In person – Matrix Planting for Home Gardeners with Deborah Chud and the Ashland Garden Club

Wednesday, December 9, 2026 6:30—7:45 PM Schiesske Large Meeting Room Ashland Public Library 66 Front St, Ashland, MA, 01721 The word “matrix” refers to a landscape design model in which perennials and grasses are used to imitate meadows. All naturalistic gardening is an attempt to imitate meadows to some extent, but matrix planting does it explicitly. It’s naturalistic planting in its purest form. In Matrix Planting for Home Gardeners, I discuss the design of matrix planting on a residential level by starting with an examination of meadows—why and how they look the way they do. After analyzing the features of meadows relevant to our imitation of them in gardens, I share the key to matrix plant combinations and describe the embellishments used to add complexity and seasonal interest. However, Matrix Planting for Home Gardeners is more than a tutorial on the conceptual aspects of matrix planting: It’s also the story of my personal matrix experiment, told through a series of gorgeous professional photos. At the end, I present a step-by step chronicle of the process and reveal the results of my experiment. This program is in person at the library although Deborah will be joining us virtually.  About Deborah: I am a retired Massachusetts physician turned landscape designer, consultant, and educator. My 9 years of research on New Perennial gardens (including New York’s High Line) resulted in a unique database of New Perennial plant combinations and inspired my own highly unusual New Perennial garden. In the fall of 2020, I presented my research as part of “Piet Oudolf: How Does He Do It?”--an international event organized by Piet Oudolf’s co-author, Noel Kingsbury, under the aegis of gardenmasterclass.org. Since then, I have given over 70 talks to members of many institutions and organizations, including: Phipps Botanical Garden (Pittsburgh, PA), Olbrich Botanical Garden (Madison, WI), The Horticultural Alliance of the Hamptons, Ecological Landscape Alliance, Massachusetts Horticultural Society, Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum, the United States Botanical Garden in Washington, D.C., Toronto Botanical Garden, and Delaware Botanic Gardens. The latter 2 public gardens contain Piet Oudolf-designed sections. My garden has become a “must see” for MA garden clubs & green organizations, as well as a source of data for a study of pollinator activity by Professor Richard Primack of Boston University. I am currently listed in the speakers’ directories of the Garden Club Federation of MA and the Federated Garden Clubs of CT. In 2025, I gave a class on matrix planting in the UConn Master Gardeners Program. I am a graduate of Harvard College (A.B. 1972) and Boston University School of Medicine (MD 1984). I live in Chestnut Hill, MA and devote my time to designing Boston-area gardens, coaching home gardeners (in person and virtually), and doing design consultations all over the US. Registration is Requested so we know how many chairs to have out.  This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Ashland Public Library in collaboration with the Ashland Garden Club. Sign up for our Ashland Public Library Newsletters! Return to main calendar Register online between 10/22/2026 12:00 AM and 12/9/2026 6:00 PM.