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Healing the earth, one yard at a time
May 2018 Newsletter
In this edition:
UPCOMING PROGRAMS
Sunflowers and Relatives with Dr. Ed Schilling - May 14
Landscapes in Progress - May 19
Roundtable Discussion: Books about Native Plants - May 21
Mark These Dates On Your Calendar
BEE CITY USA POLLINATOR FESTIVAL - May 20
WELCOME TO THE WILD STORE
SEEDS FOR EDUCATION GRANTS
Application Now Available
CERTIFICATE IN NATIVE PLANTS CLASSES
2018 Classes through November
SPRING EVENTS IN THE REGION
INTERESTING INFORMATION
LIP TIPS
VOLUNTEER TO HELP
PHOTOS FROM THE FIELD
CONNECT WITH US
Photos above: Rhododendron calendulaceum (Flame Azalea),
Spigelia marilandica
(Indian Pink), Viburnum acerfolium (Mapleleaf Viburnum)
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| UPCOMING WILD ONES PROGRAMS |
with Dr. Ed Schilling
Monday, May 14, 2018
6:00pm
FREE and open to the public
green|spaces
63 E. Main St., Chattanooga TN
Come and learn about sunflowers and the uses of this plant family in local gardens.
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Saturday, May 19, 2018
10:00am - 12:00pm
FREE for Wild Ones members only
The May 2018
Landscapes in Progress program will feature two gardens in the Signal Mountain area.
This program is an opportunity to visit gardens of Tennessee Valley Wild Ones members.
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.
Limited to 20 participants. Driving directions will be provided after registration.
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Roundtable Discussion
Books About Native Plants
Monday, May 21, 2018
6:00pm
FREE and open to the public
green|spaces
63 E. Main St., Chattanooga TN
Bring your favorites - whether it is landscaping, propagating, plant descriptions or whatever - just not any crepe myrtle books!
The goal is to share the books that have been helpful to you and tell us why they were special.
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Mark These Dates on Your Calendar!
Monday, June 11th - 6:00pm
What Ants, Cicada & Fungi Tell Us About Urban Living
with DeAnna Beasley
green|spaces
Monday, July 9th - 6:00pm
The Guardians
A documentary film about the Mexico monarch habitat
green|spaces
Monday, August 13 - 6:00pm
Native Upgrades for Common Imported Landscape Plants
green|spaces
Friday, September 7th
- 7:00pm
Habitat Hero Awards & Presentation
With Dr. Doug Tallamy, author of
Bringing Nature Home
UTC University Center Auditorium
Saturday, September 8th
- all day
Bringing Nature Home: A Home Garden Tour
Locations TBA
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| Bee City USA POLLINATOR FESTIVAL |
FESTIVAL INSIDE, COME RAIN OR SHINE!
321 N. Bragg Ave., Lookout Mountain TN 37350
FREE admission!
Pollinator Gardens: Members of Wild Ones and the Chattanooga Area Pollinator Partnership will help you choose plants that will attract a variety of pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and birds.
Butterfly Gardens and how to attract butterfly babies to your yard. Learn about the life cycle of butterflies and what plants can attract these beautiful creatures.
Beekeeping: Derick Forester, a third-generation beekeeper on the mountain, will have a demonstration hive in a glass case. Honey and bee products for sale.
Vegetable Gardening and Pollinators: Charlene Nash will suggest ways to increase yields by improving your soil and by attracting native bees to your garden.
Encaustic Art by Betsy Rice: Come watch the artist heat beeswax and resin to create works of art.
Invasive plants on the mountain: A display of invasive plants with Lynn Chartier offering ways to eradicate them.
Organic solutions for common yard problems:
Join Craig Walker from The Barn Nursery to learn about products that will not harm children, pets or pollinators.
Bees on a Bicycle: an urban garden center fostering community and creating beauty.
Lookout Mountain School Greenhouse tours.
Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center will have native plants for sale.
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| Welcome to the Wild Store |
The Wild Store is Open Online!
Exciting products await, including infant and youth clothing, a fun new selection of hats, a butterfly garden banner, hoodies, and even a ladies' fleece!
Of course, old favorites such as the ladies
'
v-neck logo tees, yard signs,
"
Roots
"
apparel, and books are still available.
The new store is better integrated with the Wild Ones national website, so merchandise and memberships can all be purchased at once.
Instead of adding the shipping cost to each individual item, the store now adds a postage and handling fee per order - saving you money, because adding an item shouldn't add a whole new shipping and handling charge. Shoppers pay the true cost of postage, and only one handling fee per order, no matter how large.
Grab a terry-lined ladies' visor! Splurge on that onesie or t-shirt for your grandchild! Your postage won't change much, and you won't incur an additional handling fee.
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| Seeds for Education Grants |
Grants for Local Educators
Is your school located in the Chattanooga metropolitan area and would you like to:
- Attract butterflies, bees and other pollinators to your schoolyard with wildflowers and native grasses.
- Add opportunities for hands-on science in biology, ecology and earth science.
- Expose students to healthy, outdoor physical activity.
- Reduce energy consumption and improve storm water management; enhance sustainability and green-school certification.
Teachers and students across the United States are expanding learning opportunities by
enhancing their schoolyards with butterfly gardens and other pollinator habitats.
CHAPP and Wild Ones offer assistance for all aspects of such projects.
Cash grants of up to $500 are available for plants and seeds
, and in-kind donations from Nursery Partners
can help stretch these dollars. We can help you locate experts and information in the Chattanooga area.
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| 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 is now open for all 2018 classes:
Instructor: Mary Priestley
Saturday, May 12, 2018
9 am - Noon EDT
Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center
Native Plant Communities
THIS CLASS IS FULL
Instructor: Jon Evans, PhD
Saturday, June 9, 2018
9 am - 4 pm CDT
University of the South, Sewanee, TN
Identifying Plants with Taxonomy: "The Keys to the Kingdom"
Instructor: Richard Clements
Saturday, August 11, 2018
9 am - Noon EDT
Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center
Native Warm Season Grasses
Instructor: Walter Bland
Saturday, October 13, 2018
9 am- 12 pm (EDT)
Sixth Cavalry Museum and Chickamauga Military Park
Fort Oglethorpe GA
Soils & Water
Instructor: Wyn Miller
Saturday, November 10, 2018
9 am - 4 pm EST
Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center
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| SPRING EVENTS IN THE REGION |
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May 4 & 17, 2018
North American Butterfly Association
Butterfly Counts in our area
May 5, 2018
Night Song Nursery Open House
1095 Epperson Rd, Canton, GA 30115
INFO
May 8-12, 2018
Wilderness Wildlife Week
FREE at the LeConte Center in Pigeon Forge TN
Visit Booth 46 for the Native Plant Sales Boutique
INFO
Note: Some of the dates listed above are for members only of the respective organization. Please confirm details before you plan travel.
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Gardening tips from the April Landscapes in Progress program...
From Martha & Kemmer Anderson's garden:
- Gaillardia (Blanket Flower) is hardy, beautiful and great pollinator plant.
- Martha recommended using Floating Row Cover from Gardens Alive early in the growing season to cover vegetables. It allows the water and sun to filter through. She said that she had lettuce all winter growing under the row cover.
From Kristina & Jason Shaneyfelt's garden:
- One of the many ground covers that they use is Silene carolinina (Wild Pink). It is short and sweet with lovely pink flowers. Antennaria plantaginifolia (Plantainleaf Pussytoes) is another very good ground cover, as is Lysimachia lanceolata (Lanceleaf Loosestrife) another native.
- Purple Phlox stolonifera (Phlox Sherwood), Neviusia alabamensis (Alabama snow-wreath) and Hypericum prolificum (Shrubby St.- John's- Wort) were also recommended.
- Phlox amoena (Hairy Phlox) spreads well on a slope.
- Rhus aromatic (Fragrant Sumac) is good to use for erosion control on a slope.
From Lisa Lemza & Mike Shillinger's garden:
- Plant Boneset, Wild Quinine, and Roundleaf Thoroughwort to produce continuous blooms for pollinators.
- Lisa feels that Fothergilla is an underutilized shrub.
- She emphasized that planting blooming plants close to the road had attracted the interest of people passing by who stopped to look and opened the door to a conversation about the benefits of native plants.
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Stop to smell the flowers, and listen to the bees.
Read the
Times Free Press April 29th editorial about the importance of pollinators.
Hummingbirds come back ... from their winter homes in Central America. Long before humans came along with sugar water feeders, the birds relied on the blooms of native plants. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the plants open up about the time that the birds are returning. Read more.
EU Agrees on Total Ban on Pesticides That Harm Bees.
The European Union has agreed to ban the world's most widely used pesticides because of the harm scientists say they cause to bees. The ban on the insecticides known as neonicotinoids was jointly approved by the 28 member nations Friday and is expected to come into force within six months. It strengthens an existing EU ban on the use of neonicotinoids on flowering crops...
Read more.
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100% of the programs, events and activities of the Tennessee Valley Chapter are planned, organized and coordinated by volunteers. We have no paid staff, so we truly count on the generosity of our members and community volunteers.
With all of the community events during the spring, we need volunteers to help us out. You don't need any experience to volunteer, and your support will help get the word out about the benefits of landscaping with native plants. It's also a great way to meet other like-minded people, and if you're participating in the Certificate in Native Plants Program, you can count your time toward the volunteer requirements.
Please click the button below and be generous with your time for one or more events. We thank you for your valuable time!
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Spring is here!
Enjoy a few photos of what's been happening outdoors during April.
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Common Sootywing Butterfly on
Erigeron annuus (daisy fleabane).
Photo by Mike O'Brien.
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White Slant-Line Geometer Moth (Tetracis cachexiata)
Mike O'Brien spotted this beautiful moth (1.5" across) on his morning walk, just perched on grass. It was starkly white with a single orange postmedial band that is more striking because this is a male moth. I referred it to Dr. James Adams, moth expert and Professor of Biology at Dalton State College, who kindly and quickly helped with the specific identification.
Photo by Mike O'Brien. |
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Willow Sawfly larvae, a stingless wasp species (Nematus ventralis).
Several weeks ago, Mike found this striking caterpillar in abundance on young shoots of willow trees. Mike's caterpillar reference books did not help him ID them, but Willowpedia on the Cornell University website did ID them. They can be differentiated from caterpillars of moths and butterflies which have 5 or fewer pairs of prolegs, whereas this species has 5 or more pairs of prolegs (7-8 pairs). Moth, butterfly and sawfly caterpillars have 3 pairs of true legs in the front. When disturbed they raise their tail end in a defensive S-shaped posture. They are often preyed upon by Paper Wasps. The largest ones were about one inch long in this stage of their development. The lesson is this: not every caterpillar you see is a moth or butterfly species.
Photo by Mike O'Brien. |
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Calycanthus floridus (Sweetshrub or Carolina Allspice).
Shade to sun; best in 5-6 hours of sun; moist, rich soil; prune after flowering; will form a colony over time via suckers. 'Athens' cultivar available in nurseries which has chartreuse flower with a lemon-lime scent.
Photo by Mike O'Brien. |
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Viburnum rufidulum (Rusty Blackhaw).
Viburnum rufidulum
blooms in April to May with creamy white flowers that are
bisexual, or perfect
and similar to those of other
Viburnum
species, but with clusters as large as six inches wide.
Photo by Mike O'Brien.
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Stylophorum diphyllum (Celandine Poppy) blossom emerging from hairy bud.
Brilliant yellow flowers bloom in spring atop blue-green, pinnately lobed foliage. Leaf underside has a silvery cast. An easy to grow native that will self sow and form a dense shade groundcover. Tolerates all but the driest conditions. Beautiful with Virginia Bluebells, Columbine, Goats Beard, Wild Ginger and Woodland Phlox.
Photo by Nora Bernhardt.
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Polystichum acrostichoides fronds unfurling (
Christmas fern).
It is one of the most common ferns in eastern North America, being found in moist and shady habitats in woodlands, rocky slopes, and stream banks. The common name derives from the
evergreen
fronds which are often still green at
Christmas
in December.
Photo by Nora Bernhardt.
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Become a Wild Ones Member!
Join the Tennessee Valley Chapter
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See what's happening on our social media sites:
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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.
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