Habitatscaping

Join professional grower Emily Driskill for a demonstration on growing native plants from seed. We will discuss methods for sowing native perennials, vines, shrubs, and trees during different seasons of the year. The talk will include information on seed collection, materials needed, stratification protocols, and sowing timing and technique. Some seed sowing methods will be demonstrated in person and a list of tried and true resources will be shared.

‬BIO: Emily Driskill‬‭ is an alumna of The Evergreen State‬‭ College where she earned a B.A./B.S.‬ with concentrations in Botany and Sustainable Agriculture. Through seasons of botany fieldwork‬ in a variety of regions in the United States, she has gained a loving familiarity with native plants‬ and their places in the ecosystem. Emily has been working in production horticulture since 2016‬ and began her professional propagation experience as the former nursery manager at Carolina‬ Native Nursery. In 2019, Emily co-founded Blackbird Landscapes where she currently works as‬ a landscape designer and plant buyer. Later down the line, Emily founded her own nursery,‬ Tanager Plants, in 2022 as a response to the increasing regional need for native plant material.‬ She has an interest in plant propagation and in particular grows as many species as possible‬ from seed. While Tanager’s focus is wholesale sales, Emily can also be found selling plants at a‬ number of local retail events every year.‬

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Shelby Jackson, co-owner, head horticulturist and sales manager at Carolina Native Nursery, is very excited to talk about all things regarding native perennials! We’ll discuss how to select the best perennials for your garden that will attract the most pollinators. Whether you have sun, shade, wet, or dry areas in your yard, there are some wonderful perennials that will thrive in whatever situation you have. She’ll talk about proper planting and long-term care for your plants and will discuss necessary fertilization and mulching techniques to ensure your garden thrives.

BIO: ‬Shelby Jackson‬‭ is co-owner, head horticulturist and‬‭ sales manager at Carolina Native‬ Nursery.‬‭ Shelby, a University of Tennessee Horticulture‬‭ alumnus, came to us after 3 years as‬ Nursery Sales Manager at BB Barns in Asheville. She brings extensive knowledge to our staff in‬ native plants, as they are one of her passions, and also well beyond the shrubs that we‬ currently offer. Her experience besides sales includes speaking and leading seminars, horticultural research in the field and the laboratory, landscape design and consulting. She is‬ an N.C.N.L.A. Certified Plant Professional. She has served on the Hendersonville Tree‬ Commission and is currently on the Horticulture Technology board at Blue Ridge Community‬ College. She also participated on the board for her local greenway, Friends of Hominy Creek‬ Greenway, in West Asheville.‬

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Exotic invasive plants can quickly supplant the native plants our pollinators co-evolved with because they often arrive here without the predators that kept them in check back home. Learning the best techniques for removing the worst actors, without harming pollinators in the process, can be tricky, but not impossible. It’s all about having a good battle plan.

BIO: ‬Raven Sterling‬‭ is Head Tree Hugger at Raven Invasive‬‭ Plant Management. Raven started‬ pulling English Ivy for homeowners as a side job 5 years ago, out of love and concern for trees‬ and native plants in the Blue Ridge subrange of the Appalachian Mountains. She understood‬ the diversity and significance of the ecology of the area and created a business to eradicate‬ invasive plants, after recognizing the threats they posed. The business runs crews of‬ specialized landscapers who use hand and gas powered tools to remove and reduce invasive‬ plants of the Southern Forests, primarily vines, shrubs and trees. Raven Invasive Plant‬ Management is now a thriving small business sought throughout North Carolina and beyond for‬ mindful management of invasive plants without the use of chemicals. A proponent of trees,‬ native plants and biodiversity, Raven educates private landowners, businesses, community‬ organizations and HOAs on the benefits of natives and the threats of invasives.‬

Those of us who are aficionados of native plants are usually keenly aware of the most frequently-planted species…the Cardinal Flowers, Wild Indigos, Purple Coneflowers, etc. But let’s take a look at some of the lesser known, yet wonderful species.

BIO: John Manion:‬‭ Though born in Georgia, John spent his‬‭ youth growing up in rural upstate NY‬ where he was one of five children raised by his father, a forester – and his mother, an avid‬ gardener. He has lived in many places in the U.S. and abroad, and after working in several‬ careers (the longest as an emergency/trauma nurse) he realized his true passion was for plants.‬ After earning an undergraduate degree in plant science at State University of New York at‬ Cobleskill, he was awarded a fellowship to earn a Master’s Degree in Public Garden Leadership‬ at Cornell University. He has interned and worked at several botanical gardens and arboreta,‬ including the Royal Botanical Garden in Edinburgh, Scotland. After working as Historic Gardens‬ Curator at the Atlanta History Center, he became the Kaul Wildflower Garden Curator at‬ Birmingham Botanical Gardens in Alabama, where he spent 11 years developing and refining a‬ seven-acre collection of native plants – the most comprehensive in the state. Since early in‬ 2022, John has been the Education/Outreach Coordinator at Overhill Gardens in Vonore, TN.‬ John is passionate about sharing his love for, and knowledge about – our native flora and all its‬ related topics; his position at Overhill allows him to engage in all of this.‬

Floral and faunal diversity is key to resilience in the face of climate change, and most plants and animals cannot exist without each other. The world’s vast majority of plants are counting on a rich array of pollinators to enable them to reproduce. For millions of years, flowers have been posting their profiles hoping to attract the pollinators of their dreams. They share their color, odor, shape, type of pollen, nectar guides, and which time of day or night they want to get together. Make your yard the best pollinator hook-up bar in town. Doug Tallamy’s “Homegrown National Park” starts in your backyard!

BIO: ‬Phyllis Stiles‬‭ i‬‭ s founder and director emerita of‬‭ Bee City USA‬‭ ®. The North American‬ Pollinator Protection Campaign named Stiles “Pollinator Advocate of the Year for the United‬ States” in 2015, the same year the sister program, Bee Campus USA, launched. To date, more‬ than 430 cities and campuses in 47 states have joined the Bee City and Bee Campus USA‬ networks, which became initiatives of the‬‭ Xerces Society‬‭ for Invertebrate Conservation‬‭ in 2018.‬ Stiles has made well over a hundred presentations and published countless newspaper and‬ magazine articles about pollinator conservation across the nation. She spent her career at‬ universities and non-profit organizations serving communities from West Africa to the‬ Mississippi Delta, in fields ranging from natural resource and farmland protection to fundraising.‬ Today, Stiles is as excited to inspire individuals and communities to create climate-resilient,‬ connected pollinator habitat as she was when she launched Bee City USA in 2012.‬

Transform your yard into a thriving edible forest garden filled with perennial trees, plants, and native wildflowers. This workshop will guide you through the process of sheet-mulching to replace lawns and build healthy soil, selecting the right plants for your space, and ensuring long-term success with proper planting and care. Learn from real-world experiences to create a low-maintenance, biodiverse landscape that nourishes both people and wildlife.

BIO: ‬Mike Hill‬‭ is a high school teacher of Environmental Science and Mathematics. He earned his‬ M.S. in Agroforestry from the University of Missouri, and a Ph.D. in Research Methodology from‬ the University of Virginia. He holds a Permaculture Design certification from Midwestern‬ Permaculture. About 20 years ago, Mike became obsessed with the idea of growing “food‬ forests,” and he has been experimenting with them ever since on several different properties,‬ both rural and urban/suburban.‬