Wilson County Master Gardener Association

Doug Tallamy is an insect expert in Delaware. He realized we were losing insects and pollinators because of all the building and development (and pesticide use!) going on in our country. He wanted to help fix the problem, and he wrote several books, “Nature’s Best Hope“, “Bringing Nature Home“, and “The Nature of Oaks“. He and his students also did research and developed a list of “keystone” plants and trees that are “key” to the survival and thriving of insects and pollinators.

Butterfly weed (one of the all-important milkweeds!)

This list has hundreds of plants on it ranging from milkweed because of its importance to Monarch Butterflies to oaks which support 432 different insects and pollinators! Here’s the link for finding the keystone plants and trees for your zip code: https://nativeplantfinder.nwf.org/Plants. At that site, you’ll also find a video of Doug Tallamy explaining the importance of native plants. Doug Tallamy’s organization has developed a website and Facebook group called “Homegrown National Park” for lots more info.

The Tennessee Coneflower is a true comeback story. Elsie Quarterman, a Vanderbilt University professor, conducted research on the Cedar Glades located in Wilson and Rutherford Counties. She identified the dwindling Tennessee Coneflower population and worked to get it placed on the Endangered Species List in 1979. The plant was becoming rare because of loss of habitat. Various entities came together to bring this coneflower back from the brink of extinction, and the Tennessee Coneflower was removed from the List in 2011!

The Tennessee Coneflower (Echinacea tennesseensis) can take lots of full sun (and even some shade) in a dry area–the perfect description of a cedar glade! It is a tough resilient plant that will bloom throughout the summer. Coneflowers support 15 species of insects and pollinators.

We’ll have LOTS of Tennessee Coneflower at our Native Plant Sale, so be sure to add it to your shopping list! Our plant list is available on our website, wilsoncountymg.org. We hope to see you on Saturday, May 18th!

Native Ground Covers

We want to highlight some native ground covers that we’ll have at the Native Plant Sale. Most ground covers spread by rhizomes forming colonies. Native ground covers are great to use in place of expensive dyed mulch, hold soil in place, suppress weeds as well as supporting pollinators.

Green and Gold (Chrysogonum virginianum) grows in part shade, has bright green foliage and pretty yellow flowers that bloom in spring. Green and Gold is also pretty deer resistant!

Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginica) will grow in full sun or shade and spreads quickly although it doesn’t out-compete other plants. Wild strawberry is a pollinator powerhouse supporting 58 species of pollinators including the gray hairstreak and the grizzled skipper. It has tiny white flowers in spring and the edible small fruit will be enjoyed by many wild creatures. This native plant was hybridized with a South American variety resulting in the delicious strawberries we all enjoy in early summer.

Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum) is native to much of North America. It has beautiful pinkish-purple flowers and supports 24 species of pollinators! Geranium can grow in shade or sun and readily spreads using its unique form of seed-spreading.