a cohesive yard plan that supports both your lifestyle and biodiversity.
You'll learn:
- Why layout matters as much as plant choice
- How paths, destinations, and enclosure create restorative outdoor spaces
- Ways to integrate trees and shrubs for privacy, structure, and habitat
- A step-by-step method to sketch your first draft layout and connect it to a larger vision
You'll sketch along, reflect through guided prompts, and come away with a draft plan you can refine over time. Whether you're just starting or already transforming your whole yard, this workshop gives you the tools to design a space that works for both people and wildlife.
What to bring:
If you want to sketch along with us (and we hope you will!) have these materials ready:
1. Your property base map. Find your whole property using an online source (county assessor, Google Maps satellite view, or a real estate site) or an existing document (architectural plans, a survey, or a drone photo). If your property is larger than ⅓ acre, zoom in on the area around your house you want to design. No map? No problem -- just bring blank paper.
2. Sketching supplies. If you're working on paper, bring 3+ copies of your base map (black & white is fine) and dark pens or highlighters that show up on copies -- thick tips work best, and avoid pencils. If you're working digitally, bring a tablet with a stylus, your property image saved, and a working knowledge of your tablet's photo markup feature.
Attended a version of this before? If you've joined this workshop through Design Your Wild, Wild Ones' "Turn That Patch Into a Plan," or Cornell Lab's "Designing a Garden for Birds," this will be familiar material. It's a great time to revisit a plan you started earlier, or to share the session with friends and neighbors who might enjoy it.
Heather & Zoe Evans
Creators, Design Your Wild · Coach, Wildr Places
About Heather Evans - Heather is a master gardener, writer, and former marketing executive who co-founded Design Your Wild with her daughter Zoe. She writes the popular Substack newsletter Design Your Wild, teaches online workshops, and helps homeowner gardeners bring native-plant design and ecological thinking into human-centered outdoor spaces. Hesther's design philosophy emphasizes research-backed native landscaping (especially drawing on the work of Doug Tallamy and Doug Kent), creating “wild yet usable” yards that support biodiversity, human enjoyment, and smoother long-term stewardship.
About Zoe Evans - Zoe is a master naturalist and translational scientist who is deeply committed to helping people design yards that serve both wildlife and people—turning simple lawn patches into circuits of movement, restful “rooms,” and biodiverse planting zones that evolve over time. In addition to co-founding Design Your Wild, Zoe leads partnerships and programs at Wildr Places, the native plant and habitat platform, and manages Wildr's Less Lawn More Life campaign, a free 12-week national habitat challenge for homeowners.
About Design Your Wild - Founded by mother-daughter duo Heather and Zoe Evans, Design Your Wild is the leading Substack on North American garden design, spreading joy and strengthening biodiversity through the use of native plants. Through their newsletter and workshops, Heather and Zoe have taught tends of thousands of DIY rewilders to transform their yards into vibrant, resilient spaces with thoughtful, human-centered design.