Add natural beauty with environmental benefits to your landscape!
The Blue Ridge Chapter of the North Carolina Native Plant Society is announcing two native plant sale events to be held at the Daniel Boone Native Gardens located at 651 Horn in the West Drive, Boone. The dates for the events are Saturday, May 22 and Saturday June 26, rain or shine. In the event of rain, the location will be moved across the street to the picnic shelter in Boone Park. Both events will run from 8:00am to 12:00pm.
At least 80 different varieties of perennials, ferns, grasses, sedges, trees and shrubs native to this region and well suited to our local growing conditions will be offered. Some rare species will be available. Growing native plants benefits both the environment and the gardener. Native plants readily provide food, shelter and protection for the insects, birds and other wildlife in their given region and by providing plants that are native to their region, the gardener ensures that the local pollinators, birds and wildlife will thrive. The gardener benefits because native plants are well suited to their particular climate, annual rainfall, soil conditions and elevation; they require less fertilizer or additional watering.
Finding sources for native plants has traditionally been difficult and buyers have to be careful to ensure that plants were legally propagated and not illegally removed from their wild habitat. All the plants provided for this sale have been responsibly propagated in accordance with all plant protection laws. “We will have some rare and endangered species for sale again such as Venus Flytraps and Oconee Bells, all propagated legally. Our flytraps for example were started in tissue culture by students at Appalachian State University. When buying endangered plants like this, it is important that buyers ask for their origin to make sure they are not contributing to the problem of poaching by purchasing plants that have been illegally dug from the wild,” Said Dr. Annkatrin Rose, Chair of the Blue Ridge Chapter.
Transforming one’s entire property into a native plant community may seem daunting and may not even be practical in some situations, but these plant sales provide a great opportunity for someone to try out just a few species at a time and even that is valuable to the environment. Knowledge of the importance of pollinators is growing and more people are gaining appreciation of the value of growing native plants. Hopefully this will lead to greater availability of native plant species for the average gardener.
Most perennials will be sold in $5.00 quart and $10.00 gallon containers. Trees, shrubs and rare species will be individually priced. This is a non-profit fund raiser with proceeds from the sales benefitting the Daniel Boone Native Gardens and the NC Native Plant Society.
About the Blue Ridge Chapter of the North Carolina Native Plant Society:
The mission of the North Carolina Native Plant Society is to promote the enjoyment and conservation of North Carolina’s native plants and their habitats through education, protection, propagation, and advocacy. The Blue Ridge Chapter in Boone is the newest chapter started in 2015. For more information see https://ncwildflower.org/blue-
About the Daniel Boone Native Gardens:
Opened in 1963, the mission of the gardens is to protect and conserve plants in addition to educating visitors about native plants of North Carolina. The Daniel Boone Native Gardens are located at 651 Horn in the West Drive, Boone, NC. The Gardens are always open. Donations are welcome. Suggested donation is $2 for adults and free for children under 16. For more information see https://www.
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