Healing the earth, one yard at a time.
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Upcoming Programs and Events
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Native Plant Rescue Squad
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Monday, January 14, 2019, 6:00pm
with Joy Grissom & Gerry Moll
green|spaces, 63 E. Main St., Chattanooga
FREE and open to the public
Come learn about rescuing native plants that can be saved from the path of development.
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Monday, February 11, 6:00pm
with Lucy Ellis
green|spaces, 63 E.. Main St., Chattanooga
FREE and open to the public
How can we tell spring is coming? Signs of spring are seen in how plants, birds and insects react to sunlight and temperature changes. Come learn about examples from our backyards and ways we can help buffer effects of climate change with native plants.
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Our 2019 program calendar document is now available for download. Dates for monthly public programs, Certificate in Native Plants classes, our annual Plant Natives Symposium, members-only events and much more are listed. We're still finalizing some program details, but you can save the dates for a wide variety of interesting events coming in the new year.
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Photo by Chris Tanis
at Lula Lake
in December 2018.
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We get together on Tuesday mornings to enjoy personal creative time in nature. You are free to pursue whatever creative pursuits you desire, whether that be writing, drawing, painting or something else. Sharing what you do is your option. While we encourage and support each other in our creative endeavors, this is not a group designed to provide instruction or feedback.
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2019 Symposium and Marketplace & Expo
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March 16, 2019
Save the Date!
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Four regional native plant nurseries, as well as other interesting vendors and exhibitors, will be at the annual
Native Plant Marketplace & Expo.
Both events will be held at the University of Chattanooga University Center.
More info on these events, as well as workshops on Friday, March 15th, will be available soon.
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Two More Grants Awarded to Local Schools
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The
Chattanooga Area Pollinator Partnership
and the Tennessee Valley Chapter of Wild Ones have awarded two $500 Seeds for Education grants to local schools. New for 2019, CHAPP will award four $500 grants each year as funding allows, with application deadlines of March 15 and September 15.
Look for more details in future newsletters.
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Certificate in Native Plants
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January & February Classes Now Open for Registration
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.
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Sustainable Landscape Management
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Saturday, January 12, 2019
Instructor: Lyn Rutherford
9 am – 12 pm EST
Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center
ELECTIVE Class (4 credits)
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Biology of Liverworts,
Mosses and Ferns
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Saturday, February 9, 2019
I
nstructor: Charlotte Freeman
9:00am – 12:00pm
Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center
ELECTIVE Class (4 credits)
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Saturday, February 23, 2019
9:30am - 2:00pm
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
822 Belvoir Ave., East Ridge TN 37412
Presented by The Tennessee Federation of Garden Club, Inc.-District III
Gardeners of all levels of interest and experience are welcome to attend presentations on various aspects of gardening. There will be a 50-minute presentation at 10:00, 11:00, and 1:00. At each time slot, there will be three presentations from which to choose. A free lunch of homemade soups, bread, desserts, and drinks will be provided.
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Fate of the Tallest Post Oak Tree in the U.S. is Still in Limbo
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Friends of Mountain Creek are urging people to email Chattanooga City Council members to develop a ‘steep slopes” ordinance that would protect existing floodplains.
This ordinance could save the tallest Post Oak tree in the US.
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How Close-Up Glamour Shots Are Generating Buzz for Bees
Sam Droege really loves bees. He has shared thousands of photos from the USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab, mostly portraits of specimens posed against inky black backgrounds. This makes the insects’ features easy to observe and document, but it also looks badass, evoking glamorous portraits of rough-and-tumble rockstars, or a still life of luxury handbags in a glossy magazine. Each photo is accompanied by tidbits of information about the subject’s appearance and habits—as well as, often, a bit of bucolic verse by Emily Dickinson and an old-school emoji that looks a little like a bee’s head.
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Oaks Have a Lot of Gall!
In late fall and early winter, oak (Quercus species) trees often stand out from their forest companions, refusing to let go of their richly colored russet and brown leaves long after other deciduous trees are completely bare. Oaks are members of the Beech (Fagaceae) family, and winter leaf retention, or marcescence, is a family trait.
This fascinating article by Mary Ann Borge describes some of the many important roles that oak trees play in the ecosystem.
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Fungus Among Us
Some fungi glow an eerie green. Some just reek to high heaven. Some are deadly, others save lives. Despite their variety and range of uses, fungi get neglected, says Andrew Miller. A mycologist and director of the herbarium and fungarium at the Illinois Natural History Survey, Miller spends his whole life around spores, rhizomorphs, and sporocarps, so maybe it’s no surprise that he thinks they don’t get the love they deserve.
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Why We Miss the Wasps
Wasps are a mirror held to our planet. When they do well, we all do well.
They prey upon the insects that eat our crops, for one; no wasps, no food. Agaonid wasps are the required pollinators of figs, which will not develop fruits without them; No wasps, no figs. (And, no wasps, no Fig Newtons.)
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Scientists identify vast underground ecosystem containing billions of
micro-organisms
The Earth is far more alive than previously thought, according to “deep life” studies that reveal a rich ecosystem beneath our feet that is almost twice the size of all the world’s oceans.
Despite extreme heat, no light, minuscule nutrition and intense pressure, scientists estimate this subterranean biosphere is teeming with between 15bn and 23bn tonnes of micro-organisms, hundreds of times the combined weight of every human on the planet.
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The secret life of plants:
Ten new species found this year
Plant collectors have searched for the hidden wonders of the plant world for centuries.
Yet plants that are new to science are still being described, at a rate of about 2,000 a year.
Scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, discovered and named more than 100 new plants in 2018.
Their list of the top new plants includes carnivorous pitcher plants, exotic orchids and climbers with untapped medicinal powers.
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White Oak leaves against the blue sky.
Photo by Mike O'Brien.
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White Oak twig and gall.
Photo by Mike O'Brien.
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Witchhazel with Icicles at Big Soddy Creek Gulf.
Photo by Chris Tanis
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Hawthorn Tree at Big Soddy Creek Gulf.
Photo by Chris Tanis
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Join our Meetup group to stay current about upcoming programs, classes and events.
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"Like" our public Facebook page, and stay up to date on our events and interesting information about native plants and natural landscaping.
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Join our Facebook GROUP, where you can ask questions about native plants, join discussions and learn more about native plants and natural landscaping.
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