A big movement happening across the country is planting native plants!
Thanks to Pollinator conservation groups and books like Nature's Best Hope by Douglas Tallamy and Edward O. Wilson's Half-Earth, gardeners and landscapers are starting to plant more native plants! Not only are native plants easier to grow in our arid and difficult growing region, they are also hugely beneficial to our ecosystem. Imagine if we turned many of landscapes such as yards, parkways and parks into native plant wildlife zones – we could go for walks and enjoy nature right in our cities! As Tallamy puts it, we could create a "Homegrown National Park" throughout the country by creating a patchwork of native plant wildlife friendly landscapes in our urban cities. Pollinators, birds and other wildlife thrive with native plants, so adding them to your garden is a sure way to see more Monarchs, bumblebees, and birds.
If you want to learn more about how easy it is to start converting landscapes to native plants – check out this month's virtual Landscaping with Colorado Native Plants Conference. Read more about this wonderful event below:
Landscaping with Colorado Native Plants Conference
What’s the buzz about native plants? Find out at the 7th Annual Landscaping with Colorado Native Plants Conference! Experts in horticulture, ecology and landscape design share how to plan, plant and maintain beautiful and biodiverse native landscapes from the ground up. To enable participation statewide, this year’s conference is online. Recordings of the speakers’ presentations will be available for registrants to view. The conference runs from 9 am - 4 pm on Saturday, February 26th, 2022. Attendees are invited to preview the conference platform prior to the event. $10 Tickets available for those on tight budgets, register at: https://landscapingwithcoloradonativeplants.wordpress.com/
Landscaping with Colorado Native Plants Conference
2022 Schedule:
8:00 am: Conference opens – visit vendors, CoNPS bookstore, coffee chat, and get to know the conference platform.
9:00 am: Welcome and Land Acknowledgement
9:25 am: Keynote: Nature’s Best Hope by Doug Tallamy.
10:25 am: transition break
10:40 am: Session 1 Breakout:
New to Natives: Well-Behaved Prairie Plants for Your Home Garden by Grace Johnson.
Knows the Natives: Native Plant Production Panel by Youping Sun.
11:40 am: Lunch: Please visit vendors and bookstore!
12:20 pm: Session 2 Breakout:
New to Natives: Watering Native Plants: How Low Can You Go? by Jim Tolstrup.
Knows the Natives: Ecosystem Function and Landscape Aesthetics by Ilene Marcus-Flax.
1:30 pm: Session 3 Breakout:
New to Natives: Profile of a Successful Partnership: Loveland’s Demonstration Gardens at River’s Edge Natural Area by Kathy Maher.
Knows the Natives: No Plant is an Island: Experimental Insights into Growing Castilleja spp. in Colorado Gardens by Jameson Coopman and Michael Guidi.
2:30 pm: Break 2:45 pm: Closing Keynote: What Colorado Birds Eat by David Leatherman. 3:45 pm: Closing remarks. 3:45 pm: Visit vendors
$10 Virtual Tickets available for those on tight budgets, register at: https://landscapingwithcoloradonativeplants.wordpress.com/
Want to learn more about Colorado Native Plants?
Check out the Colorado Native Plant Society at conps.org