ABOUT US
SUPPORTING YOUR GARDENING JOURNEY
Seven Bends Nursery LLC is a native plant nursery focusing on sustainable horticulture and ecosystem based landscaping. Our boutique nursery produces high quality plant material that benefits our livelihood, peace of mind, and health of our landscapes.
Our mission is to increase the availability of native plant material and spread information on the importance of native plants in supporting the function of ecosystems and the services they provide (clean water, recreation, productive soils, etc.).
We hope that our work will help develop communities around a shared passion for sustainable gardening and environmental protection and contribute to healthier ecosystems across both rural and urban areas.
At Seven Bends, we believe gardening is an act of self-care and community compassion.
Gardening allows us to participate in the creation of new life, teaches us patience and care, and connects us more deeply to the environment around us.
Working with Seven Bends, you will not only thrive in the living space you create for yourself, but will contribute to a healthier, integrated habitat for local wildlife and ourselves. Allow us to be your guide as we undertake this mission together!
WHO WE ARE
Iara Lacher, PhD
(Owner)
An advocate of native plants for nearly twenty years, Dr. Iara Lacher brings the knowledge and experience that comes from degrees in Botany, Environmental Science and Management, and Ecology to Seven Bends Nursery and its customers. She is established in conservation and planning circles in this region through her research at the Smithsonian Institute, where she worked to connect her science to policy in order to help achieve sustainability goals. Iara’s knowledge of native plants, ecological systems, and plant physiology make her a useful resource as you introduce native plants into your landscape, ensuring you get a garden that is both beautiful and ecologically functional.
Passionate about education and outreach, Iara also loves to share her knowledge with others, and is available for workshops and talks on topics involving sustainability and native gardens. She hopes to empower individuals to make positive environmental changes and inspire environmental conservation.
Eric Morgan (Sales)
Eric is an English teacher by training with a long love of hiking and camping. Initially a reluctant gardener, he became impressed when a little cultivation in the yard brought stunning flowers and a lot less lawn to mow! His love for natives was cemented, however, after seeing striped caterpillars chomping away on milkweed, tucking themselves into gorgeous emerald chrysalis, and emerging as stunning Monarch butterflies. Now Eric helps in organization and problem solving wherever an extra pair of hands are needed. He not only helps with sales, he also handles our infrastructure and equipment. Eric knows a little bit about everything within the nursery!
Brady Boyer (Plant Care)
Brady comes to us from a background in wildlife ecology. Brady has a Masters in Ecology from Penn State where his research focused on community level interactions between pre-dispersal seed predators and the plant community. Brady uses this knowledge in his role at Seven Bends Nursery, identifying beneficial and non-beneficial pests and propagating and caring for the plants we carry. Brady is passionate about outreach and education and is excited to share his knowledge and experiences with people in order to try and inspire them to think sustainably and explore the world around them.
Lauria McShane
(Marketing)
Lauria is a senior biology major at Sweet Briar College whose love for plants was rekindled when she started working at her campus greenhouse, garden, and apiary. Native plants became a particular topic of interest while studying for her beekeeping certificate as identifying the food sources of the campus apiary brought her back to the wildflower meadows. A love for native plants was further solidified for Lauria when she spent a semester away at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation where she apprenticed at Seven Bends Nursery.
Lauria is finishing up her bachelor's degree in her capstone ecology class where she is mapping and tagging trees in the campus oak sanctuaries. After graduation, she plans to take a year to intern in conservation-related research before returning to get her master's in ecology. With further experience, Lauria would like to help communities obtain the resources and knowledge they need to not only appreciate the environment but foster healthier relationships with it.
Hutch (Branch Manager)
Hutch is always hard at work making sure the yard is safe from the intrusions of squirrels, groundhogs, and sticks. So far he has never found a ball he wouldn't chase until well past exhaustion.
Boo (Guard)
Boo is a very small chihuahua who loves to help out in the garden while Eric and Iara are hard at work. When he isn’t sunning himself on a lazy summer day, he is chasing butterflies or very small tennis balls into and around native flower beds. He is our trusty guard, keeping the flowers safe from harm.