Upcoming garden related activities in our region
January 4
“Winter Songbirds in East Tennessee.” UT Arboretum Ed Coordinator, Michelle Campanis, and naturalist,author, and artist Stephen Lyn Bales. 7 pm. Zoom.Hosted by UT Arboretum Society. Free, registration
required. https://utarboretum.tennessee.edu/monthly-Programs
January 13
Winter Garden Seminar. “Become a Backyard Ecologist: Create your Personal Pollinator and Wildlife Oasis.” 10 am – Noon. Warriors’ Path State Park Recreation Building. $10. Interactive workshop with Shannon Trimboli, wildlife biologist and educator. Preregistration required.
https://tnstateparks.com/parks/event_details/warriorspath/#/?event=34th-annual-winter-garden-seminar-WPSP-2024 or 423-239-6786 c.423-609-0314,
marty.silver@tn.gov.
Insect and Pollinator Host Native Plants| Live-Stream
January 22nd, 2024.
Click here for details and to register
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_BKcCX4OEQJ2XM39V0GcpUg?os=ipad#/registration
January 24
From Frost to Flowers: Winter Sowing for a Greener Spring Planting Event. 6:30 pm. The Carriage House at Knoxville Botanical Gardens, 2649 Boyds Bridge Pike, Knoxville, TN, 37914. Free and open to the public. Hosted by Wild Ones Smoky Mountains. Learn. about the benefits of native plants and take home your very own plantings to nurture and plant. Wild Ones will provide seeds, and participants can bring native seeds to share. Containers and soil provided.
https://smokymountains.wildones.org/events/?wo_event_id=6067
Jnuary 25
“Cultivating Change” with author and activist Lorraine Johnson, former president of the North American Native Plant Society. 7 pm. Free webinar sponsored byWild Ones. Explore how native gardening can address climate challenges. Learn about the pivotal role of gardening as an act of stewardship in the face of climate and ecological challenges. Discover the profound connections between individual gardens and the broader world and learn how these green spaces can serve as catalysts for positive ecological and social change.
https://wildones.org/webinar-cultivating-change-with-lorraine-johnson-on-january-25th-at-6-pm-cst/
#register
January 27
Garden Gallivants presents Carol Reese, garden writer, photographer and lecturer and retired UT Extension Ornamental Horticulture Specialist, “Native Plants: Facts, Fabrications and Foibles.” 1 p.m. St George Greek Orthodox Church, 4070 Kingston Pike, Knoxville. $25. For more information gardengallivants@gmail.com.
East Tennessee Native Plants
Want to know what plants are native to east Tennessee that you might like to grow? The Tennessee Invasive Plant Council’s website, tnipc.org, has downloadable lists of native plants for each region of Tennessee at: https:// www.tnipc.org/landscaping/. The mission of the TN-IPC is to promote awareness of the serious threats non-native invasive plants pose to natural areas and provide solutions to manage those threats. One solution is to encourage gardeners to plant more natives. The site has other resources, including a brochure on Native Plant Alternatives, a Native Plant Gardening Reading List and a list of nurseries by region that carry a wide variety of plants native to TN and the SE. Nurseries in East Tennessee are:
Overhill Gardens in Vonore, TN. https://www.overhillgardens.com/ 423-295-2288 Shy Valley Farm in Fall Branch, TN. http://www.shyvalleyfarm.com/ 423-348-6570 Tennessee Naturescapes in Clinton, TN. https://www.tennesseenaturescapes.com/
You can also find the region where a plant is native listed under the individual plant profiles in Native Plants for Tennessee, https://tynnativeplants.wordpress.com/, and in Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee by Margie Hunter,