Native Plants Are Infrastructure.

Field Note: Ecology, Performance, Measurement, Value, Better Decisions

As native plants become part of the infrastructure conversation, the question is no longer simply "What should we plant?" but rather "What outcomes will these landscapes deliver?"

This year's Fall Field Day brings together nationally recognized experts in restoration, urban forestry, agroforestry, specialty crops, and landscape design to explore how native systems deliver measurable value to communities, landowners, and ecosystems.

Attendees will also be among the first to preview Forrest Keeling Nursery's recently completed segment for Empowered hosted by Meg Ryan, before its national television release—and to discover why a national television program traveled to Elsberry, Missouri, to explore a growing idea reshaping restoration, conservation, urban forestry, and community development: Native Plants Are Infrastructure.

Urban trees do far more than provide shade. They reduce heat, improve public health, manage stormwater, support biodiversity, and increase property values.

Born in New Zealand and trained in Australia's production forestry sector, Shane McQuillan has spent his career studying how trees perform in real-world conditions. Today, as an Urban Forester for Runway Group in Northwest Arkansas, he works with municipalities, nonprofits, and private organizations to expand the urban canopy and create healthier, more resilient communities.

His work spans production forestry, municipal forestry, and regional canopy initiatives, giving him a unique perspective on how trees create measurable value in communities.

What You'll Learn:

• Urban forestry as infrastructure
• Species selection for long-term performance
• Measuring environmental and economic value
• Building resilient urban canopy systems

The goal of a successful landscape should not be beauty alone—but habitat. Read our latest article exploring why native pollinators, native plants, and biodiversity are inseparable from healthy ecosystems—and why the healthiest landscapes are not merely beautiful. They're alive.

PLANNING RESOURCES

Forrest Keeling Nursery strives to provide our customers with the knowledge and professional resources to help you be a success in everything you grow.

ROOTED IN NATIVES

Design Once. Perform for Decades.

Bald Cypress

Tough conditions? Challenge accepted.

Some trees tolerate tough conditions. 
Bald Cypress seems to welcome them.

One of our most adaptable native trees, Bald Cypress thrives in heat, humidity, periodic flooding, compacted soils, and other challenging conditions where other species struggle. Yet despite its toughness, it adds remarkable texture, seasonal interest, and beauty to the landscape with soft, feathery foliage, rich cinnamon-colored bark, and striking fall color.

Bald Cypress exemplifies what native plants do best: solving problems while creating lasting value. Whether planted along streams, in stormwater systems, in urban landscapes, in parks, or in large-scale restoration projects, Bald Cypress performs for decades with minimal intervention. In a world seeking resilient landscapes, Bald Cypress reminds us that some of the best solutions have been growing here all along.

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