Led by the Land: Designer of Longwood Gardens' green wall to talk about landscape, sustainability

Longwood Gardens now boasts the largest green wall in North America. | Image via Frances Lincoln PublishersLongwood Gardens is well-known for its beautiful flowers and expansive gardens, but visitors may not realize that the horticultural center also boasts the largest green wall in North America. Designed as part of the new entrance space to the gardens’ row of glasshouses, the wall supports ferns and orchids, utilizing the rainwater and grey water harvesting systems to create a visible loop between water and plants. The wall, and larger building project, came from a partnership between American and English architects and landscape architects, including Kim Wilkie—an internationally-known landscape architect recognized for his sustainability-centric, yet historically-based designs. This Monday, Wilkie will be in Philadelphia to talk about his new book Led by the Land and his efforts to create spaces that highlight the relationship of land and human settlement. The lecture is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and Longwood Gardens. For a full description of the event and to purchase tickets, visit the PHS website.

Mon., Oct. 29, 7 p.m. at WHYY Inc. (150 N. Sixth St.). Tickets $10 for members, $20 for nonmembers.