Gardening Symposium

The 28th Annual CNU Gardening Symposium, Here at Home: Gardening to Honor Hampton Roads

Where the ebb and flow of life is defined by estuaries, rivers, and the crown jewel of Virginia’s coast--the Chesapeake Bay, for the average homeowner sometimes our coastal landscape can feel like an insurmountable obstacle to creating the home-garden of their dreams. But in truth, it is the embrace of these primal forces that aids us in creating more sustainable, resilient, and beautiful yards.

The 28th Annual CNU Gardening Symposium, Here at Home: Gardening to Honor Hampton Roads, will focus on the things that make Hampton Roads gardening beautiful, like our native plants and pollinators, the opportunities and challenges for gardeners in our Mid-Atlantic coastal landscape, and the role your yard plays in maintaining the health of the waterways that form our home. Your garden helps make Hampton Roads the unique place that it is.

Join us on April 17, 2027 at the David Student Union on campus at Christopher Newport University. With our annual plant sale, local vendor market, lectures, and breakout sessions from local experts, there is something for every gardener at the 28th Annual CNU Gardening Symposium. Attendees will learn how to help their garden survive and thrive in our environment, how to navigate some of our area’s toughest gardening challenges, and how their garden can honor our home, Hampton Roads.

Mark your calendar for January 11, 2027, when Early Bird Registration opens!

8 a.m. Check-in/Breakfast
9 a.m. Dr. Daina Henry - “The Agony and Ecstasy of Tidewater Gardening”
10:10 a.m. Janice Pulver, York County Mosquito Control - “Mosquitoes in the Garden”
10:45 a.m. Dr. Barbara Abraham - “Plight of the Bumblebee”
11:50 a.m. Janice Pulver, York County Mosquito Control - “Mosquitoes in the Garden”
12:30 p.m. Yolima Carr, The Elizabeth River Project - “Mother Nature’s Helper.”

Early Bird Registration (January 11–March 19, 2027): $45.00

Regular Registration (March 20–April 7, 2027): $55.00