WILTON — Nationally known gardening expert Sydney Eddison of Newtown will present “Change: The Passage of Time in the Garden,” on Friday, September 18, from 11 am to 1 pm, at Wilton Historical Society, 224 Danbury Road, Wilton. It will be held in the society’s Burt Barn, and will include both Ms Eddison’s talk and lunch.

A lifelong gardener, Ms Eddison offers practical and heartfelt advice that will help transform gardening from a daunting list of chores into a rewarding activity. Ms Eddison draws on her own experiences and those of other dyed-in-the-wool gardeners to present a version of gardening that is both realistic and encouraging. While many of the practices described are ideal for older gardeners, they also have much to offer younger gardeners with demanding professional or family responsibilities.

Among her discoveries are substituting low-maintenance plants for demanding ones to reduce the labor perennial borders need. Shrubs can contribute as much beauty to the garden as perennials, and are easier to care for. Shady gardens are easier to maintain than sunny ones. Timely pruning will help keep the garden from getting out of hand, as will downsizing the garden and getting some help.

“I became fascinated by the subject of change in the life of gardens and gardeners in the 1980s... I had already been gardening for more than a quarter of a century and had come face-to-face with how enormous some shrubs had become and how areas that had once been exposed to the sun had gradually become shady. Another thing I noticed was that rocks I had once pried out of new garden beds seemed bigger and heavier than they had before. For gardens and gardeners, time is the fourth dimension,” Ms Eddison said.

“Willy nilly, change happens. How we respond to it depends on our temperaments and on our gardening styles, but respond we must. And the decisions we make as we go along are what gives each garden its special character. This program shows how my garden has evolved,” she said.

Sydney Eddison has written seven books on gardening, and has just published a book of poetry, Where We Walk: Poems rooted in the soil of New England. (Pomperaug Valley Press, August 2015). Her most recent book on gardening is  Gardening for a Lifetime: How to Garden Wiser as You Grow Older(April 2010, Timber Press), which won an American Horticultural Society Book Award.

She has been honored by National Garden Clubs Inc with its Award of Excellence for 2010. For her work as a writer, gardener, and lecturer, she has also received the Connecticut Horticultural Society’s Gustav A.L. Melquist Award in 2002; the New England Wild Flower Society’s Kathryn S. Taylor Award in 2005; and in 2006, The Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut’s Bronze Medal. Her garden has been featured in magazines and on television.

A former scene designer and drama teacher, Ms Eddison lectures widely and is a frequent contributor to Fine Gardening and Horticulture magazines, and other publications. She lives with her Jack Russell Terrier, Phoebe, in a yellow farmhouse in Newtown, surrounded by a 2½-acre garden of her own creation.

Catered lunch is included in the price of $30 ($20 WHS member). Space is limited, so early reservations are recommended. Register at education@wiltonhistorical.org or by calling 203-762-7257.

For more information visit wiltonhistorical.org.