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Healing the earth, one yard at a time
June 2018 Newsletter
In this edition:
UPCOMING PROGRAMS
June 11 - What Ants, Cicadas and Fungi Tell Us
July 7 - Mushroom Walk
July 9 - "Wings of Life" Video Screening
August 13 - Native Plants in Urban Settings
September 7 - Creating Living Landscapes, with Doug Tallamy
September 8 - Bringing Nature Home Garden Tour
HABITAT HERO AWARD NOMINATIONS
NEWS FROM THE CHAPTER
SEEDS FOR EDUCATION GRANTS
Application Now Available
CERTIFICATE IN NATIVE PLANTS CLASSES
2018 Classes through November
LIP TIPS
INTERESTING INFORMATION
EVENTS IN THE REGION
PHOTOS FROM THE FIELD
CONNECT WITH US
Photos above: Wood Sorrel (Oxalis), Fritillaries on Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa),
White Milkweed (Asclepias variegata)
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| UPCOMING WILD ONES PROGRAMS |
What Ants, Cicadas and Fungi
Tell Us About Urban Living
with DeAnna E. Beasley, PhD
Monday, June 11, 2018
6:00pm
FREE and open to the public
green|spaces
63 E. Main St., Chattanooga TN
Dr. Beasley's presentation will highlight various projects that aim to understand how human-driven environmental change impacts insect populations. This program will engage students and citizen scientists alike.
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with Amy Foster
Saturday, July 7, 2018
Wild Ones Members ONLY
Details TBA
Details will be in the July newsletter and on the website soon.
Registration is limited.
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Documentary Screening
Monday, July 9, 2018
6:00pm
FREE and open to the public
green|spaces
63 E. Main St., Chattanooga TN
From Disneynature, the studio that brought you "Earth", "Oceans", "African Cats" and "Chimpanzee", comes "Wings of Life" - a stunning adventure full of intrigue, drama and mesmerizing beauty. Narrated by Meryl Streep, this intimate and unprecedented look at butterflies, hummingbirds, bees, bats and flowers is a celebration of life, as a third of the world's food supply depends on these incredible - and increasingly threatened - creatures.
Filmmaker Louis Schwartzberg examines how the earth's food chain depends on bees, hummingbirds, bats and other creatures. He spent seven years filming this documentary.
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Native Plants in
Urban Settings
with Scott Drucker
Monday, August 13, 2018
6:00pm
FREE and open to the public
green|spaces
63 E. Main St., Chattanooga TN
Scott Drucker, local landscape designer and co-owner of Dream Gardens, will speak on the native plantings on the High Line. The High Line is a public park built on a historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan's West Side. It runs from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to West 34th Street, between 10th and 12th Avenues.
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Creating Living Landscapes
with Doug Tallamy, PhD
Author of "Bringing Nature Home"
Friday, September 7, 2018
7:00pm
UTC University Center Auditorium
642 E. 5th Street, Chattanooga TN
We will not keep our ecosystems running if we do not save the creatures that run them.
To save local biodiversity, we must increase the amount and diversity of
native plants in our neighborhood and corporate landscapes. But how can we create
socially acceptable landscapes using native plants? Many people are concerned that
natives are more prone to insect damage, are messy and not attractive, will attract vermin,
and cannot be used formally. Tallamy will dispel these misconceptions and suggest ways
to make your property a showpiece without losing its ecological function in the local ecosystem.
The program also includes presentation of the 2018
Habitat Hero Awards to exemplary
sustainable gardens in the Tennessee Valley (see information about the award below)..
Includes September 7 - Habitat Hero/
Doug Tallamy
AND
September 8 - Bringing Nature Home
Garden Tour
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Saturday, September 8, 2018
10:00am - 6:00pm
Tour 5 Native Plant Home Gardens
The Bringing Nature Home Garden Tour proves that native gardens are beautiful and can be designed for any budget, and that each of us plays a critical role in supporting biodiversity.
Journey to some of the area's most beautiful native plant gardens, with assistance from our chapter's volunteers who will be available in each garden to help you learn the "whys" and "how tos."
The gardens are labors of love at least 50% native plants, and each is created in harmony with the area's climate, soils and wildlife.
The tour promotes native gardens as a safe haven for birds, butterflies and especially native pollinators, which is why we are Bringing Nature Home.
Visit five different established native plant gardens (from full sun to full shade) in the Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain and Signal Mountain areas, and learn how to garden more sustainably and bring nature to YOUR home garden.
Proceeds go to
Seeds for Education grants for pollinator gardens at local schools.
$10 INDIVIDUAL TICKET
Saturday, September 8 - Home Garden Tour
Includes September 7 - Habitat Hero/
Doug Tallamy
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September 8 - Home
Garden Tour
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Nomination Process Now Open
The Tennessee Valley Chapter of Wild Ones Habitat Hero Award recognizes individuals or organizations whose exemplary use of native plants demonstrate the mission of Wild Ones:
To promote environmentally sound landscaping practices which preserve biodiversity through the preservation, restoration and establishment of native plant communities.
The
Habitat Hero Award will be presented to individuals, schools, churches, non-profits, community groups, businesses, municipalities and/or other governmental organizations for programs or projects that exhibit:
- Exemplary implementation of existing practice
- Innovation in the use of native plantings
- Extension of existing processes and methodology
- Facilitation of sustainable landscaping and habitat conservation
Applications will be evaluated by a panel of varied backgrounds, including academia, botanical gardens, landscape design, horticultural writers, etc. Awardees will receive a recognition plaque and a $250 sponsored honorarium. Awards will be presented on Friday, September 7th at the Habitat Hero Awards Night featuring Dr. Doug Tallamy, speaker (see information above).
Nominations are due by August 10th. Habitat Hero presentations are available for interested groups. For more information, download the Nomination Form.
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John Miller, Deb Tucker and Valarie Adams provided information and answered questions about native plant gardening at the Honeybee Festival in Lafayette, GA.
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Wild Ones Volunteers Are Making a Difference
Members of the Tennessee Valley Chapter of Wild Ones are amazing!
This spring, our chapter has been present at many events, including the Day of Gardening presented by the Tennessee Federation of Garden Clubs, Crabtr
ee
Farms Spring Plant Sale, Reflection Riding Spring Plant Sale, Garden Expo presented by the Hamilton County Master Gardeners, Spring Forward presented by the Bradley County Master Gardeners, Bee City USA Pollinator Festival on Lookout Mountain, and the Honeybee Festival in Lafayette GA. Way to go, Wild Ones volunteers! We're helping to "save the earth, one landscape at a time."
Wild Ones Speakers Bureau
Our chapter has a number of trained members who are available to make presentations about native plant gardening to local and regional clubs and organizations. Interested? Send us an email, and we'll try to get you on the schedule.
Nature Journaling Get-Together
A couple of those who attended Mary Priestley's botanical drawing class (a Certificate in Native Plants class) were inspired and have decided to meet together to nature journal. The group will be meeting Tuesday mornings starting June 19th. Sign up so they can keep an eye out for you!
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| Seeds for Education Grants |
Grants for Local Educators
Is your school located in the Chattanooga metropolitan area and would you like to:
- Attract butterflies, bees and other pollinators to your schoolyard with wildflowers and native grasses.
- Add opportunities for hands-on science in biology, ecology and earth science.
- Expose students to healthy, outdoor physical activity.
- Reduce energy consumption and improve storm water management; enhance sustainability and green-school certification.
Teachers and students across the United States are expanding learning opportunities by
enhancing their schoolyards with butterfly gardens and other pollinator habitats.
CHAPP and Wild Ones offer assistance for all aspects of such projects.
Cash grants of up to $500 are available for plants and seeds
, and in-kind donations from Nursery Partners
can help stretch these dollars. We can help you locate experts and information in the Chattanooga area.
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| Certificate in Native Plants Classes |
The
Certificate in Native Plants program is designed to expand students' knowledge of botany, ecology, conservation, and uses of native flora in the southeastern United States. Students will get both classroom education and hands-on application to increase knowledge and skills that can be applied at home, in the community, and at work. The course setting will provide a common ground for native plant enthusiasts to meet and connect with others who share their interests.
The CNP is designed to benefit both home gardeners and landscaping professionals alike. You do NOT need to be working toward the Certificate in order to register for classes.
Most CNP classes are limited to 25 participants. They fill up quickly, so register now to ensure your place.
Class registration is now open for all 2018 classes:
RESCHEDULED!
Instructor: Jon Evans, PhD
NEW DATE: Saturday, July 7, 2018
9 am - 4 pm CDT
University of the South, Sewanee, TN
Identifying Plants with Taxonomy: "The Keys to the Kingdom"
Instructor: Richard Clements
Saturday, August 11, 2018
9 am - Noon EDT
Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center
Native Warm Season Grasses
Instructor: Walter Bland
Saturday, October 13, 2018
9 am- 12 pm (EDT)
Sixth Cavalry Museum and Chickamauga Military Park
Fort Oglethorpe GA
Soils & Water
Instructor: Wyn Miller
Saturday, November 10, 2018
9 am - 4 pm EST
Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center
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Gardening tips from the May Landscapes in Progress programs...
- Patience! While some plants take off right away (e.g., penstemon, golden ragwort, sundrops, celandine poppy, aromatic aster), it takes three or more years for other native plant plugs/transplants to really start thriving.
- Native azaleas in woodland and part-shade settings struggled in their early years, but after 6-8 years, they are now doing well. Be patient!
- Plant labeling helps remember where and what been planted. Recommended metal plant markers can be ordered from Paw Paw Everlast Label Company (E. Rose Style Plant Label - 11-1/2"h). These markers have a large 1" high nameplate. Use a Brother P-touch label maker to print labels on 0.94" white laminated label tape. These labels are very durable and have survived well through the seasons.
- There are plenty of shade and part-shade plants that provide bloom color and support pollinators. Here's a bloom time chart to get you started. And this downloadable list includes more native plants that thrive in shade and part shade.
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Evening with Experts
You can learn from Doug Tallamy, Larry Weaner and others by watching the
videos posted by Grow Native Massachusetts. This collection of videos are from a monthly lecture series presented by Grow Native Massachusetts, an organization that
believes that conservation and stewardship begin at home, and that our individual actions have an important impact on the world around us.
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June 9, 16 and 30
North American Butterfly Association
Soddy Daisy TN; Williamsburg KY, Lookout Mountain GA
Father's Day Special - 50% off any plant or gift certificate
June 23, 2018
City of Chattanooga Water Quality Program's
Order your rain barrel by June 17
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Enjoy a few photos of
what's been happening outdoors during the last month.
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Cecropia moth caterpillar, approximately 2.5" long.
(Photo by Mike O'Brien)
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Coral Hairstreak on Butterflyweed.
(Photo by Mike O'Brien)
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Mating Silvery Checkerspots on Cutleaf Coneflower.
(Photo by Dennis Bishop)
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Yucca filamentosa blossoms (Adam's Needle, Needle Palm, or Bear-grass).
A native, multi-suckering evergreen with heads of long,
filamentous, blue-green, strappy leaves.
They are pollinated by the Yucca Moth, and other moth species
use it as a host plant to lay their eggs.
Reportedly, the leaves, stems and roots of this plant can be used
to stun fish; the Cherokee used it for this purpose.
(Photo by Nora Bernhardt)
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Become a Wild Ones Member!
Join the Tennessee Valley Chapter
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See what's happening on our social media sites:
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Wild Ones: Native Plants. Natural Landscapes is a national non-profit organization with over 50 chapters in 13 states that promotes environmentally sound landscaping practices to preserve biodiversity through the preservation, restoration and establishment of native plant communities. Please read more information about Wild Ones at www.wildones.org.
The Tennessee Valley Chapter presents guest speakers, field trips and other special events throughout the year, as well as an annual native plant and natural landscaping symposium in early spring.
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