Scott Arboretum & Gardens

Walkovic & Schumacher Memorial Lecture: Celebrating Plants in the Winter Garden
2026-01-25 14:00 - 15:30 (America/New_York) | Chang Hou Hall, 500 College Ave., Swarthmore, PA, 19081, United States
The winter garden is truly a low maintenance affair and a time to enjoy – no weeding, no watering, and no deadheading! The winter landscape may be quiescent, but the garden need not be bleak. Plants with brightly colored berries, twigs, stems, foliage, and even winter-blooming flowers shrug off the snow and cold. They bring cheer, even as the sun enters Capricorn.
Warren Leach, landscape horticulturist and author of the new book Plants for the Winter Garden from Timber Press, will showcase gardens he has designed that celebrate the winter season as well as planting design ideas for your own garden.
Join us before the event for an in-person tour of Scott Arboretum & Gardens [link to event]. A reception with the opportunity to purchase Plants for the Winter Garden and book signing will follow the lecture.
In-person Registration
Virtual Registration
Program Details

All registrations include access to the recording.
In-person registration is limited to 190. Due to limited seating, virtual participants cannot attend in person.
Virtual registrants will be able to view the recording shortly after the presentation concludes and can ask the speaker questions by emailing scott@swarthmore.edu in advance.
Registration is free, but required to receive the presentation recording link.
Email us if you have accessibility needs for this program.
For more information, review our program and event policies or call the Scott office at 610-328-8025.

About the Presenter
Warren Leach is a passionate plant collector, nurseryman, horticulturist, and landscape designer with a depth of knowledge of all garden plants – both perennial and woody plants, tropical and temperate. Warren is also an admired speaker, writer, and educator. For more than thirty-five years, Warren has been creating beautiful landscapes throughout New England, as well as making captivating and educational display gardens at Tranquil Lake Nursery in Rehoboth. He is the co-owner of this specialty nursery that is a prominent grower of daylilies, iris, and distinctive perennials and woody plants. Warren has received many awards, including the National Landscape Association Regional Certificate of Merit for Residential Landscape Design and the Rhode Island Nursery and Landscape Association’s First Place Award for Residential Design and Installation. Warren has also taught horticulture and landscape design at numerous institutions including: The University of Rhode Island, the Brown University Learning Community, Scott Arboretum & Gardens, to name a few. Warren’s new book, Plants for the Winter Garden, was released on November 5, 2024.

Travels @ 12: Patagonia: Into the Wild Beauty
2026-01-29 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Detroit) | Virtual Meeting
Join Dan Benarcik and Lisa Roper for a captivating talk on Patagonia’s breathtaking landscapes, where towering peaks, vast glaciers, and windswept plains paint a scene of raw, untouched beauty. Discover the awe-inspiring natural wonders that make this remote region one of the world’s last great wildernesses.
Travels @ 12 is an online series for plant enthusiasts to vicariously experience gardens and natural spaces throughout the world.
NEW in 2026: Enjoy these popular virtual programs and connect with fellow plant enthusiasts in person during a weekly Watch Party in the Wister Center. BYO lunch and watch the Zoom presentation on the big screen. Registration is required for each presentation due to limited seating capacity. The Watch Party will be canceled in case of inclement weather.
Virtual Registration
Watch Party Registration
In-person Registration
Program Details

The webinar link will be included in the confirmation email received after registering online.
All registrations include access to the live Zoom webinar and recording links.
In-person registration is limited to 25. Due to limited seating, virtual registrants cannot attend in person.
Registration is free, but required to receive program links.
Virtual participants must download Zoom.
Email us if you have accessibility needs for this program.
For more information, review our program and event policies or call the Scott office at 610-328-8025.

About the Presenters
Dan Benarcick is a horticulturist, designer, teacher, and artist whose life and career thrive at the intersection of creativity and cultivation. Growing up with a florist mother and a father who owned a home center, he naturally developed a love for plants and craftsmanship. After earning his B.S. in Plant Science from the University of Delaware, Dan began his career at Mt. Cuba Center, where he discovered his passion for native plants. His journey then led him to Imperial Nurseries, where he built strong professional connections and learned the business side of horticulture, before joining Chanticleer Garden in 1993. At Chanticleer, where creativity and horticulture merge seamlessly, Dan oversees the Courtyard Gardens, focusing on tropical and tender perennials that shape visitors’ first and last impressions. Beyond the garden, he has shared his enthusiasm through writing for Fine Gardening, Horticulture, and Martha Stewart Living; promoting plants on QVC; and appearing on Cultivating Life and Growing a Greener World. He teaches, lectures, and builds—from furniture-making workshops to judging the Philadelphia Flower Show. At heart, Dan is driven by the joy of inspiring others to see the beauty and possibility in plants, design, and hands-on creativity.
Lisa Roper is the Gravel Garden and Ruin horticulturist at Chanticleer, a public garden in Wayne Pa. where she has gardened for the past 26 years in various parts of the garden. Lisa also photographs Chanticleer Garden weekly for What’s in Bloom on the Chanticleer website. Lisa has a BFA in fine art from The Cooper Union in NYC where she studied photography and painting. She is a graduate of the Longwood Gardens Professional Gardener Training Program. Lisa has been a guest gardener at Stellenbosch University Garden in South Africa and Great Dixter in West Sussex, UK. She is also a contributor to The Art of Gardening, design inspiration and planting techniques from Chanticleer. In her spare time, she gardens at home with her husband, Allan Summers and a flock of chickens who nibble the insects as she weeds.

Virtual Lunchtime Tour: Graceful Grasses
2026-01-30 12:00 - 12:30 (America/Detroit) | Virtual Meeting
Take your lunch break virtually to explore perennials at Scott Arboretum & Gardens throughout 2026. This month’s feature plant group are grasses, which provide valuable wildlife benefits and look attractive in the winter months. Tune in to this tour on our YouTube channel.

Travels @ 12: Sauntering Through the South
2026-02-05 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Detroit) | Virtual Webinar
Join Sandra Lopez-Cortez, senior horticulturist, to hear about her family’s road trip to Texas with stops in Memphis, Tennessee, and Raleigh, North Carolina, to see fabulous botanical gardens featuring unique agave and cacti.
Travels @ 12 is an online series for plant enthusiasts to vicariously experience gardens and natural spaces throughout the world.
NEW in 2026: Enjoy these popular virtual programs and connect with fellow plant enthusiasts in person during a weekly Watch Party in the Wister Center. BYO lunch and watch the Zoom presentation on the big screen. Registration is required for each presentation due to limited seating capacity. The Watch Party will be canceled in case of inclement weather.
Virtual Registration
Watch Party Registration
In-person Registration
Program Details

The webinar link will be included in the confirmation email received after registering online.
All registrations include access to the live Zoom webinar and recording links.
In-person registration is limited to 24. Due to limited seating, virtual registrants cannot attend in person.
Registration is free, but required to receive program links.
Virtual participants must download Zoom.
Email us if you have accessibility needs for this program.
For more information, review our program and event policies or call the Scott office at 610-328-8025.

About the Presenter
Sandra Lopez Cortez grew up in Guanajuato, Mexico and moved to Kennett Square, Pa at the age of 14. She graduated from the Professional Gardener Program at Longwood in 2013 and obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture & Natural Resources with a minor in Horticulture at the University of Delaware in 2019.
Sandra became a member of Scott Arboretum & Gardens staff in 2015 where she helps maintain a variety of gardens and coordinates volunteer garden support. Most of her experience involves maintaining ornamental plants, but she is growing a passion for sustainability, the environment, wildlife, and education.

Travels @ 12: A Month of Beautiful British Gardens and Places
2026-02-12 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Detroit) | Virtual Webinar
Bob and Jan Goren are long-time Scott members and volunteers who love to photographically capture their travels and share them. This year they’re excited to share the beauty of the gardens and beautiful places they visited on their month-long visit to England in Spring 2025.
NEW in 2026: Enjoy these popular virtual programs and connect with fellow plant enthusiasts in person during a weekly Watch Party in the Wister Center. BYO lunch and watch the Zoom presentation on the big screen. Registration is required for each presentation due to limited seating capacity. The Watch Party will be canceled in case of inclement weather.
Virtual Registration
Watch Party Registration
Program Details

The webinar link will be included in the confirmation email received after registering online.
All registrations include access to the live Zoom webinar and recording links.
In-person registration is limited to 24. Due to limited seating, virtual registrants cannot attend in person.
Registration is free, but required to receive program links.
Virtual participants must download Zoom.
Email us if you have accessibility needs for this program.
For more information, review our program and event policies or call the Scott office at 610-328-8025.

About the Presenter
Bob and Jan Goren are proud grandparents and retirees who like to travel to beautiful places. They like to take as many photos as possible of everything they see and experience. Bob and Jan are long-time Scott Associates and volunteers, helping out at events and various activities.

Travels @ 12: Seoulful Gardens and More in South Korea
2026-02-19 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Detroit) | Virtual Webinar
For the first time ever, the International Congress on Education at Botanic Gardens was held in Asia. Hundreds of delegates from around the world descended upon Seoul to enjoy the culture and learn from each other. Take a trip to the other side of the world with Mackenzie Knight-Fochs, Education Programs Manager, and Bryan Thompsonowak, Director of Education at Morris Arboretum & Gardens, to see some of Seoul and its gardens, the Korea National Arboretum, and other South Korean horticultural delights.
Travels @ 12 is an online series for plant enthusiasts to vicariously experience gardens and natural spaces throughout the world.
NEW in 2026: Enjoy these popular virtual programs and connect with fellow plant enthusiasts in person during a weekly Watch Party in the Wister Center. BYO lunch and watch the Zoom presentation on the big screen. Registration is required for each presentation due to limited seating capacity. The Watch Party will be canceled in case of inclement weather.
Virtual Registration
Watch Party Registration
Program Details

The webinar link will be included in the confirmation email received after registering online.
All registrations include access to the live Zoom webinar and recording links.
In-person registration is limited to 24. Due to limited seating, virtual registrants cannot attend in person.
Registration is free, but required to receive program links.
Virtual participants must download Zoom.
Email us if you have accessibility needs for this program.
For more information, review our program and event policies or call the Scott office at 610-328-8025.

About the Presenters
Mackenzie Knight-Fochs returned to the Arboretum in 2022 as the Education Programs Manager. She previously served as the Education Intern from 2012 to 2014. She completed the Longwood Graduate Program in Public Horticulture in 2016, receiving her Master’s in Public Horticulture. Prior to returning to the Arboretum, she worked for the Friends of Laurel Hill and at the Delaware Center for Horticulture. Mackenzie has a bachelor’s degree in horticulture and life sciences communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Bryan Thompsonowak is the Director of Education at the Morris Arboretum. He completed the Longwood Graduate Program in 2015, receiving his Master’s in Public Horticulture. He has experience as an environmental educator at Bartram’s Garden and an arborist at Wells Tree Service. He studied environmental science at Albright College. Bryan also serves on the Woody Plant Conference Committee.

Virtual Lunchtime Tour: Winter-Blooming Bulbs
2026-02-27 12:00 - 12:30 (America/Detroit) | Virtual Webinar
Take your lunch break virtually to explore perennials at Scott Arboretum & Gardens throughout 2026. This month’s feature plant group are winter-blooming bulbs, including snowdrops and winter aconite. Tune in to this tour on our YouTube channel.
