Homegrown National Park is a nationwide program to regenerate biodiversity. The founders are Dr. Doug Tallamy, a Professor of Entomology, and Michelle Alfandari a specialist in business development. Individuals, businesses, non-profits & municipal entities can sign up on a map listing their location and describe their planting. It can be in increments as small as 1 square foot up to acres of land. Today the State map shows Arkansas has 164 native plantings with the greatest concentration (58) being in central Arkansas.
Do you want to help restore biodiversity in your neighborhood, city, or state? This is a way that we can take small steps to help our planet. Get the ‘bug’ to get ‘on the map’!
Thanks for the invitation for Rand to speak about natives at your monthly meeting today. It was like ‘old home week’ with our Master Gardener friends! Master Gardeners hold a special place in our hearts. We are so grateful for all the work they do to make our state more beautiful. Special thanks to Susan Rose and Carol Mendel for the invitation to speak about native plants and to Derrick the tech guru for helping us get set up. We had a blast!
We really appreciate our Arkansas Audubon folks. They go way above and beyond the call of duty to promote local native plant vendors. They make a great partner in trying to promote plants that help birds, butterflies, and other pollinators. Can’t wait for the fall sale and more progress toward keeping Arkansas the Natural State!
It’s almost here! Beginning on 9/15/22, at 8:00 am you can order your native plants from multiple vendors. It’s an online order/pick-up sale and you need to make your order early. (Last year we sold out of 8 or so offerings by noon on the first day.) Support your local birds and pollinators! Click on the link to Audubon below for additional details and a map.
Spring is approaching and it’s time to refresh your outdoor spaces. We recommend creating Pollinator & Habitat Gardens with native plants. You and your family will be helping the environment and also have a beautiful space to enjoy butterflies and a variety of birds. If you don’t want to spend time creating and skip right to enjoyment let us help you! We can advise you on what plants will work in your space. Our crew can do the hard work for you. Maybe you’d like a stone patio or beds for a vegetable garden. From solely decorative to purposeful, we can create it.
It’s almost here! The online sale will be Thursday, April 14, 2022 – Thursday, April 21, 2022, 8:00 am – 8:00 pm Central. Please go to the link for additional information. We’ll be selling plants along with other vendors. Get ready for our pollinators and birds! Nectar plants, host plants, and habitat plants for wildlife will be available. https://ar.audubon.org/events/2022-spring-native-plant-sale
It’s time for planting, transplanting, and dividing your perennials & woody shrubs. Summer in Arkansas can be harsh with high temperatures & drought periods. By planting in the fall your plants still have many 60 degree days where root development can happen.
Let’s talk about dividing some of your large perennials to make new plantings. If you have a showy, focal point that you want to divide consider the wedge method. Instead of digging the root ball up and cutting it apart, consider using a sharpshooter shovel to cut out a wedge (maybe 1/4 of the crown?). The mother plant is disturbed much less and still puts on a show for you. The following year you can cut out a different wedge and work yourself around the plant without making too much difference.
Now is the time to plant spring-blooming bulbs. There are Arkansas native bulbs like Camassia scilloides (Wild Hyacinth) and Camassia angusta (Prairie Wild Hyacinth). But non-native bulbs are also much loved as harbingers of Spring and should be planted in fall. Who doesn’t love seeing the first crocus or narcissus blooms peeking out? Many times we’re asked how to incorporate these bulbs in native landscapes. We recommend taking a handful of bulbs and pitching them. Plant them where they fall and you’ll have a lovely drift of blooms.
Native seed heads provide nutrition for birds & critters. Instead of dead-heading & and cutting stalks think about leaving them. Audubon Society of Central Arkansas has a great page that talks about this topic. See the link below https://wp.ascabird.org/birding/feeding-birds/planting-for-birds/
If you’re looking for new native plants that put on a show for fall, here are some of our favorites:
Amsonia hubrictii (bright golden-orange foliage), Aronia melanocarpa (bright red foliage & blackberries for birds), Callicarpa americana (purple berries are most common but there are some white and pink berried ones). There are so many choices it’s hard to stop!
If you need some help knowing how best to create a sanctuary in your yard, contact us. Get your hands dirty and enjoy the Fall!
Plant of the Month – Aronia melanocarpa ‘Low Scape Mound’. Fall color, berries & bloom.
