The Newport News Extension Master Gardeners “influencers” are showing off their signs and encouraging others to GET ON THE HOMEGROWN NATIONAL PARK® MAP through their Garden for Nature Program. They have registered 13 sites from their city on the MAP, bought HNP yards signs in bulk to provide free of charge to members who get “on the MAP.” WOW!!!!

We think planting native is a luxury partially because we can take action without asking permission or needing legislation. Sometimes MAGIC happens when permission is sought and a public official, a volunteer conservation organization and landscape architect get together – and that is just what happened in Hastings-on-Hudson.

Landscape architects are in a powerful position to influence the use of native plants in public and private places. One such design firm used their talents to inspire a community based collaborative project in San Francisco. That lights us up!

CALIFORNIA MIGHTY OAKS – by Mary Sanichas
A fun, easy-to-read summary of the many ways oak trees hold ecosystems together — with over a dozen links and resource about how we can support them. Perfect for introducing students, neighbors, friends and family to the importance of native oak trees.

The Muscatine Pollinator Project took over acres of old unused farm land that had gone to weed to create a 55 acre Pollinator Park inside the City limits of Muscatine.

Small changes Big Impacts. Prairie strips provide a win-win scenario for farmers and wildlife. Research shows that by converting 10% of a crop-field to diverse, native perennial vegetation, farmers and landowners can reduce sediment movement off their field by 95 percent and total phosphorous and nitrogen lost through runoff by 90 and 85 percent, respectively.

Does the following sound familiar? You go to the garden center to pick up some plants for your garden. The plant with big flashy flowers calls to you. You put it in your cart. Then you discover that it comes in several different colors! You put one of each color in your cart. You take them home to plant not really knowing where they will go…but you loved them and will find a place for them somewhere.