How to Talk to Your Neighbors (& HOA) About Your Garden | Lorraine Johnson & Wild Ones [WEBINAR]

Ever been told your native plant garden looks "messy"? Or opened an HOA notice about the pollinator patch you're proud of? You're not alone - and there's a way through it. In this webinar, author and activist Lorraine Johnson gets into the how: how to talk to a neighbor who doesn't get it yet, how to respond to an HOA complaint or bylaw challenge, and how to build real community support for the kind of garden that actually does something for pollinators, birds, and biodiversity. What Lorraine covers: 🌱 What to say to the neighbor who calls your yard a "jungle" 🌱 Why small design cues -- a path, a border, a sign -- change how people see a wild garden (the research on "cues to care") 🌱 Whether certifications, signage, and plant labels actually help 🌱 Your first steps if you get an HOA notice or a citation: stay calm, know the rules, get it in writing, document everything 🌱 When it's worth pushing back on the rules themselves -- and how neighbors create change together Whether you're deep in the native plant movement or just nervous about what the neighbors will think, Lorraine brings three decades of hard-won, practical advice for handling these conversations well. This webinar is part of the Less Lawn More Life Challenge -- a free 12-week program that helps you turn any outdoor space into thriving habitat through simple, expert-led weekly actions. No lawn required: balconies, small plots, and rural acres all count. Every participant gets a free Wildr Score, a 5-minute ecological assessment of their yard. 🦋 Join the challenge (free): lesslawnmorelife.com 🌱 Get your free Wildr Score: https://wildrplaces.com/score 📲 Download the free Wildr app for native plant recommendations built for exactly where you live 👍 Like this video and subscribe to ‪@wildrplaces‬ more expert webinars on native plants, pollinators, and rewilding your yard. About Lorraine Johnson Lorraine Johnson is a Toronto-based author and community activist who has spent three decades writing about native plants and the environment. She's the author or editor of 14 books, including Grow Wild!, A Garden for the Rusty-Patched Bumblebee, and A Northern Gardener's Guide to Native Plants and Pollinators. She's a former Honorary Director of Wild Ones and past president of the North American Native Plant Society. Links referenced in this presentation: Lorraine Johnson's website: https://lorrainejohnson.ca Joan Nassauer, "Messy Ecosystems, Orderly Frames": https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstr... City of Toronto "Get to Know Goldenrod" fact sheet (co-written by Lorraine): https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/upl... "Death by a thousand cuts" insect decline review, PNAS (Wagner et al. 2021): https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas... Co-hosted with ‪@WildOnesNativePlants‬ #NativePlants #HOA #PollinatorGarden #NoLawn #Rewilding