February 2023 Newsletter
Healing the earth, one yard at a time.
Free Public Programs
Monday, February 13, 2023
6:00pm EST
green|spaces
63 E. Main St., Chattanooga TN
FREE and Open to the Public

How do we plant for an uncertain future fueled by a quickly changing climate and drastically altered natural landscape? We will explore a rational and ecological-forward approach to planning and planting for a future that is driven by human-induced climate change and land degradation. Understanding the science of these issues and its implications can help us create resilience for biodiversity, our landscapes, and that natural world with which we co–habit.
Do you want to receive a reminder email
in advance of our free public programs?
If so, join our Meetup group.

For event details and Zoom links, visit TNValleyWildOnes.org
Under the Programs & Events tab, click on Calendar.

PLANT NATIVES 2023!
For those pursuing the Certificate in Native Plants,
the Nature Journaling Workshop with Janisse Ray will count as an ELECTIVE class
(4 credits toward the Certificate in Native Plants).
For more information about the Symposium speakers and topics,
please visit our website.
Plant Natives 2023!
Native Plant Sale & Expo
Invitation to Native Plant Nurseries,
Sponsors, Vendors and Exhibitors
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. The CNP offers a blend of classroom instruction, hands-on learning and guided hikes. Participants are required to complete four core classes, eight electives, and 40 hours of volunteering for approved native plant projects. Classes are open to Wild Ones members and non-members, whether or not you are pursuing the certificate. 

Soils & Water
Instructor:
Andrea Ludwig, PhD, EIT

Saturday, February 18, 2023
9:00am – 3:30pm EST

Chattanooga State Community College TCAT Building

CORE Class (6 credits for the Certificate in Native Plants)

SOLD OUT!
For those pursuing the Certificate in Native Plants,
the Nature Journaling Workshop with Janisse Ray
will count as an ELECTIVE class
(4 credits toward the Certificate in Native Plants).

More 2023 CNP classes will be announced soon.

Tennessee Valley Chapter Happenings

Become a Plant Natives 2023! Volunteer

Wild Ones is a not-for-profit environmental education and advocacy organization. Your time and knowledge is much appreciated. It is up to all of us to inform the public of the importance of using native plants, and this will not be accomplished without volunteers like yourself.

We have lots of volunteer opportunities during March for our Plant Natives 2023! activities. No experience is required.

Members' Native Plant Gardens:
YOUR Garden Can Help Others Learn
The Membership Committee is planning for Landscapes in Progress events for 2023. Please volunteer if you can host a visit to your yard or property to share with other native plant enthusiasts. Your yard doesn't need to be finished or perfect! Landscapes in Progress events are a great way to share ideas and learn from each other. 

Please contact Joyce Youngblood, jly1272@gmail.com or call 228-860-8061, if you have questions or would like to host a Landscape in Progress.

Our first Landscapes in Progress for 2023 will be held on April 15th. Save the date. More information will be coming soon.

Chattanooga Area Pollinator Partnership
Seeds for Education Grants
March 15 Deadline
Schools and community centers in the Chattanooga metropolitan area are invited to submit applications for "Seeds for Education" grants. Grant funds are designated for the enhancement of schoolyards and public community spaces with butterfly gardens and other pollinator habitats. These projects enrich the learning environment and provide aesthetic and environmental benefits. Grants provide assistance for all aspects of such projects. 

Cash grants of up to $750 are available for plants and seeds, and in-kind donations from Nursery Partners can help stretch these dollars. CHAPP can help you locate experts and information in the Chattanooga area. 

Deadlines for the submission of applications are March 15, 2023 and September 15, 2023.

For more information, click HERE,

More Programs, Classes & Activities
FREE Webinar Recordings
The virtual webinars presented by Wild Ones during the past year, as well as virtual public programs presented by the Tennessee Valley chapter are available online. They are excellent educational resources for learning about landscaping with native plants.
Day of Gardening
Beyond Aesthetics: Garden As If Life Depends On It!

Presented by Tennessee Native Plant Society's Margie Hunter
and hosted by TNPS-Chattanooga's Mitchell Kent

Saturday, February 25
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
822 Belvoir Ave., East Ridge TN
Tennessee Tree Day 2023 will occur on Saturday, March 18th, 2023. This year, there will be 150 local pick-up sites for your convenience, with the goal being to distribute 100,000 native trees to be planted across Tennessee and bordering states. We hope you will plant at least one tree if you have a place to do so!

Click the button below and follow the directions to reserve trees.  Remember that some species are limited, so reserve your trees now for the best selection. 
Interesting Information
New Garden Designs Available

In addition to the design for a Chattanooga native plant garden, Wild Ones has developed new designs for the ecoregions of Columbia River Basin, Grand Rapids, Greensboro, Lafayette, Las Cruces, Philadelphia, Portland, Princeton, Tucson and Washington, DC!

These designs are free, downloadable native garden designs created by professional landscape designers, taking into account various light, soil and moisture conditions. A plant list accompanies each design and provides a quick preview of the diversity and beauty of the native plants incorporated in each design. Both the designs and the plant lists are printer-friendly.

Four Universal Landscape Goals
There are four ecological functions every landscape must perform if we are to achieve a sustainable relationship with the natural world that support us (and continuing to insist on landscapes that do not sustain mother nature is not and has never been a realistic option). It’s really very simple; our landscapes must do the things that enable ecosystems to produce the life support we and every other species requires.

1) They must support a diverse community of pollinators throughout the growing season.
2) They must provide energy for the local food web.
3) They must manage the watershed in which they lie.
4) They must remove carbon from the atmosphere where it is wreaking havoc on the earth’s climate.

How well a landscape accomplishes these goals depends on how well we, as landscape managers, choose and deploy the plants on our landscapes.

Native Evergreens and Winter Interest in the Garden

Don’t stop at evergreen trees and shrubs in a garden design. Let’s add native evergreen groundcovers to round out the wintery landscape. Learn a mid-season trick to have more winter foliage on your Carex plants.

Read more in this post from Northcreek Nurseries.


It’s generally understood that terrestrial plant life evolved from algae, one key to its successful adaptation being roots that sprawled underground to absorb important nutrients and water. Billions of years later, the fibrous networks are essential to life across the planet as they ensure the growth and health of individual specimens, help prevent erosion, and capture carbon from the air. A collaborative project of the late botanists Erwin Lichtenegger and Lore Kutschera celebrates the power and beauty of these otherwise hidden systems through detailed drawings of agricultural crops, shrubs, trees, and weeds.

This Species of Carnivorous Plant
Evolved Into a Toilet And Is Now Winning at Life
Some species of carnivorous pitcher plant, Nepenthes, have switched from capturing and digesting insects to absorbing animal poop for their daily dose of nutrients – and it's a switch that's proving very beneficial.

Photos from the Field
The following three photos were taken by Mike O'Brien recently. They show 3-5" American Hazelnut catkins (male flowers) that have been hanging dormant since last fall and have begun to elongate and thicken in the last week. 

The American hazelnut (Corylus americana) is a dense, mound-shaped, thicket-forming shrub, 6-12 ft. tall. Hazelnut flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by the wind. The plant is self-fertile.

Yellowish-brown catkins are showy in late winter and early spring. The female flowers, expected next month, are small and obscure, looking like red filaments. At that time, before the leaves have emerged, each of the catkins’ many flowers will open, turn a bright yellow, and disperse their pollen grains. Hazelnut is one of the first plants to flower in the early spring

Join Wild Ones
Becoming a Wild Ones member shows your commitment to the native plant movement and is a great way to connect with a helpful and knowledgeable native plant community that will prove invaluable in your native garden journey!

Benefits of a Wild Ones membership include:

  • Access to the current electronic issue of the quarterly Wild Ones Journal
  • Invitations to workshops, garden tours, seed exchanges, plants sales, and stewardship project
  • Discounts for partner educational webinars such as NDAL, etc. and Wild Ones chapter programs
  • Participation in an annual national photo contest
  • Access to the Wild Ones Member Center for learning resources
  • Participation in Wild for Monarchs and Native Garden recognition programs
  • Involvement in citizen science and networking with conservation partners
  • Receiving Wild Ones National e-Newsletters
  • Invitation to Wild Ones' private Facebook discussion group and the national Wild Ones Annual Member Meeting
  • Networking opportunities and camaraderie with like-minded people who care about native plants and our planet

Additional benefits for members of the Tennessee Valley chapter:

  • Discounted admission to all Certificate in Native Plants classes year-round.
  • Discounted admission to the annual Plant Natives Symposium in the spring.
  • Free admission at members-only programs, including local and regional guided hikes, garden visits (Landscapes in Progress), the annual meeting, an annual plant swap, and other member social events.
  • Access to the chapter's Member Directory, so you can connect with other members.
  • Annual Welcome Party and Orientation for new members.
  • Monthly email Member Update, with news about chapter activities.
  • All members of the family who live at the same address are entitled to member benefits!

Your membership dollars help forward our mission of promoting the restoration of native landscapes by allowing us to:

  • Provide free, educational resources and learning opportunities that are open to the public from respected experts like Wild Ones Honorary Directors Doug Tallamy, Neil Diboll, Heather Holm and Donna VanBuecken
  • Support the efforts of over 65 local Wild Ones chapters in 23 states
  • Publish a quarterly, award-winning, online journal featuring current native plant information and resources
  • Share free, professionally-designed native garden templates for multiple regions in the United States.
Upcoming Calendar of Events

FREE Public Program
with Dylan Hackett & Scotty Smith
Monday, February 13, 2023
6:00 EST
green|spaces
63 E. Main St., Chattanooga TN

Certificate in Native Plants core class
with Andrea Ludwig
Saturday, February 18, 2023
9:00am - 3:30pm EST
Chattanooga State Community College
SOLD OUT!



Nature Journaling with Janisse Ray

with the Symposium Speakers

March 18: Symposium

9am - 3pm
First Horizon Pavilion
Chattanooga TN



To view all of our upcoming events,
visit our website and click on Calendar.

Get More Involved with Us!
The Tennessee Valley Chapter of Wild Ones is 100% volunteer run!
Here are a few ways you can get more involved in the chapter
and in our Chattanooga Pollinator Partnership.
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