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Certify your property as a Louisiana Certified Habitat!  Every property, from the smallest city garden to rural acreage, is eligible to apply.  

The Louisiana Native Plant Society invites Louisiana residents, businesses, schools, and public institutions to certify their outdoor spaces as certified habitats through the Louisiana Certified Habitat Program (LCH).  We know that native plants are the foundation of a healthy and resilient ecosystem.  This program encourages property owners to increase and protect the ecological value and natural heritage of their land by recognizing their efforts to utilize native plant species and to enact best habitat gardening practices.  Habitat Certification Levels are determined by the amount of native plant species or percentage of native plant species on a property.  State-wide, over 140 properties have certified to date, almost 50 in the NOLA area, many electing to appear on the MAP where certifications are being recorded.  The levels include bronze, 25 native species or 25% native plants; silver 50 native species or 50% native plants;  gold 75 native species or 75% native plants.  Certification includes a 9 x 12 inch metal yard sign citing the habitat level.  Levels can be upgraded for free at any time.

The Native Plant Initiative of Greater New Orleans (NPI) certifies the Southeast region of Louisiana.  Parishes include: Ascension, Assumption, Jefferson, Lafourche, New Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany, Terrebonne, Washington.  There is no minimum acreage requirement. All properties are eligible for certification.

How to apply

Payment is due at time of application.  When the application and payment are received, a representative from NPI will contact you about the certification process and may request a site visit.   A refund will be issued if certification is not granted. Please email npi.gno2019@gmail.com if cost is an issue.  

  Helpful Links: Native Plant Checklist | Guide to ALL Plants of Louisiana (not all native) | Tier 1 Invasive Species|Full Brochure

Yard to Habitat Workshop

Earlier this month, NPI took a road trip to Arnaudville for Acadiana Native Plant Project’s (ANPP) Yard-to-Habitat workshop.  ANPP’s website states that the workshop is “designed to help homeowners and landscapers transform property, from small yards in town to big pastures in the country, to native habitat for pollinators, birds and other wildlife and improve ecological resilience.”  

(from left to right) NPI board member Tanya, ANPP's Phyllis, NPI board member Cheryl in Phyllis' yard

NPI president, Tammany Baumgarten, helped facilitate, working with a break out group on their designs and board members, Tanya Mennear and Cheryl Geiger, attended to learn how to offer this type of workshop in New Orleans.  When the plans and plant lists were created, all attendees were invited to visit ANPP’s demonstration garden and greenhouse to purchase plants to be used in their habitat landscapes. 

After a stroll through the demo garden and greenhouse, the board members joined some of the ANPP board and organization members at Bayou Teche Brewery for pizza and fellowship, further fostering the relationship between NPI and ANPP.  The following day included visits to the incredible home gardens of ANPP leaders Phyllis Griffard and Lawrence Rozas. 

ANPP is doing great things over in Acadiana.  Check them out!

Louisiana Native Plant Society (LNPS) recently put out a statement on habitat gardening and best practices for ecological resilience.  The Native Plant Initiative of GNO is aligned with this statement and supports property owners adherence to best practices of land and water conservation as crucial wildlife habitat.  You can read the entire position statement HERE.

LNPS also created a communication toolkit for Louisiana native plant gardeners to explain to their neighbors the benefits of habitat gardening and for finding common ground with neighbors who may not understand why a property owner would choose to garden this way. Click HERE to view the toolkit.

 

 

Join us to plant, weed, and install edging at the Keller Library.  Come when you can and stay for as long as you want.  Afterwards,  lunch at el Pavo Real across the street - and you could join us for that part alone if that works for you!

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. tinctoriaCoreopsis 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.