Designing with native plants is a good thing, but designing with the ecological processes that govern those plants in the wild - is even better. Our opening session will examine a series of garden-relevant concepts from the ecological sciences; including habitat fidelity, plant community, plant colonization, competition, and ecological succession. Each concept will be followed by a concrete example of its incorporation into a residential design. While rarely considered in traditional garden design, these ecological characteristics are actually key to achieving the environmental, aesthetic, and maintenance promise of ecology-based garden design.