Backyard Conversation
Connecting Community + Conservation
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Welcome to Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District's Backyard Conversation newsletter! Each month, we will share a conservation topic from a more personal viewpoint for our readers and residents. Thanks for reading! | |
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Happy New Year!
Shop Our Tree Sale & Apply for Grants
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We are happy to announce that our 2025 Tree Sale is open NOW. For the new folks, we hold an annual spring tree and plant sale. This is a pre-order sale with orders accepted January through March followed by a pick up event in April (April 11 & 12, 2025). If ordering a perennial plant kit, those will ship directly to you in June. Everything else is pick up only, no delivery! Also, you can find information about our grants after the tree sale section.
2025 Tree Sale: Bringing Color To Your Backyard
This is a FRUIT year! In case you didn't know, we do a fruit year every other year. This year's theme is "Bringing Color To Your Backyard." We are accepting orders now through March 23. Please note, we might sell out of some species before March 23, so it is best to order sooner rather than later if you want a particular species. Check out our species and offerings below.
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Tulip Tree
Liriodendron tulipifera
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A fast-growing and large (can be
over 100’) shade tree with large yellow and orange flowers and golden fall color. This species will be sold as an individual 3-4’ tree, not a bundle.
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Common Persimmon
Diospyros virginiana
| Grows up to 100’ tall and produces tasty orange fruits in fall. Persimmon thrives in many soil types. Two trees are necessary for fruit production. | |
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Sassafras
Sassafras albidum
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Grows up to 60’ and does best in
well-draining soils. Spectacular fall colors are bright orange and red. Small yellow flowers in spring mature into fruits loved by birds.
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Shumard Oak
Quercus shumardii
| A relatively fast-growing oak with brilliant red fall color. Tolerant of both drought and occasional wet feet. This species will grow 50-90’ tall. | |
A rapid-growing, long-lived native evergreen tree that commonly reaches 50-80’ tall. Given enough time, row plantings can make excellent windscreens. | |
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White Cedar
Thuja occidentalis
| An important native evergreen species naturally found in moist/swampy forests, reaching 20-30’ tall. Provides winter food source for deer and rabbits, while songbirds utilize this large shrub/small tree for food and shelter. While it prefers full sun and is adaptable to many soil conditions, it does not like dry soil or exposed, windy sites. | |
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Allegheny Plum
Prunus alleghaniensis
| A rare plant 3-20’ tall with purple fruits loved by wildlife and humans alike! | |
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Sweetbay Magnolia
Magnolia virginiana
| A 10-35 foot tall and wide tree with dark green leaves and dinner-plate sized flowers that develop into bright red clusters of fruit. | |
Ohio’s only tropical fruit, Pawpaws thrive in full sun, but will also grow and fruit beneath leaves that drop their leaves early like Black Walnuts and Buckeyes. | |
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Downy Serviceberry
Amelanchier arborea
| This multi-stemmed tree grows in a wide variety of soil conditions in full sun to part shade. Fuzzy new leaves differ from other serviceberries. | |
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Witch-hazel
Hamamelis virginiana
| Growing 20-30’, Witch-hazel's yellow flowers are one of the last to bloom late September through December. | |
A classic small tree whose unique pink flowers contrast with the dark bark as they bloom all over the tree in spring. | |
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Bladdernut
Staphylea trifolia
| At 8-15’ tall, this understory shrub is a wonderful replacement for invasive Bush Honeysuckles in areas with moist soil. Clusters of white bell-shaped flowers give way to lantern-like fruit. | |
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Coralberry
Symphoricarpos orbiculatus
| A unique 4-6’ tall forest shrub with bright pink berries in winter. Prefers shady sites, but tolerates a large range of soil textures and moisture levels. | |
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Shining Sumac
Rhus copallinum
| A large thicketing shrub 25-30’ tall that forms a nice hedge. Birds love the berries that can also be used to make a lemonade-type drink. Rich red fall color is perhaps the showiest of Ohio’s Sumac species. | |
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Steeplebush
Spirea tomentosa
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Stunning spires of pink flowers
give this fairly compact (3-5’ tall)
shrub its common name. It thrives in moist areas, and as long as it has enough water will do well in shade or sun. Alternative for non-native Japanese Spiraea aka Japanese Meadowsweet.
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Spicebush
Lindera benzoin
| A popular 6-15’ tall shrub for shady areas, Spicebush’s chartreuse flowers light up in early spring before any leaves have emerged. Tasty red berries form in fall. The fresh leaves can be used to make tea. | |
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Winterberry
Ilex verticilata
| This 3-15’ shrub attracts pollinators with inconspicuous flowers in spring. Flowers mature into showy red berries that persist through winter. Fruits are toxic to people and pets but loved by wildlife. | |
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Blueberry Bundle - 'Bluecrop' & 'Elliott'
Vaccinium corymbosum ‘Bluecrop’
5-6’ and well-liked for its consistent production of an astonishing 10-20 pounds of fruit in July. Blueberries prefer acidic soil (pH 4.5-5.5) and need good drainage. This variety needs another variety of the same species planted nearby to produce fruit, so we are bundling 2 ‘Bluecrop’ blueberries with 2 ‘Elliott’ blueberries.
Vaccinium corymbosum ‘Elliott’
4-6’ and a good companion for Bluecrop as it will begin fruiting in August and continue through September once ‘Bluecrop’ is finished. ‘Elliott’ shows good resistance to Mummy berry fungus.
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Apple 'Goldrush'
Malus domestica ‘GoldRush’
| Picture a Golden Delicious apple with a spicier flavor profile and better disease resistance. This variety needs another variety of the same species planted nearby to produce fruit. | |
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Apple 'CrimsonCrisp'
Malus domestica ‘CrimsonCrisp’
| A crunchy apple with good disease resistance and a long shelf life of 4-6 months. Needs another variety of the same species planted nearby to produce fruit. | |
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Buttonbush
Cephalanthus occidentalis
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Unique globe-shaped flowers attract butterflies to this shrub which likes moister areas and
even standing water. Various
birds love to eat the seeds.
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Pussy Willow
Salix discolor
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Pussy Willow thrives in moist
soils growing 6-12’ tall. The
Willow Genus supports many
caterpillar species, so consider
this plant a natural bird feeder.
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American Sycamore
Platanus occidentalis
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A classic lowland tree that grows
quickly in full sun and moist to
average soils. Sycamores can live
to be up to 500-600 years old!
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Plant kits will NOT be available at our pickup event - they will ship directly to you in June! Each kit contains 50 Midwestern native plants of ten species for various habitats for $160. Each plant species is labeled with common name, botanical name, bloom color, bloom time, height, and other growing information. Each kit is suitable for covering about 100 square feet (if the center of the plant is 18” from the center of the next plant).
This year, we have 8 different kits available:
- Low Profile Garden
- Prairie Wildflower
- Prairie Grass
- Shade
- Rain Garden
- Purple Rain Garden
- Monarch Garden
- Keystone Pollinator Garden
Visit our website for complete species listings for each kit.
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Mushroom Kit
We will once again have shiitake mushroom kits! Don’t worry if you are new to growing mushrooms. Included in the kit are easy to follow instructions, inoculated wooden plugs, wax, and dauber. All you need are seasoned hardwood logs, and a curiosity and willingness to learn about mushroom cultivation.
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Seed Packet
We will have one seed packet available this year.
Pollinator Wildflower Mix (1/8 oz packet covers 100 sq. ft.)
NATIVE OHIO PERENNIALS: Eastern Columbine, Dense Blazingstar, Purple Coneflower, Hairy Mountain Mint, Royal Catchfly, Bergamot, Foxglove Beardtongue, Red Milkweed, Tall Larkspur, Hoary Mountain Mint, Spotted Beebalm, Blue Mistflower, Side Oats Grama.
NATIVE AMERICAN ANNUALS: Black-eyed Susan, Cosmos, Scarlet Sage, Plains Coreopsis.
PLANTING INSTRUCTIONS: Plant in early spring in full sun and in well-drained soil. Lightly cover seeds and keep moist until plants are established. Packet should plant 100 sq. ft.
If you're looking for a more specific or different blend, we have a 10% off discount code partnership with OPN seeds available year-round: https://www.franklinswcd.org/buy-seed-year-round
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Franklin Soil and Water's 2025 Grants
We have 4 grant programs with applications open now or opening very soon for this year. Because our funding comes from multiple sources, we have different grant programs with similar but different goals and target audiences. Find an overview, application dates, and the link below.
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We have 2 upcoming information sessions that will cover the following grant programs: Conservation Mini Grants, Community Business Rebates, and Columbus Tree Assistance Program. Both sessions will cover the same content, so you only need to attend one session.
If you can't make it to a session, we will record a session and post it on YouTube. If you have any questions, reach out to us ahead of the application deadlines.
Grant Application Dates
January 3 - 31, 2025
Urban Ag Critical Infrastructure Grant
February 1 - 28, 2025
Conservation Mini Grants
Community Backyards Business Rebates -> Now called: Community Beyond Backyards Grants
February 1 - March 31, 2025
Columbus Tree Assistance Program (TAP)
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January Yardening Tips from Lonnie the Garden Gnome
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Did you disconnect your rain barrel diverter hose? Disconnecting is best to prevent your rain barrel from being full of water that freezes, leading to cracking or busting the plastic. If you need a replacement plug, search for "EarthMinded winterization plug" at EarthMindedRainBarrels.com, RainBarrelParts.com, and more.
- Save the garden clean up for spring. Leave the leaves, seed heads and stems. This will provide nutrients to your soil and winter food and habitat for wildlife, insects and pollinators. Remember to keep the leaves and debris out of storm drains. We want the nutrients in our soil, not our waterways.
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Be Salt Smart.
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| Will you shop our tree sale? | | | |
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Mikaela Mohr
Outreach Program Coordinator
Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District
1404 Goodale Blvd. Suite 100, Columbus, OH 43212
p: 614-486-9613 | e: mmohr@franklinswcd.org
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