March 2023 Newsletter
Healing the earth, one yard at a time.
PLANT NATIVES 2023!
The March 17th Workshop with Janisse Ray is SOLD OUT.
Check the webpage for notification about possible spaces
that may become available.

Tickets are still available for the March 18th Symposium!
Early registration discount ends on March 13th.

Wild Ones Members receive additional discount
on Symposium early registration.

For more information about the Symposium speakers and topics,
please visit our website.
Janisse Ray will be selling and autographing copies of her books at the Symposium.
Thomas Rainer and Dr. Leslie Edwards will be autographing (but not selling) their books, so please bring your own copy.
Plant Natives 2023!
March 25th Native Plant Sale & Expo
Invitation to Native Plant Nurseries,
Sponsors, Vendors and Exhibitors
Free Public Programs
All About Pawpaws
with Sheri Crabtree
Monday, April 10, 2023
6:00 pm EDT
Live via Zoom
Zoom link will be posted on our website closer to the time of the program.
Free and open to the public

Pawpaws are the largest edible tree fruit indigenous to North America, and recently there has been a resurgence in interest in this native fruit. Learn all about pawpaws -- cultivation, propagation, orchard and wild stand management, cultivar recommendations, harvest and post-harvest techniques, processing, value-added products, and marketing.
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.

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. 

Spring Wildflower Hike
Instructor:
Richard Clements, PhD

Saturday, April 15, 2023
9:00am – 12:30pm EDT

North Chickamauga Creek State Natural Area in Soddy-Daisy, TN

ELECTIVE Class (4 credits for the Certificate in Native Plants)
Native Plant Communities
Instructors:
Charlotte Freeman & Mary Priestley

Saturday, May 13, 2023
9:00am – 4:00pm EDT

Location TBA

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

SAVE THE DATE!
Registration will open soon.
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
Members-Only Events
Spring Landscapes in Progress
Saturday, April 15, 2023
10:00am - 1:30pm
Free to members of Tennessee Valley Wild Ones chapter

Rather than a traditional "garden tour" where everything is perfect, Landscapes in Progress is an event where members -- host and visitor -- can ask questions, share information about their own endeavors, and spend time with others dedicated to landscaping with native species. Two Signal Mountain gardens are included in this event.
Members-Only Hike
Orchard Knob Reservation
Saturday, April 22, 2023
Hike Leaders:
Alaina Krakowiak & Dr. Joey Shaw

Free to members of Tennessee Valley Wild Ones chapter

The Orchard Knob Reservation is one of only two sites in Tennessee of the S1 classified Fremont's leather flower. In total, there are at least 8 Tennessee rare plant species present. Four of these rare, state-ranked species should be in bloom
Members-Only Hike
Savage Gulf State Park
Saturday, April 29, 2023
Hike Leader: Stephan Eselgroth

Free to members of Tennessee Valley Wild Ones chapter

This area now has its own designation as our newest state park. The park is sited at the western edge of the Cumberland Plateau in Grundy and Sequatchie Counties. With sandstone cliffs, hollows and canyons, free flowing rivers, and old growth forests, it is one of Tennessee's most rugged and scenic areas. A beautiful place for those with a love of stunning raw nature, yet it is still close to home. 
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.
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
Native Plant Nursery Now Open

Starting Saturday, March 4, the Reflection Riding Native Plant Nursery will be open five days a week through November. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 9 am until 3 pm. Due to dormancy, a limited selection of plants will be offered until warmer weather arrives. Reflection Riding members receive 10% off all plants at the nursery.
Native Bees:
The Unsung Heroes of Pollination
Tuesday, March 28
2:00pm EDT (1:00pm CDT)

Did you know that we have over 3600 native bees in North America, which are much more effective pollinators than honey bees? Have you heard that many native bees pollinate native plants using buzz pollination? If you would like to learn more about the fascinating life of our native bees, please join this Tennessee Environmental Council webinar with the invited Xerces Ambassador speaker, Dianne Arwin.
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.
Interesting Information
Understanding What Makes Plants Happy

In 2017, Margaret Roach interviewed Thomas Rainer (keynote speaker at our upcoming Plant Natives 2023 Symposium) for the New York Times. Rainer says "First, we have to understand that plants are social creatures."
Interview with Janisse Ray
Associate Editor of Southern Literary Review, Dawn Major originally met Southern author, poet, activist, Janisse Ray (speaker at the upcoming Plant Natives 2023 Symposium) while Major was a graduate student attending the Etowah Valley MFA Creative Writing Program. Ray taught a nonfiction workshop then and was the keynote speaker for the graduating class.
Matrix Planting That Fits Amid Traditional Landscape Design

Matrix planting is a garden design strategy that taps into the power of natural plant communities to create beauty and reduce maintenance. Thomas Rainer and Benjamin Vogt offered tips for getting the "people community" to accept your plant community (and maybe even emulate it).


New Paperback by David George Haskell Is Out Today!

Starting with the origins of animal song and traversing the whole arc of Earth history, Haskell illuminates and celebrates the emergence of the varied sounds of our world. 

David Haskell is a professor of biology and environmental studies at the University of the South and a Guggenheim Fellow. His 2017 book The Songs of Trees won the John Burroughs Medal for Distinguished Natural History Writing. His 2012 book The Forest Unseen was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.


Photos from the Field

Mike O'Brien visited the Shirley Miller Wildflower Trail on February 18th
and shared these photos of some early bloomers.
Longspur Violet (Viola rostrata)
A leafy-stemmed violet, with lilac-purple flowers. The blossom’s spur is distinctively long and narrow.

Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)
This photo shows the early bloom on this deciduous shrub, which is the larval host for the Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly.
Cutleaf Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata).
It owes its name to the tooth-like appearance of its rhizome.
In the past few days,
Mike has spotted butterflies nectaring on native plants,
especially his American Holly and Redbud trees!
Female Monarch butterfly nectaring on Redbud tree blossoms.
Spring Azure butterfly on American Holly tree.
Mike visited the Shirley Miller Wildflower Trail
again yesterday (March 6th) and shared more amazing finds!
West Virginia White butterfly on Cutleaf Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata), one of the host plant for this species of butterfly. This butterfly is only seen for a few weeks in the early Spring.

Star Chickweed (Stellaria pubera)


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
To view all upcoming programs, classes and events presented by the Tennessee Valley Chapter of Wild Ones, click below:
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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