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“How We Turned a Barren Construction Site Into A Gold Level Habitat In Less Than One Year"

Tracey Banowetz

Background

Our interest in using native plants in our landscaping began over twenty five years ago as two of our hobbies - gardening and birdwatching - intertwined.  For Dave, reading Noah’s Garden by Sara Stein back in 1994 was like what reading Doug Tallamy’s Bringing Nature Home or Nature’s Best Hope is for many today.  It showed how we could enjoy both hobbies in a way that also supported our more fundamental interests in nature and conservation.

Our first attempt at gardening with native plants was in conjunction with the construction of a new home in a Baton Rouge subdivision in 1995.  We outgrew that space within five years and acquired 26 acres in the Tunica Hills north of St. Francisville.  We enjoyed almost 20 years of fun in the woods before facing the fact that it was time to downsize.  Which brings us to the start of the present-day story….

Initially, the concept of downsizing was depressing as we struggled with the thought of trying to shrink what we had in terms of both home and garden.   What to keep?  What to get rid of?  And how?  We needed a vision!   We found it at an exhibit at the West Baton Rouge museum on the interior design concepts of Frank Lloyd Wright.  Dave and I walked out of the exhibit, looked at each other, and said “That’s it!  We keep nothing and go in a completely different direction.”   

This meant swapping a 160 year old historic home and most of its contents for a small but intensely functional space based on the principles of Wright’s Usonian designs.  But the characteristics of organic architecture - “creating harmony between human habitation and the natural world” - also provided an exciting step forward in our continuing interest in gardening with native plants.   

So now we had to find a homesite.  We looked for property on the New Orleans north shore in order to be closer to both of our mothers who still live in the area.  We chose a 3/4 acre lot in the Money Hill subdivision in Abita Springs.  We were attracted to Money Hill because of the conservation ethics expressed by the Goodyear family as well as their association with The Nature Conservancy.   We chose our lot based on its gradual elevation change and the fact that it backed up to a small lake and a large common area with lots of space and lovely views.  We knew our architect could help us do something really cool with the site.

Design Goals for the Home and Garden

In keeping with the principles of organic architecture, we wanted the construction of the home to be “dirt neutral.”  In other words, we wanted as little fill and as little excavation as possible, despite the fact that the lot had a strong declining slope from front to back.  The result was a split-level open u-shape home that melded into the existing topography.  Pale green brick would further help the house blend in to its surroundings.

The changing elevation across the property created both challenges and opportunities.  Managing the drainage in a sensitive way would be a challenge and for this we collaborated with Philip Moser Associates and installed a series of french drains and dry stream beds.  A low retaining wall at the rear of the main garden in the front yard was added to retain both soil and soil moisture in this bed.  Terraced steps in the rear compliment the geometry of the house, creating garden and lawn spaces that absorb water runoff from the roof.  This also allowed us to preserve and protect a large longleaf pine in the backyard by avoiding any significant fill in its root zone.

Different elevations and exposures on the site offered us the opportunity to create three main habitat areas.  The higher and sunnier front yard became the upland pine savannah; the lower, wetter northeastern corner became the lowland pine savannah or “flatwoods garden;” and the shadier west side became the woodland garden.

We were required to present a landscape plan to the Money Hill HOA prior to constructing our home.  At the time we did this, the committee was primarily concerned with tree preservation and had some detailed requirements regarding the minimum number of trees you were required to have for each zone of your property.  This was not a difficult target for us to meet and our initial plan was readily accepted.  While the plan included a large planting area in the front yard for the upland pine savannah, there was also a generous amount of turf, which probably helped facilitate the approval.  That said, current guidelines call for a minimum of 20% turf area in the front yard, so we have the opportunity to expand this garden as we learn more about what plants are most successful in this area.  Thus far, the only “push back” we have received from the HOA was that it took longer than the required three months from move-in to install the garden.    

Plant Selection

When it came to selecting specific plants for the gardens, we wanted to focus primarily on the use of indigenous native plant material common to the longleaf pine ecosystem that was original to the Money Hill area.  Lucky for us, our best friends are Rick and Susan Webb who own the fabulous Louisiana Growers Nursery in nearby Amite.  Having held my landscape horticulture license since 2002, we had easy access to some wonderful plant material, including lots of special selections that Rick has made from St. Tammany, Washington, and Tangipahoa parishes. 

We also put into practice some of the principles we had recently learned from Claudia West and Piet Oudolf.  We sought to use native grasses and perennials in relatively dense masses.  Perennials were selected with an eye towards attracting birds, butterflies, and other pollinators.  Many of our perennials came from Louisiana Growers, but we also discovered the great selection of perennials available as “landscape plugs” from Northcreek Nursery in Pennsylvania.  Again, having my professional license allowed us access to this source of plant material.  Using large quantities of smaller plants allowed us to achieve masses of plants quickly and economically. 

Specific Plant Materials

While we focused on masses of perennials, we also opted for diversity in terms of both the woody and perennial selections.  Having the three different habitats guided our selection process and accentuated this diversity.  What follows is a list of some of the plant material in each of the three habitat gardens.

Upland Pine Savannah:  This garden is in the front yard, receiving full sun with a southern exposure.  The property slopes gently from the street down towards the house.

Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa), Yellow False Indigo (Baptisia sphaerocarpa), Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium), Coral Bean (Erythrina herbacea), Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium fistulosum), Blue Arrow Rush (Juncus inflexus), Prairie Blazing Star (Liatris pycnostachya), Dense Blazing Star (Liatris spicata),Scarlet Beebalm (Monarda didyma), Peter’s Purple Bee Balm (Monarda fisulosa x barlettii), Spotted Beebalm (Monarda punctata), Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), Shortleaf Pine (Pinus echinata), Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris), Prairie Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata), Orange Coneflower (Rudbeckia hirta), Giant Coneflower (Rudbeckia maxima), Pineywoods Dropseed (Sporobolus junceus), Stokes Aster (Stokesia laevis), Tree Huckleberry (Vaccinium arboreum).

Lowland Pine Savannah:  This garden is in the rear northeastern corner of the property.  It has significant elevation change across its area, staying drier at the top and much more damp at the rear.

Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), Whorled Milkweed (Asclepias verticillata), American Hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana), Button Bush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium fistulosum), Spiderlily (Hymenocallis liriosme), Dahoon Holly (Ilex cassine, “Tchefuncta”), Virginia Sweetspire (Itea virginica), Virginia Saltmarsh Mallow (Kosteletzkya virginica), Fetterbush (Lyonia lucida), Southern Wax Myrtle (Myrica cerifera), Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris), Swamp Azalea (Rhododendron serrulatum),  Florida Azalea (Rhododendron austrinum), Giant Coneflower (Rudbeckia maxima), Little Bluestem Grass (Schizachyrium scoparium), Wrinkleleaf Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa), Elliott’s Blueberry (Vaccinium elliotti).

Woodland:  The woodland habitat stretches along the western side of the home, extending into the back yard area.  It is bordered by the wooded lot next door which we bought half-way into the construction process in order to preserve the trees.

Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa), Crinum Lily (Crinum americanum), Dixie Wood Fern (Dryopteris australis), Southern Wood Fern (Dryopteris ludoviciana), Bigtop Lovegrass (Eragrostis hirsuta), Beeblossom (Gaura lindheimeri), Yaupon (Ilex vomitoria), Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia), Sweetbay Magnolia (M. virginiana var. australis), Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum), Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), Obediant Plant 'Miss Manners’ (Physostegia virginiana), Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris), Live Oak (Quercus virginiana), Florida Azalea (Rhododendron austrinum), Piedmont Azalea (Rhododendron canescens), Orange Coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida var fulgida), Dwarf Palmetto (Sabal minor), Scarlet Sage (Salvia coccinea), Autumn Sage (Salvia greggii), Salvia ‘Black & Blue’ (Salvia guaranitica), Blue eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium), Indian Pink (Spigelia marilandica) Stokes Aster (Stokesia laevis).

Elsewhere on the property:  There are several other smaller beds on the site, including foundation beds across the front of the home, and additional trees dotted about.

Beeblossom (Gaura lindheimeri), Virginia Sweetspire (Itea virginica), White Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia cappillaris), Black Gum (Nyssa sylvatica var. sylvatica), Beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis) Correll's False Dragonhead (Physostegia correllii), Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris), Mexican Plum (Prunus mexicana), Water Oak (Quercus nigra), Nuttall Oak (Quercus nuttallii), Needle Palm (Rhapidophyllum hystrix), White Flame Salvia (Salvia farinacea x longispicata),  Blue eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium angusstifolium), Wrinkleleaf Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa), Pond Cypress (Taxodium distichum var. nutans).

Bog Planter:  I have long had a passion for collecting carnivorous plants and we designed a planter at the front entrance of the home to hold these.

Thread-leaf Sundew (Drosera filiformis var. tracyi), Spoon-leaf Sundew (Drosera spatulata), Starrush Whitetop (Rhynchospora colorata), 

Pale Pitcher Plant (Saracenia alata), Yellow Pitcher Plant (Saracenia flava), White Pitcher Plant (Saracenia leucophylla),  Parrot Pitcher Plant(Saracenia psittacina),  Purple Pitcher Plant (Saracenia purpurea),

Catesby’s Pitcher Plant (Saracenia x. catesbaei).

Other Perennials:  There are some non-native perennials that we just can’t live without and find particularly attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies.  These have been included in other planters and beds around the home:  Cigar Flower (Cuphea ignea), Shrimp Plant (Justicia brandegeeana), Lantana sp. ‘New Gold.’

Lot Next Door:  As mentioned earlier, about half-way through construction, we had the opportunity to purchase the lot to the west of ours.  We have begun to introduce more native trees, shrubs, and perennials into the understory.  The list below includes both pre-existing and recently planted species.

Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia),  Green Milkweed (Asclepias viridis)

American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium fistulosum), Yaupon (Ilex vomitoria),  Sweetbay Magnolia (M. virginiana var. australis), Southern Wax Myrtle (Myrica cerifera), Black Gum (Nyssa sylvatica var. sylvatica), Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris), Loblolly pine Pinus taeda), Black Cherry (Prunus serotina), Common Hoptree (Ptelea trifoliata), Live Oak (Quercus virginiana), Winged Sumac (Rhus copallinum), Giant Coneflower (Rudbeckia maxima), Lyre Leaf Sage (Salvia lyrta), Tree Huckleberry (Vaccinium arboreum).

Outcome and Reception

As of this writing, it has been a little over twelve months since we installed most of the woody plant material.  Perennials have just gone through their first winter and, for the most part, appear to have survived the recent cold snap.  We are curious to see what Spring will bring.  Our biggest challenge has been having to deal with the poor quality garden soil that was brought in to build some of the landscape beds.  We’ve had to apply a lot more fertilizer than we’d like in order to lower the soil pH and improve fertility.  

Overall though, the first year has been very rewarding.  The abundance of milkweed brought lots of monarchs and countless caterpillars and chrysalis.  Numerous other swallowtails, skippers, dragonflies, bees, and other pollinators have been spotted as well.  Turtles come up from the nearby lake to lay their eggs in the garden which is fine with us.  Various species of woodpeckers, flycatchers, warblers, and other songbirds have been spotted.  We’ve had at least three different hummingbird species overwinter in the garden too.  

The pandemic has prevented us from socializing much, so I can’t report on how the garden has been received beyond our immediate neighbors.  Our next-door neighbor is an equally avid gardener with a completely different style, but she loves it and is always curious about what we are doing.  Her granddaughter has even brought a chrysalis and a pitcher plant from our garden to show-and-tell!  The young family across the street has expressed positive curiosity as well and recently inquired about our Certified Habitat sign.

I have to admit that I laughed when, in the middle of the admittedly drawn out process of initial installation, a member of the HOA committee asked when we would be finished.  “Never!”  We recognize that our garden will never be finished.  It will always be evolving.  As we learn from our successes and failures, we will probably reduce the turf and expand the garden in the front yard.  We plan to “gently manage” the side lot by continuing to add appropriate trees, shrubs, and perennials to the understory.  We look forward to enjoying our garden and its critters for many years to come!

Tracey Banowetz is past president of the Louisiana Native Plant Society and owner of WildWing Gardens, specializing in gardens for birds, butterflies, and wildlife.  She lives and gardens with her husband David in Abita Springs, Louisiana.

Preliminary landscape design showing 3 habitat areas

Front elevation before landscaping

Front elevation after landscaping

Rear elevation before landscaping

Rear elevation after landscaping

Published on
Crossvine cultivar ’Tangerine Beauty'

This article by Dan Gill, former LSU AgCenter Horticulturist, explains why to use native plants in our landscapes.

Cardinal Flower

(07/29/16) "Native plants are not used as much as they could be in our landscapes. While natives cannot satisfactorily replace all of the many types of plants we use, incorporating native plants when and where we can is a good thing.

Flowers on a Parsley Hawthorn tree

The best reason to use native plants is that they give our landscapes a sense of place. Using plants native to your region links your landscape to natural areas and the plants they contain. It makes the gardens here in the Gulf Coast South look distinctively different than gardens in other parts of the country..."

Read the rest of his article.

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THE BIG EASY NATIVE PLANT GUIDE written specifically for the greater New Orleans area by our own Susan Norris-Davis is now available after many months of development! It includes 47 species for both sun and shade, vetted for ease of growing, suitable for small city gardens, and available locally at listed sites. It is beautifully illustrated (Amelia Wiygul) and thoroughly researched. Printed locally in the Lower 9 at Paper Machine on 100% post-consumer fiber recycled paper. It will be for sale at the City Park Pelican Greenhouse plant sales on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings 8am - noon. The author will be there this Friday and would be happy to sign a copy.
It is also for sale at Barber Laboratories, 6444 Jefferson Hwy. in Harahan (nolabuglady.com)
And you can buy it online . You can choose a delivery option locally within the city or there is a shipping option. The cost is $20.00 (tax included) plus delivery ($1.00) or shipping ($3.50).

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We enjoy our Spring gardening season so much here in the deep Gulf South, but once we get to July and August and into the real dog days of summer, with near constant tropical deluges and sauna-like heat, our gardens can just look tired and not at their best.   Many of the garden plants we use for seasonal color and pizzazz don’t manage our summertime combination of heavy rainfall and oppressive temperatures very well, but as usual - there’s a native plant for that!

Some of the most dramatic and colorful native plants for our area, with flowers sometimes as much as 8-10” across, are our native hibiscus species.  These plants, in the Malvaceae family, also answer to common names like Rose Mallow, Swamp Rose Mallow, Crimson-eyed Mallow and yes, Marsh Mallow.  The genus Hibiscus includes four species (aculeatus, grandiflorus, lasiocarpos, and mosheutos) that are native to Louisiana plus H. coccineus that is native to the United States but perhaps not Louisiana.  Also garden worthy is Kosteletskya virginica, our native Saltmarsh Mallow.  Found naturally in moist to wet areas up the eastern seaboard from Louisiana to New Jersey, all of these easy-to-grow plants shine in the summer heat and thrive here in our gardens.

Native mallows are herbaceous, long-lived perennial plants.   Flower colors often vary in nature from white to shades of pink and even bright red in the case of Hibiscus coccineus, better known Scarlet Rosemallow or Texas Star Hibiscus.  Hibiscus aculeatus, the Pineland Hibiscus or Comfortroot, can be a soft white to butter-yellow, reminiscent of an okra flower.  Hibiscus moscheutos and H. lasiocarpus are usually “crimson eyed” having a distinctive red throat on white flowers.  Halbeardleaf Hibiscus, H. laevis, is distinguished by its’ leaf-shape and can be found in many color variations.  All have an impressive pollen-coated stamen that protrudes from the flower, making them particularly attractive to people and bees alike.  Lots of breeding has been done with our native hibiscus species. Hybrids and cultivars abound in the nursery trade, including the LSU Super Plants, the Luna series.

In the wild, mallows occur in ditches, in or near swamps, lakes or rivers showing off their love for moist to wet, rich soil.  While they are well suited to wet and moist areas, pond edges, and rain gardens which makes them the perfect stormwater management plant, they are equally as happy in the average sunny garden bed with adequate moisture.  This time of year, it is often easy to spot these plants along our roadsides in ditches or in swampy areas.  I often see pink mallows on the Lake side of the Bonne Carre’ spillway and have recently been seeing pale yellow Comfortroot on the sides of Highway 25 near Folsom blooming in wet swales.

Native mallows differ from non-native tropical hibiscus in that they go completely dormant in winter, leaving only upright tan-colored, hollow stalks standing.  I find these stalks dramatic and interesting in the winter garden and rather than clip them down, I leave them standing.   This not only marks where the plant is in the garden, but also provides perfect nesting spaces for native bees that rely on hollow plant stalks for rearing their young.  I have also seen birds shred the dried, woody stems to make nesting material.

Most native mallow species can get quite tall, as much as 6-8’ or more, but the plants can be encouraged to branch by pinching the growing tip at an early stage before they set flower buds.  As a plant matures, more and more flowering stalks will emerge each year from the crown, making for a bushier, fuller appearance.  When flowering is finished, the large dry seed pods are easy to harvest, each containing many seeds to collect and share.  They are super easy to grow and sprout quickly in regular potting mix, with no special preparation, under just a bit of soil.  For some summer sizzle in your sunny garden, try these excellent, easy natives!

Tammany Baumgarten is a New Orleans Master Gardener and the current President of the Native Plant Initiative of Greater New Orleans. The Native Plant Initiative of Greater New Orleans will be hosting Mallow Madness, a native hibiscus give-away, on August 22nd, 8-10am, at First Grace Methodist Church, 3401 Canal Street in New Orleans.  See the website, npi-gno.org for updates and more info.

 

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http://www.briarwoodnp.org/

Caroline Coroneos Dormon (1888-1971) by Amy Graham of Longue Vue Gardens

“I could no more have stopped studying birds, flowers, and trees and drawing them than I could have stopped breathing!”

 “Our swamp debutante (the iris) has become a horticultural queen, reigning in gardens around the world”, 1951

Considered Louisiana’s first conservationist and one of the most influential American naturalists of the early 20th century, Caroline Dormon was an accomplished horticulturist, botanist, archeologist, ornithologist, teacher, Louisiana Iris hybridizer and author.  As a child in Saline LA, Dormon developed a keen interest in nature and spent most of her life collecting, cataloging and preserving native plants.  As the first woman employed by the U.S. Forestry Service in 1921, Caroline worked to establish Kisatchie National Forest by writing an enabling act that would allow the government to purchase old growth forest land.

Affectionately known as “Miss Carrie”, Dormon’s expertise was uncontested which conveyed into years of lecturing and consultation work through the 1940’s. Projects included highway beautification with the Louisiana Department of Transportation, nature-scaping of the Huey P. Long Charity Hospital and the establishment of the Louisiana State Arboretum in 1961. She also developed forestry education materials for schools, promoted forestry conservation support among civic leaders, and advocated for education and support for the Choctaw and Chitimacha tribes of Louisiana.

Dormon’s letters attest to professional correspondence with notable national figures including Lady Bird Johnson, Thomas Edison, garden writer Elizabeth Lawrence, famed botanist Dr. J.K. Small and landscape architect Ellen Biddle Shipman.

Published works include: Wild Flowers of Louisiana (1934), the first published work devoted entirely to describing Louisiana wildflowers, Forest Trees of Louisiana (1941), Flowers Native to the Deep South (1958), Natives Preferred (1965), Southern Indian Boy (1967), and Bird Talk (1969).

Dormon’s lifelong project was her 121-acre home Briarwood.  On Dormon’s passing in 1971, her beloved Briarwood was willed to The Foundation for the Preservation of the Caroline Dormon Nature Preserve, Inc, and became the Briarwood Nature Preserve, now designated as a National Historic Place.

The Dormon archives are located at the library of Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, LA.

Awards and appointments:

Member of the DeSoto Commission

Eloise Paine Luquer Medal by the Garden Club of America

Louisiana’s Board of Public Welfare and the State’s Highway Department

Honorary Doctorate of Science from Louisiana State University for Distinguished Scientific Achievement

To read more about Caroline Dormon, click here.

 

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Millennials Require More From The Market

Published October 2019
By Felice Lavergne

"There seems to be a growing number of millennial native plant enthusiasts in the Greater New Orleans area, noticed in part because of the recent gatherings of the Native Plant Initiative of GNO, a new native plant organization focused on increasing the use of native plants  by expanding public awareness of their ecological benefits, boosting viability, and by preserving and creating native plant communities in and around our urban setting..."

This article was published in the Fall 2019 issue of the Louisiana Nursery and Landscape Association's newsletter. Click here to read the article.

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Thank you to Thomas Rainer and Claudia West for coming to the New Orleans Botanic Gardens to teach us design skills, to create more vital and ecologically functional plantings for green infrastructure, public plantings, and residential gardens based on native plant communities. They were inspirational, enthusiastic, and most enjoyable! Their book, Planting in a Post-Wild World is worth the read, and indeed was a catalyst for the formation of NPI-GNO.

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Crazy for Coreopsis
by Tammany Baumgarten

Native gardeners are crazy for Coreopsis!  There are 13 species of Coreopsis, pronounced “core-ee-OP-siss,” that are native to Louisiana and all are long-blooming, sturdy, good wildlife plants that add weeks of color to our Louisiana gardens starting very early in the Spring.  Some Coreopsis are annuals that live and die in one season while others are perennial and can last for many years.  One common name for Coreopsis is Tickseed, which may refer to the dark, shiny seeds of some of them or the potential for the seeds to stick to skin or clothing.  Indeed, it is very easy to collect seed from these plants and easy to grow them, making them a perfect plant to share and popular in wildflower and pollinator mixes.

Coreopsis is a favorite of the horticulture industry and while lots of breeding work has produced many named selections and cultivars of this plant, there are several straight species that are adaptable, beautiful plants for a sunny, well-drained garden.  Sometimes, in breeding efforts to make a plant more appealing to people, wildlife benefits can be compromised, making plants less useful to insects, bees and birds.  Using straight species, just as they occur in the wild, ensures that your plants will have all of the natural wildlife benefits that nature intended.

Two of the more common species of Coreopsis used in gardens are C. lanceolata and C. tinctoria. Coreopsis lanceolata, Lance-leaf Coreopsis, is perennial and has large, pure golden yellow flowers.  It grows about 12-16” tall and is an early bloomer, beginning in late March and going through June.  Like most of our Coreopsis, it prefers well-drained sunny spaces and happily re-seeds, sometimes creating large colonies.  In early April, Lance-leaf Coreopsis in combination with other Coreopsis species like C. pubescens and C. intermedia can be seen in late Spring and early summer on Louisiana roadsides in the piney regions of the state.

Coreopsis tinctoria, also known as Plains Coreopsis, is an annual species, lasting only one season, and can be seen growing wild on disturbed roadside areas, but is also a gardener’s favorite.  These fast-growing plants can be direct seeded into garden beds and pots or planted out as plants.  They always reward with a multitude of bi-colored flowers with yellow petals, red-brown at the base and brown center discs.  The flowers are carried above airy, finely cut foliage on tall plants at 2-4 feet.  They respond very well to pinching or cutting back when young to produce a denser, more branched plant. There are variations of C. tinctoria that present very pale yellow, ivory or mahogany red petals.  Again, C. tinctoria prefers well drained and full-sun situations and can handle poorer soils.  It is easy to collect seed or just allow this plant to re-seed itself in the garden.

Coreopsis are the perfect plants for wildflower gardens, meadows, pollinator gardens, naturalistic and native plantings.  A combination of species will provide weeks of color early in the growing season.  They do fine in poorer soils, and tolerate our heat and humidity well if given a well-drained situation. Many species of pollinators, especially native bees, will use Coreopsis and at least two moths use it as a host plant.  In addition, the seeds may also be eaten by birds.  Native gardeners are crazy for Coreopsis and it’s easy to see why!

The Native Plant Initiative of Greater New Orleans is hosting two Crazy for Coreopsis native plant giveaways in the GNO area, February 20th and 27th.  Each family will receive one or more FREE native Coreopsis plants as supplies last.  Go to npi-gno.org for locations, times and other details.