Mark Your Calendar for December 11th Holiday Party
Healing the earth, one yard at a time

November 2017 Newsletter


In this edition:

UPCOMING WILD ONES PROGRAMS
Holiday Potluck - December 11
Wild Ones Book Club - January 20

VOLUNTEER TO HELP!

CERTIFICATE IN NATIVE PLANTS CLASSES
January - March 2018 Classes

NEWS FROM THE CHAPTER
2018 Chapter Officers
News from the Annual Meeting
H'Art Gallery Native Plant Garden
LIP TIPs

INTERESTING INFORMATION

PHOTOS FROM THE FIELD

CONNECT WITH US


"The caterpillar does all the work and the butterfly gets all the publicity."  
-- George Carlin, in the Montreal Gazette

UPCOMING WILD ONES PROGRAMS
Save the Date!
Holiday Potluck Dinner


Monday, December 11
6:00 pm
green|spaces
63 E. Main St., Chattanooga TN
FREE for all Wild Ones Members




More info will be coming soon, but in the meantime, SAVE THE DATE!  This is a fun time to gather with Wild Ones friends for a great holiday potluck dinner.

Wild Ones Book Club
Founding Gardeners by Andrea Wulf


Saturday, January 20
2:00 pm
4918 Marlow Drive, Red Bank TN
FREE for all Wild Ones Members


The Tennessee Valley Wild Ones Book Club's January book is Andrea Wulf's   Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nature.  Join us to discuss how the landscape design concepts of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and James Madison evolved to prefer native plants.  The discussion will be led by Ann Brown.  If you don't have a copy, put it on your Christmas wish list so that you will have time to read it before the 20th.  See you then!


Volunteer!

We Need You!

Our committees are responsible for doing the planning, scheduling and organizing for most of our events and programs.  However, we would like to have a few additional volunteers to help with some selected tasks.   These roles do NOT require major time or meeting commitments,  but they would really help the chapter be more effective in getting the word out about the importance of using native plants.  We'd like to fill the following five roles:
  • Write press releases for selected events and send to media contacts (approximately 3-5 press releases per year).
  • Contact print and electronic media representatives to facilitate publicity for key events (e.g., annual symposium, major speakers) and to provide information about native plant gardening (e.g., local pollinator gardens and community initiatives). 
  • Send/post meeting and event announcements to local media, e.g., Chattanooga Now (estimate 1-2 hours/month).  
  • Assist with the chapter's Facebook page.  Post informative information about native plant gardening, pollinators, etc. on the chapter's Facebook page (4-6 posts per month).  Create Facebook events for upcoming chapter programs (2-3 events per month).
  • Assist in organizing Landscapes in Progress programs by contacting selected members and scheduling garden visits (2-3 member gardens for 3 Landscapes in Progress events each year).
If you're interested in volunteering for any of the above roles, please email Lena Hall, our Volunteer Coordinator.


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 for early 2018 classes is currently open for:

Understanding Botanical Names
Instructor - John Manion
ELECTIVE CLASS
Saturday, January 13, 2018
9:00am - 12:00pm
Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center


Invasive Plant Control
Instructor - John Evans
ELECTIVE CLASS
Saturday, February 10, 2018
9:00am - 12:00pm
Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center


Native Plant Propagation Workshop - Seeds 
Instructor - John Evans
ELECTIVE CLASS
Saturday, March 10, 2018
9:00am - 12:00pm
Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center
Native Plant Propagation Workshop - Cuttings & Divisions
Instructor - John Evans
ELECTIVE CLASS
Saturday, March 10, 2018
1:00pm - 4:00pm
Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center
 INFO & REGISTER 




NEWS FROM THE CHAPTER 

2018 Chapter Officers Elected

At the November 4th Annual Meeting of the Tennessee Valley Chapter of Wild Ones, Board members and officers for 2018 were elected, including:
President - Lisa Lemza
Vice-President - Kristina Shaneyfelt
Secretary - Nora Bernhardt
Treasurer - Bill Moll
Member-at-Large - John Miller
Member-at-Large - Marinell Morgan
Member-at-Large - Doug Newton
Volunteer Coordinator - Lena Hall

The following committee leaders have been appointed:
Program Committee Co-Chairs - Bill Moll & Lyn Rutherford
Symposium Committee Co-Chairs - Bill Moll & Sally Wencel
Public Information Committee Co-Chairs - Ann Brown & Lucy Scanlon
CHAPP Committee Co-Chairs - Kristina Shaneyfelt & Sally Wencel
CNP Committee Co-Chairs - Lena Hall & Sally Wencel
Membership Committee Chair - Marcia Stevens
Landscape Recognition Committee Co-Chairs - Bill Moll & Doug Newton


More News from the Annual Meeting

  • The Plant Natives 2018: What's the Buzz Symposium is scheduled for March 17, 2018 at UTC.  The keynote speaker will be Heather Holm, author and landscape designer.  She will speak about native bees, and landscaping for pollinators, including pesticides issues.  Mark the date on your calendar; more details about the Symposium will be coming soon.
  • The updated Member Directory will will be sent to active members in January.
  • The Tennessee Valley chapter is the 3rd largest Wild Ones chapter in the U.S.
  • A Native Plant Garden Tour, open to the public, will be presented in fall 2018.
  • The chapter's 2017-2019 Strategic Plan has been updated.  Read more.


H'Art Gallery Native Plant Garden

Last month, several volunteers, representing both the Wild Ones and the Chattanooga Area Pollinator Partnership, along with the help of a H'Art Gallery artist, began the renovation of the garden at the entrance to the H'Art Gallery on E. Main Street at Rossville Avenue.  Dennis Bishop planned the planting and bought the plants, and the job of removing the exotics and setting in the natives was almost completed. The Gallery has pledged to watch over it and keep it all watered.  The work isn't quite finished; more plants will go in in the near future.


Landscapes in Progress are seasonal programs where Wild Ones members open their home gardens for other members to visit.  These casual programs are a great way for us to learn about gardening with native plants.  Here are a few "tips" from the fall 2017 Landscapes in Progress:
  • If anyone tries to tell you to plant more than one Maximilian Sunflower, don't listen.
  • To observe or photograph pollinators from a sitting position near ground level, try Bob Hulse's method - and do let us know how it works for you: Bury a big pot (~24" diameter) to its rim, set a flat stone next to it, sit on the stone with your feet in the pot, and watch to your heart's content.
  • Mohr's Rosinweed is a spectacular tall clump-forming fall-blooming sun-loving plant with fragrant yellow disk-and-ray blossoms.
  • Ants will abandon their nests if you sprinkle old coffee grounds on them.
  • Upturned empty wine bottles shoved neck-down into the ground will repel voles. They can't stand the vibrations that result from air moving over the recessed bottom of the bottles.
  • Need a good native alternative to boxwood? Try tall, columnar yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria) as a natural screen for a narrow space.
  • Some good plants for wooded property include red chokeberry, big leaf magnolia, and asters. 
INTERESTING INFORMATION

Vitamin N (the book)
Many of us could use more vitamins, especially Vitamin Nature. I recently heard about Richard Louv's 2016 book entitled "Vitamin N: The Essential Guide to a Nature-Rich Life." The title was intriguing and I wondered what practical advice he'd offer for people to get more nature into their life. You may recognize his name from the press about his book "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder."  Read more.



Aster Love.
Move over mums, when it comes to providing late-season support for bees and pollinators, it's asters that master the season! Stores are pushing out containers of pinched mums that have flowers covering the surface of the plant. They're gorgeous but notice that you don't see any insects, especially on the double-flowered forms which are so prevalent. If only more native asters were propagated for fall gardens that could use them as true perennials.  Read more.




PHOTOS FROM THE FIELD
 
Fall is a great time to spot local and migrating butterflies.  
Mike O'Brien captured a few of them recently.

Painted Lady



American Lady



Long-Tailed Skipper


CONNECT WITH US

Become a Wild Ones Member!
Join the Tennessee Valley Chapter

See what's happening on our social media sites:

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. 
 
To contact our chapter, email us at [email protected]