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.).
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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.
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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 Institution, 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!
Lauria McShane
(Marketing)
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Lauria recently graduated with her B.S. in Biology from Sweet Briar College. During her studies, her love for native plants was rekindled when she started working at her campus greenhouse, garden, and apiary. This love 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.
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Lauria now works for the Piedmont Environmental Council as their Virginia Grassland Bird Initiative Assistant as well as part of the marketing team for Seven Bends Nursery! Lauria plans to return to school to get her master's in Ecology after gaining hands-on training in the field of conservation. With further experience, Lauria would like to help communities obtain the resources and knowledge they need to appreciate the environment and foster healthier relationships with it.
Andrew Young
(Outdoor Nursery Associate)
Andrew came to our team at Seven Bends Nursery with experience in the environmental sciences and a love for wildlife. Having an aspiration to work in a field that allowed him to help strengthen the health of our local environment, Andrew found that his mission aligned with that of Seven Bends Nurseries. Andrew says that he enjoys working at the nursery as he loves seeing wildlife and biodiversity flourish as a result of native plants. He has also found a passion in preserving plant species that have evolved with our ecoregion. Andrew is currently studying environmental sciences with a hope to obtain a degree in the natural sciences or music! In the future, Andrew would like to apply his appreciation for wildlife by working with animals as well as continuing his endeavors as a musician.
Vanessa Lane
(Outdoor Nursery Associate)
After working as a horticulturist for thirty years, Vanessa joined the Seven Bends Nursery team after her retirement from the Montgomery County Parks in Maryland. Vanessa brings a diverse and robust background in caring for plants to our team. After gaining her certificate in Horticulture from the Institute of Applied Agriculture, Vanessa owned and produced plants for Carroll County Maryland farmers market and worked as a horticulturist for Montgomery County Parks. At the root of her vast experience is Vanessa’s lifelong love for growing plants and spending time in nature. Vanessa said that Seven Bends Nursery allows her to combine her two passions in a way that brings joy to the work that she does even in retirement. Vanessa joined Seven Bends Nursery as she wanted to stay productive in the efforts to better the environment in her community.
Jaylee Lederhouse
(Nursery Assistant)
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Jaylee joined the Seven Bends Nursery team in highschool when she was looking for a place to apply her love for gardening and the outdoors. Attracted to Seven Bends Nursery for the opportunity to learn more about her interests, Jaylee says she has been able to expand her knowledge, as well as grow in her passion for native plants, during her years as a horticulturist at the farm. Jaylee, now attends Virginia Tech. where she studies landscape architecture. It is her hope during formal education in college to learn how to strategically utilize native plants in urban landscaping. Jaylee says that she loves native plants as they are both a great asset for beautifying the environment while also doing local ecosystems a lot of good. In the future, Jaylee would like to become a landscape architect that spreads awareness around native plants. Jaylee says that it is at Seven Bends Nursery that she has grown a true love for native plantings and it is her hope to share the beauty and importance of natives to people of all backgrounds.
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.