2023 Bunny Mellon Garden Symposium, Part III: The Birds and the Bees in Garden Design

with Melissa Reavis

In June 2023 the Southeast Chapter of the ICAA, in collaboration with the North Carolina Chapter, hosted the ICAA Southeast Bunny Mellon Garden Symposium - An Exploration of Southeastern Landscapes: Mountains to Prairies. Designers, students, and enthusiasts gathered for a three-day conference in Lake Toxaway, North Carolina, enjoying tours and lectures by preeminent experts in garden and landscape design.

The Symposium's third lecture was presented by Melissa Reavis, landscape architect and residential studio director at Hollander Design Landscape Architects. In her talk, Melissa encourages landscape designers to design healthy landscapes that benefit insects, plants, animals, and humans alike. Drawing on the firm's inspiring design portfolio of residential properties around the world, Reavis shows how biodiversity in residential garden settings can be designed within any aesthetic and enhance the overall experience of a landscape and its connection to architecture.

As director of the residential studio at Hollander Design, Melissa Reavis oversees projects that range from large country estates to intimate courtyard gardens. Residential landscapes from her studio regularly win design awards from the American Society of Landscape Architects and the ICAA, and are featured in Architectural Digest, Veranda and Elle Decor. A dedicated advocate of pollinators in gardens for ecological health, Reavis serves on the boards of the Pollinators Pathways of Westchester and the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill. She has lectured in partnership with the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art, Greater Irvington Land Trust, Homegrown National Park, The Best Bees Company, and other design and environment-focused institutions.

Sponsors

Presented as part of the Bunny Mellon Curricula at the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art. The ICAA is very grateful to the Gerard B. Lambert Foundation for its generous support of this program, along with the Bunny Mellon Curricula Sponsors:

Lead Sponsor, Hollander Design Landscape Architects

Garden Symposium Sponsor, Kathryn M. and Ronald J. Herman Charitable Foundation

Garden Design Prize Sponsor, Harrison Design

Continuing Education and Public Programs Sponsor, Charlotte Moss

Film Series Sponsor, Janice Parker Landscape Architects

Additional support provided by ICAA Southeast and North Carolina Chapter Sponsors:

Gold Sponsor:

Liza Bryan Interiors

Silver Sponsors:

Alex Smith Garden Design, LTD

Howard Design Studio

Jacquelynne P. Lanham Designs

Lake Toxaway Company ~ Mo Mitchell & Mish Nichols

Marmi Stone

Pursley Dixon Architecture, Inc.

Friend Sponsors:

Green Visions Landscape

JALA Landscape Architecture

MATERIAL Bespoke Stone +Tile

Sharon K. Hopper Fine Gardening

Summerour Architects

The Outdoor Lights

Wyatt Childs, Inc.

In collaboration with the Southern Highlands Reserve:

Betty and Robert Balentine, Founders

Kelly Holdbrooks, Executive Director

Eric Kimbrel, Director of Horticulture

Tags: world of classicism, bunnymellon, sustainability