About this Event
Plant Select Annual Conference 2026 | Thursday, June 11
Please join us for an engaging day of talks from regional experts (including Lauren Springer, Bryan Fischer, Kenton Seth, Dave Leatherman and Pat Hayward) and a short celebration of our annual award winners.
Date: Thursday, June 11, 2026
Tentative schedule: 8:30 am - 4 pm MT
Ticket pricing:
- In-person tickets are $95. (Includes lunch.)
- Livestream tickets are $65.
New for 2026: Livestream tickets
Join our conference livestream via Zoom if you can't attend in person. We’re pleased to offer online access, so you can be part of the experience, no matter where you are.
All are welcome. This event is ideal for plant enthusiasts, including:
Landscape professionals, master gardeners, home gardeners, municipalities, garden center teams, botanic garden teams, and others from across the Intermountain West.
This year's speakers and presentations include...
- Lauren Springer | Designing immersive plantings: A garden maker's perspectives
- Bryan Fischer | A fresh look at native plants
- Kenton Seth | Trees for the apocalypse
- Pat Hayward | Hummer havens: Where plants, people and hummingbirds connect
- Dave Leatherman | How and why bird diets change during the year (and how our gardens play a role)
Many thanks to our conference sponsors!
Premier sponsors:
Denver Botanic Gardens, High Country Gardens, Northern Water
Gold sponsor:
Bailey Nursery
Silver sponsors:
Gulley Greenhouse and Garden Center, Fort Collins Wholesale Nursery
Agenda
🕑: 08:30 AM
Welcome and Plant Select Overview
Host: Ross Shrigley, Executive Director of Plant Select
🕑: 08:50 AM
Welcome - Denver Botanic Gardens
🕑: 09:05 AM
Designing Immersive Plantings: A Garden-Maker’s Perspectives
Host: Lauren Springer
🕑: 10:05 AM
Break
🕑: 10:25 AM
A Fresh Look at Native Plants
Host: Bryan Fischer
🕑: 11:30 AM - 12:40 PM
Lunch & Book Signing With Lauren Springer and Bryan Fischer in the Garden
🕑: 12:45 PM
Plant Select Annual Awards
Info: Celebrating the people and organizations that exemplify and advance the Plant Select program
🕑: 01:20 PM
Trees for the Apocalypse
Host: Kenton Seth
🕑: 02:20 PM
Break
🕑: 02:40 PM
How & Why Bird Diets Change During The Year (and how our gardens play a role)
Host: Dave Leatherman
🕑: 02:40 PM
Hummer Havens: Where Plants, People and Hummingbirds Connect
Host: Pat Hayward
🕑: 03:50 PM
Explore Denver Botanic Gardens (optional!)
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Denver Botanic Gardens, 1007 York Street, Denver, United States
USD 65.00 to USD 95.00










