Hydrangea quercifolia

NativeSCAPE
Published by the Georgia Native Plant Society

January 2011
Volume XVII, Number 1

Whats Bugging Your Garden?

by Ellen Honeycutt Page 3

How to Kill an Azalea

By Ken Gohring Presidents Message Plant Rescue News Chapter News Plant Focus Member Focus Upcoming GNPS Events Website Update Membership Renewal 2 14 15 16 18 20 22 23 Page 5

My Botanical Illustrations, A Walk Through the Calendar Year

By Linda Fraser Page 6

A Visit to Russell Cave National Monument, Bridgeport, Alabama

By Gina Strickland Page 8

Newsletter Editor Sharon Parry Newsletter staff: Ellen Honeycutt and Lisa Betz, Proofreaders NativeSCAPE is published quarterly by the Georgia Native Plant Society. A subscription is included with membership in the GNPS. Copyright 2011 by the Georgia Native Plant Society. All rights reserved. Articles may not be reprinted without permission of the author.

2011 Plant of the Year

Mapleleaf Viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium) Page 10

Certificate in Native Plants Program in January

The State Botanical Garden of Georgia launches its fourth year. Page 12

Book Review:
Gil Nelsons Best Native Plants for Southern Gardens Page 13

Georgia Native Plant Society P.O. Box 422085 Atlanta, GA 30342-2085 www.gnps.org 770-343-6000 GNPS Board of Directors President Ellen Honeycutt Vice President Jacqueline McRae Secretary Marcie Radokovich Treasurer Paula Reith Members-at-Large: Charles Brown Susan Hanson Pat Smith Director of Communications David Haimbach Director of Conservation Marcia Winchester Director of Education Julie Newell Director of Membership Jane Trentin
About your membership in the Georgia Native Plant Society Your membership dues and donations help support our mission which is: To promote the stewardship and conservation of Georgias native plants and their habitats By sponsoring meetings, workshops, an annual symposium, grants, scholarships, the native plant rescue program, and this newsletter utilizing an all-volunteer staff of dedicated native plant enthusiasts. We look forward to and appreciate your continued support. Membership renewal forms for 2011 can now be completed online or by completing the form on the last page of this news letter.

NativeSCAPE January 2011

Presidents Message
By Ellen Honeycutt

Happy New Year! If you dont have a New Years resolution yet, Ill be happy to lend you mine: I resolve to help more people learn about the beauty and importance of Georgias native plants and conserving the habitats that support them. GNPS affords us all a way to do just that, so please join us in helping GNPS reach as many new people as possible. While we look ahead to the good things we can do in 2011, its inspiring to reflect on our accomplishments from 2010. In February we participated in the Southeastern Flower Show and won an impressive slate of awards for our exhibit designed by Shannon Pable. Then there was our snowed-out Symposium what timing for Atlantas only snowstorm of 2010! April was a busy month with our Garden Tour (which was featured in the AJC) and our return -from-the-drought Plant Sale at McFarlane Nature Park. The Plant Sale, long overdue and much anticipated, was a stunning success even with a thunderstorm during the event. In August, the Board was pleased to officially welcome our first new chapter: the West Georgia Chapter of GNPS, based in Carrollton, GA. In September we were able to reschedule our Symposium and had a wonderful time. Rescues returned to pre-drought levels, saving plants which found new homes not only with you, but with your friends, restoration programs and plant sale customers. In between all those things, we held bi-monthly meetings with speakers, awarded grant monies, hosted field trips, sponsored several excellent workshops at our Stone Mountain Propagation Project area, and toiled cheerfully through monthly (and more) workdays at SMPP, our adopted trail at Heritage Park in Mableton, and our newest restoration sites at Buffalo Creek in Carrollton and Mary Scott Nature Preserve in DeKalb County. Volunteers also staffed tables for GNPS at several events around the metro Atlanta area, from Morrow to Murrayville, helping to spread the word about our organization. Just recently we launched a Facebook page for GNPS to help reach more new people. This will serve as a complement to our website, alerting people to events and resource materials on gnps.org. Look for us there and your support will help your friends find us too. Like many organizations, our membership is down over the last few years. You can help by introducing others to GNPS, inviting them to meetings and other events so they can see the value in supporting our efforts. Thanks to good plant sales, donations, and thrifty management of our resources, the GNPS Board was able to approve monetary gifts to two organizations at the end of 2010: the Georgia Natural Heritage Program and the North Georgia College and State University predator beetle lab. In this economy, programs like these can use extra funds and GNPS is pleased to be able to help. Read more about what these organizations do on our website. What a busy year! Can we top it? We sure can with your help and support, we reach further every year. I hope that each and every one of you will take a more active role in the Society. We have committee openings for whatever your interest might be and could certainly use your help at any level. I look forward to seeing you at an event in 2011.

NativeSCAPE January 2011

Whats Bugging Your Garden?
Text and Photos by Ellen Honeycutt

As I walk around my yard surveying my queendom as my friend Shirley Center says sometimes I find unusual things. Perhaps an unexpected bloom or a beautifully colored leaf or sometimes I find branches that are stripped of their leaves, the ground littered with small black dots! These are the hallmark signs of caterpillars. Caterpillars are the larval stage of Lepidoptera species or what most of us call Butterflies and Moths. In between fluttering around to sip nectar from our flowering plants, these creatures take a few moments to locate a place to lay their eggs. Most of them will seek out particular plants, and these are known as their host plants. One of the most well known host plants is Milkweed (Asclepias spp.). Monarch Caterpillar on Hawthorn Leaf butterfly caterpillars feed exclusively on Milkweed plants and so the butterfly will only lay her eggs on plants in the genus Asclepias. Lepidoptera that feed on only certain plants in their larval stage are known as specialists. Those that feed on a variety of plants are known as generalists. The Moth Sibine stimulea is one such generalist; you may know it better by the name associated with the larval form: Saddleback caterpillar. Ive encountered this caterpillar on birch trees, oaks, hazelnuts, blueberries, maples, cherries and fothergilla. Once the egg is laid and sometimes only one is laid and sometimes there are many the larva emerges and begins to feed on the plant itself, usually a leaf. What follows is a cycle familiar to many of us from school: the caterpillar eats and grows until it is mature enough to form a chrysalis. The chrysalis is attached to a branch nearby (usually a different plant) and remains there until the butterfly (or moth) emerges. At the August meeting of the West Georgia GNPS chapter in Carrollton, we heard member Gail Woody talk about how the Gulf Fritillary butterfly lays a single egg on the tendril of the Passiflora vine rather than on the leaf. I have a rambunctious Passiflora lutea vine outside my front window so the next day I looked carefully at some of the tendrils, and I found one a single egg right at the tip of the tendril! Within days, the vine was covered in bright orange caterpillars.

Gulf Fritillary Butterflies with Old Chrysalis Above

New gardeners are often dismayed to find caterpillar damage on their plants. Perhaps they feel that they have failed their plants by not protecting them from pests. When it comes to native plants, however, that could not be farther from the truth! Doug Tallamy is an entomologist with the University of Delaware who has produced an enlightening book: Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens. This book illustrates with scientific research how native plants feed the insects that support our birds and other wildlife. Native plants and native insects have evolved together a perfect relationship that, for the specialists, can be no other way. According to research cited by Dr. Tallamy, up to 90 percent of all phytophagous insects are considered specialists. Phytophagus insects are those that feed on plants.

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NativeSCAPE January 2011

Whats Bugging Your Garden?
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So let them eat! Still dismayed? Dont be in a healthy ecosystem, all components are kept in check. Most of the caterpillars will be eaten by birds that need them for protein for themselves and their chicks. Some will get eaten by other insects, and those insects will be eaten by more birds or small mammals. Sure, sometimes a caterpillar or two can defoliate a small plant. I discovered that my 18 inch Aralia spinosa (Devils Walking Stick) was down to its last few leaflets thanks to 3 plump tobacco hornworm caterpillars. I know the plant will be fine come spring; it was mostly done with those leaves anyway. I found another one on a young Ilex verticillata (Winterberry). After the caterpillar was gone, it put out some new leaves to replace the ones that had been eaten. Of course there are other bugs that feed on plants. Japanese beetles are a well known type of generalist beetle that eats plants. This is not the pest we want in our garden, however, because it is competition for the native insects. You should be aware that Japanese Hornworm on Aralia spinosa beetle larvae overwinter in grass roots, so reducing the amount of turf may help or you can research treating the turf with Milky Spore. I recently encountered a Katydid on one of my oak trees; this insect also feeds on plants and can itself be a tasty treat for large birds (and my cats!). Dont forget the spiders while they dont eat plants themselves, spiders help keep the numbers of other insects in check. If they are not in your way, leave them to do their work in keeping things in balance. Here are some good websites for identifying caterpillars and bugs: http://www.discoverlife.org/ mp/20q?guide=Caterpillars http://www.whatsthatbug.com/
Katydid on Oak

http:// www.backyardnature.net/ caterpil.htm

Praying Mantis

Tussock Moth on Fothergilla

NativeSCAPE January 2011

How to Kill an Azalea
By Ken Gohring

On a forum on the Internet there was a discussion on how to kill an azalea. One individual indicated that a good way to kill them would be to move them to his yard. A common refrain often heard from our members is I finally learned how to stop murdering them! Over the years, I suppose I have killed quite a few azaleas. When I built my present home, I was determined to use azaleas extensively in the landscape. I planted several one gallon plants throughout my yard and around my home. They were doing OK until I decided that I should try to speed them on to bloom size. I purchased a high nitrogen fertilizer and generously applied it to my new plants. To my dismay, several of the plants soon started to wilt and die. I realized I had applied too much fertilizer and quickly went about trying to salvage them. I physically removed any visible fertilizer and watered liberally. I saved most of the plants but lost several. Over fertilization is definitely one way to kill an azalea. I believe that the fertilization would not have killed established plants but I learned the hard way to be careful when fertilizing new plants. Other ways to kill azaleas include over- watering, bad site selection, planting at the wrong time of the year, poor planting practices, selection of the wrong species or cultivar, inadequate mulching, and - the primary reason why azaleas die - neglect to provide adequate watering, primarily during the first and second growing seasons. First, select a site with good drainage. Dig a hole where you want to plant and fill the hole with water. If the water is absorbed by the soil in ten minutes, then that site has adequate drainage. If, however, the water remains after 10 minutes and you still absolutely want your azalea at that location, mix in ample pine bark or other compost and position the plant on a mound such that the majority of the root ball is above the normal soil line. Most losses due to over-watering are the result of inadequate drainage.
One that Made It: Rhododendron canescens Photo: Ken Gohring

Excessive heat is a concern and planting on the east or north side of a house is one way to protect from afternoon sun. Too much sun sometimes results in quick bloom fade. However, one should avoid planting in deep shade as lack of sun results in poor bloom set, especially with native azaleas. Planting under tall pines is generally good practice. Planting time is critical. The fall of the year is a good time to plant in Georgia. I planted several native azaleas this spring and, though I watered, I guess I did not water enough. That, coupled with the hot summer that we experienced, resulted in the loss of about 50% of the plants. In the past I have used drip systems and more transplants survived. Plant selection is important. Try to obtain plants that were grown locally. Seek out local nurseries and ask them where their plants come from. Many plants available at the big box stores are shipped in from distant sites and these plants may not adapt well to our local soil and climate. Newly planted azaleas should be watered regularly until their roots have become established. This is usually the first year or two. In times of low rainfall, all plants, including established ones, must be watered. Good gardening practices also include mulching well, which helps to keep the roots cool, conserve moisture, and stabilize the soil. For more information on azalea care, please visit The Azalea Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society.

NativeSCAPE January 2011

My Botanical Illustrations, A Walk Through the Calendar Year
By Linda Fraser

Because I was not familiar with many of Atlanta's native plants when we moved here thirty-two years ago, I started to collect a herbarium (dried plants) of each plant on our property. I soon had boxes and boxes of twigs, leaves, notes, etc... and realized that the best way for me, an artist, to study the plants and learn to recognize them was to draw them. I now have over a hundred paintings that travel as the educational exhibit, A Walk through the Calendar Year. As plants appear in my neighborhood, I keep a record of first bloom and last bloom, and the location. This is called a phenology. Whenever I have an opportunity to paint, I go to my records to learn where there is a plant ready to be painted. A flowering plant may be painted in the spring and then later in the year when it has fruit. There are insects, etc.. hiding in most of the paintings. It can be like "Where's Waldo?" A botanical illustration should answer every question someone might have about that plant. Therefore, the first priority is to learn everything you can about your plant from respected books and experts. Then you can select a specimen that is the best typical example. That spectacular, interesting bloom that is the Jack in the Pulpit exception to the rule won't serve your purpose of a botanical illustration. An (Arisaema triphyllum) early mistake I made was the selection of the most interesting and colorful cluster of fruits of Jack in the Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) that I could find. The berries start out green but ripen to a bright red. I chose to paint a cluster that included green and orange immature berries the same size as the red ones. After painting them, I stood back and realized they looked like a bunch of M & M candies. I changed my painting to illustrate a cluster one would be more likely to find, a bright red cluster with insignificant immature berries. Plants don't sit still! Outdoors, blossoms may follow the sun's tour across the sky; winds can blow your blossom apart; or they simply wilt and die. I prefer to dig smaller plants and put them in a pot. I draw and paint them indoors where the light is stationary and we are all comfortable. My Pink Lady'sslipper (Cypripedium acaule) continued to bloom in the pot for several years afterwards, but getting smaller each year. I eventually put it back in the ground and lost it. I draw blossoms first because leaves and twigs will last longer than flowers. I try to have an understudy standing by in case I lose my original subject. The mechanics of posing your plant can be hilarious. Vines may have to be hung from a chandelier. The base of a horizontal branch may be barely submerged in a flat pan of water which is perched on top of a tower of boxes, while the tip of the branch is supported by anything else you can find. Whatever works! All of this is not only to provide a pleasing composition, but to show all the information Pink Ladys-slipper needed to identify the plant. Are the leaves opposite or alternate? How does the (Cypripedium acaule) top of the leaf differ from the underside? The pattern of the veins, the shape of the stem (square or round), and the surface textures (smooth, fuzzy, etc..) of all parts of the plant should be illustrated. Of course color and size should be accurate.
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NativeSCAPE January 2011

My Botanical Illustrations, A Walk Through the Calendar Year
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I only work from live specimens. And that is how I come across many of my insects. As I was painting the Partridgepea (Cassia fasciculata), I noticed a green caterpillar and a yellow one, each resembling the developing seedpods. My mission is to report what I see so I put them in my painting as I found them. Years later, in a lecture, I heard that Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae) caterpillars are variable in color and habit- the yellow ones feed on flowers, the dark ones feed on stems. I could hardly wait to check my painting and see if that's the way I painted them. It is. There is no substitution for personal observation. Botanical artists throughout the centuries have included insects and other critters that are consistently found with the plant they are illustrating. Because the Cloudless Sulphur butterfly is always found with the Partridge-pea flowers, which it resembles, by the way, I knew I should include the butterfly in my painting. But, when I put one in a big jar to paint his portrait, he wouldn't sit still. He kept trying to fly through the glass. As I didn't yet have the heart to sacrifice a little life for the sake of art or science, I let him go and, instead, painted the red wasp which is also always found on the plant. I had no qualms about killing a wasp (I put him in the freezer). Later I learned about John Abbot (1751-ca.1840) who arrived in Georgia in February, 1776, and spent sixty years studying and illustrating southeastern butterflies and other insects and the plants on which they were found. His collected specimens were displayed in major natural history collections of Europe. When I saw his illustration of Partridge-pea, I was so glad I had not put the Cloudless Sulphur in my painting- it would have looked like I had copied him. But how wonderful it is that, for at least two hundred years, that plant and that butterfly have worked and survived together. (We can assume that Abbot did kill his butterfly to paint it.)

Partridge-pea (Cassia fasciculata)

I try to include other plants that I find blooming on that particular day, side by side with my subject, in that particular environment. A plant that enjoys a dry, sunny location would not be next to one that requires a lot of moisture. I often include ground clutter of fallen leaves, faded flowers, or seed pods in that spot, as added information about the subject; the kind of soil, moisture, and pH the plant prefers will be related to the trees and shrubs above it. With all these considerations, the final question is, " Is this an attractive painting?" At the New York Historical Society, I learned that Audubon would often draw and erase, and draw and erase until he erased right through the paper. Then he would patch it up with a torn piece of paper and continue to draw until he got it just right. I have not had to do that, but I did, one time, peel off a little mushroom I had regretted including in a painting. It had spoiled the balance of the composition and now is in my journal. I hope my illustrations of southeastern native plants will promote interest and appreciation of their excellent qualities, which are sometimes taken for granted. From the Editor: Please visit Lindas website at: http://www.lindafraserartist.com/

Round-lobed Hepatica (Hepatica americana) Heartleaf (Hexastylis arifolia)

NativeSCAPE January 2011

A Visit to Russell Cave National Monument, Bridgeport, Alabama
By Gina Strickland

As a Georgia native I have hiked many of the area parks and trails over the last 40 years. I almost missed a real treasure. Located in the northeastern corner of Alabama, Russell Cave National Monument is 8 miles from the town of Bridgeport. The cave and trails are located in Dorans Cove. For those interested in Native American history, bird watching, archeology, geology and native plants of the southeast, Russell Cave is a great place to visit. The park is comprised of 310 acres that was donated by the National Geographic Society to the American people. It was signed into law as a national monument by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. Native Americans inhabited the cave from 6500 B.C. until the mid 17th century, one of the longest records in North America, making it an important archeological site. Each year in May the park hosts a Native American Festival. The limestone Mike and Gina Strickland at Russell Cave Photo: Mike Strickland formations along the trails are unusual and interesting and really spark the visitors imagination about the forces of water and pressures that formed them. Russell Cave is site 44 on the North Alabama Birding Trail and although there are many species that can be observed, it is best known for its Tanagers. Mike and I visited on Halloween weekend. There was a brief cold snap in the weather. We enjoyed the nip in the air and the beautiful fall leaves by taking the less traveled route instead of the expressway. We took Hwy 101 out of Villa Rica by way of Rome which eventually turns into Hwy 48 until the state line when it becomes Alabama Hwy 117. I really enjoyed the pastoral views as we traveled. It was a relaxing change from the traffic noise and billboards of the I-75 corridor that would normally have taken us to Chattanooga then south to Bridgeport which is the alternate route from Atlanta. The turn into the park is well marked with a large roadside sign for the National Monument. The drive into the park is very scenic with open parkland and widely spaced trees as visitors arrive at the visitors center. Inside is a museum that covers the 9,000 years that Native Americans used the cave. There are glass case displays of artifacts that illustrate the evolution of tools and pottery over time. There is also a movie theatre with an educational video about the site. After exiting the rear of the visitors center, a raised boardwalk trail leads to the cave on the lower level and to an upper trail where one can view a large sink hole that was once another cave. A long ago roof collapse resulted in the hole we see today. We visited the sink hole first. There is an overlook area with an educational hand-crank audio box that explains the view. Although it was fall, we recognized some familiar native plants around the overlook area. This included Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides), ebony spleenwort (Asplenium platyneuron), and fernleaf phacelia (Phacelia bipinnatifida) that should make a nice show in late March or early April. We backtracked down to the lower trail that led to the cave area. Russell cave has a double opening in the limestone hillside. The left cave entrance has a creek that flows into it which is named Dry Creek although it is flowing and is of a fair size. The boardwalk leads you around towards the right side very close to the limestone outcrop wall. This is where the view of the native plants gets really nice. We spotted coral bells (Heuchera americana), sharp lobed hepatica (Hepatica acutiloba), lime stonecrop (Sedum pulchellum), and rue anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides). (Continued on next page)

NativeSCAPE January 2011

A Visit to Russell Cave National Monument, Bridgeport, Alabama
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All of these could be spotted growing and hanging from little niches and tiny promontories in the stone wall above the boardwalk. Immediately beyond the railing is some of the largest Hydrangea arborescens that I have seen. I would estimate these are at least 6 feet tall and the bloom heads were quite large. The hydrangea was growing quite thick for about 100 feet at this point on the boardwalk trail and continued up to the cave entrance. The cave roof actually overhangs a few of the larger hydrangeas so those particular specimens had blooms that were not yet affected by the recent frost. Visitors cannot walk on the cave floor or go into the cave beyond the boardwalk due to the protection of the cave species and any remaining artifacts. There is a species of scorpion that lives in the caves that is found nowhere else. Viewable from the boardwalk is a diorama illustrating some examples of Native Americans as they might have been at work or at rest in the cave. As we walked past the exhibit, the left side of the boardwalk trail exits the cave and climbs upward in height. At this point you can overlook the cove floor, which is covered with a variety of ferns. I observed red stemmed lady fern (Athyrium filix femina), Christmas fern (Polysticum acrostichoides), ebony spleenwort (Asplenium platyneuron), cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea), and royal fern (Osmunda regalis). The fern coverage is quite thick and lush, probably due to the raised boardwalk and railing that prevents wayward hikers from disturbing the plant life, providing a glimpse of what an undisturbed forest floor looks like. Next we went to the upper trail past the sink hole, to the hiking trail. At this point the boardwalk ends and the hiking trail switches back and forth up the side of the mountain. It is hard to say which I enjoyed more on this trail, the rocky outcrops or the plants growing on the rocks. Because it is a limestone hillside and has been weathered by water for centuries, some of the rock forms are very interesting and entertaining. I encourage anyone who walks this trail to go slowly and really look at the rocks along the trail. Some have very deep tubes and are situated vertically so it is easy to imagine that in a heavy rain these might run with water like drain pipes. We had fun imagining shapes of animals and other familiar objects. One stone in particular looked like a large blacksmiths anvil and another like a rhinoceros complete with horn. Many of these boulders are covered with plants. We observed resurrection fern (Pleopeltis polypodioides), rock cap fern (Polypodium virginianum) and walking fern (Asplenium rhizophyllum), which is in great abundance on the boulder tops. I am an admitted mossophile and this is definitely a good place to observe mosses, lichens and liverworts. The moss on top of some boulders surrounds sedum, heuchera, rue anemone, violets, rock cap fern and climbing fern (Lygodium palmatum.) Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) was abundant with large specimens full of shiny bright purple berries. Mike and I know many of our native songbirds; we observed quite a few familiar friends as we walked, including a pileated woodpecker. The backside or downhill portion of the trail is dense in Rock Cap Fern (Polypodium virginianum) and Walking Fern (Asplenium rhizophyllum) undergrowth which gave us a feeling of seclusion and a better opportunity to observe the birds which hopped among Photo: Mike Strickland the shrubs eating berries. We really enjoyed this visit to the Russell Cave National Monument, and plan to return in the spring to see what plants are in bloom. On the way home we stopped at nearby Bridgeport, Alabama, to visit a train museum and the walking bridge that crosses the Tennessee River which was part of the Trail of Tears and also the site of a major Civil War battle. Bridgeport and Russell Cave offer quite a lot for visitors. Mike and I hope you will take the opportunity to visit some day.

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NativeSCAPE January 2011

2011 Plant of the Year
Mapleleaf Viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium)
Voted the GNPS 2011 Plant of the Year, mapleleaf viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium) is a shrub native to thickets and shaded woods from New Brunswick, Canada, west to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, south to Florida and west to Texas. It grows naturally in mesic, mixed woods on slopes, bluffs and ravines. It can be a loosely shaped shrub up to 6 feet tall that extends itself colonially, suckering to produce a colony of plants in the right conditions. As the name suggests, the leaf of Viburnum acerifolium resembles that of a maple, particularly a red maple (Acer rubrum). The oppositely arranged leaves of the Viburnum is the same arrangement as the maple, making identification of this plant in the field just a bit more tricky when it is not in bloom. The leaves of Viburnum acerifolium are 2 to 5 inches long and wide, medium to dark green in color and often have 3 lobes. The edges are serrated and often have impressed veins.

Viburnum acerifolium in Bloom Photo: Ellen Honeycutt

Mapleleaf viburnum flowers in the spring. The blooms are on the ends of the twigs, off-white in 1 to 3 inch wide, flattopped inflorescences composed of many small flowers (the flower structure is known as a cyme). Properly pollinated flowers turn into clusters of berries that turn from green to dark blue in the fall. The fruit is considered to be a drupe, a fleshy fruit with a single seed that has a stony seed coat or endocarp. The fruit is popular with birds and rarely persists through the winter. The mature fruit is also consumed by many species of mammals. The low-growing and colonial habit of the mapleleaf viburnum provides both nesting and escape cover for birds and small mammals.

Viburnum acerifolium with Berries Photo: Ellen Honeycutt

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NativeSCAPE January 2011

2011 Plant of the Year
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Viburnums are in the Caprifoliaceae or Honeysuckle family which includes many flowering shrubs. Fall leaf color is spectacular on mapleleaf viburnum. The leaves can range from pale yellow to magenta on the same plant, but often the colors are shades of pink. Michael Dirr describes the colors as shades of florescent pink and rosered to grape-juice purplered. Leaf color starts as early as October and can last into November, depending on location. Once the leaves drop, leaf and bloom buds for next spring are quite visible on the bare twigs. Mapleleaf viburnum is an Viburnum acerifoliumFall Color Photo: Ellen Honeycutt excellent garden plant, particularly given its natural ability to thrive in part shade conditions and drier soils. This shrub would be well sited under a canopy of deciduous/mixed pine trees with perennials like native ferns and herbaceous flowering plants. It prefers acidic conditions. It also works well in a shrub border or as a foundation plant under tall windows. If pruning is required, it should be pruned after flowering since it flowers on old wood; pruning late in the year will result in fewer flowers the next spring. Viburnum acerifolium is not often found in the nursery trade the production of Viburnum trilobum (now Viburnum opulus L. var. americanum) seems more common but it is a plant that is worthy of more attention both from nurseries and landscapers. It can be propagated from seed and cuttings. In the garden, branches that touch the ground can root; these rooted branches can then be separated from the parent and planted elsewhere or shared with friends. In addition to supporting pollinator insects, mapleleaf viburnum is the larval host for the Spring Azure butterfly.

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NativeSCAPE January 2011

State Botanical Garden Kicks Off Fourth Year of Native Plants Program
The State Botanical Garden of Georgia in Athens is launching the fourth year of its Certificate in Native Plants Program in January 2011. This popular program has drawn plant lovers from across north Georgia, with people traveling from as far as Rome. Students learn from experts about all aspects of Georgias native plants, including tree and wildflower identification, native plant propagation, natural history, and plant conservation, earning certificates through coursework, volunteer hours, and field trips. The Certificate Program has attracted a wide variety of students from across Georgia, from landscape designers to wildlife managers to folks who just love the outdoors and plants, says Botanical Garden Education Director, Anne Shenk. Our graduates have the knowledge and skills they need to be better naturalists, gardeners, and conservationists. Classes on offer in 2011 include basic botany, plant conservation, natural history of Georgia plants, summer and winter tree identification, spring and fall wildflowers, wetland plant ecology, plant photography, and propagation from seed and cuttings. Classes, field trips, and volunteer opportunities are offered year-round, usually on Saturdays. Classes emphasize hands-on learning, with a lab or field component included in each class. Volunteer opportunities include seed collecting and propagation, habitat restoration, and native plant landscaping in local parks. No prior training or experience is required to sign up for the program. Michele Ambler, of Suwannee, who graduated with her certificate in January 2010, commented: The combination of indoor classroom studies with outdoor nature walks provided the perfect opportunity to quench my thirst for learning. CNP is a wonderful contribution to my lifelong desire to connect with a sense of place. Mike Wasko, a 2010 CNP graduate and bog restoration volunteer, said: My participation in the CNP program has given me a much greater appreciation of the natural environment around me and allowed me to experience first-hand the great diversity of plants in Georgia. Ive met some great people, and enjoyed working to preserve and restore a small piece of the environment around me. To earn the certificate, participants take four full-day core courses, six half-day electives, and participate in eight hours of field trips and 16 hours of volunteer service. Linda Chafin, Conservation Botanist at the State Botanical Garden who teaches wildflower and tree identification classes, stated: I believe knowledge is power Certificate graduates are given what they need to be better advocates for the conservation of Georgias natural resources, particularly our native plants. For more information or to register, call Cora Keber at 706-542-6156 or visit the Gardens education website at http://www.uga.edu/botgarden/educnp.html.
Class of 2009 from left to right: Joel Hitt, Cynthia Fielder, Denise Hartline, Ed McDowell, Jane OBrien, Joyce Stewart, Margaret Rasmussen, Susan Todd

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NativeSCAPE January 2011

Book Review: Gil Nelsons Best Native Plants for Southern Gardens
By Leah Pine, Landscape Architect and Arborist (leahpine.com)

When I agreed to review Best Native Plants for Southern Gardens: A Handbook for Gardeners, Homeowners, and Professionals, by Gil Nelson (University Press of Florida, 2010), I planned to borrow a copy. I try to keep a tight rein on my spending with regard to garden design books, and I figured I had what I needed. But then I started thumbing through it at the sales table and made myself a nuisance. Nelsons book is packed with information. It is the sort of book that makes you want to curl up with it, idly thumbing through it and reading choice bits and admiring the photographs. And I was doing just that at the GNPS conference, perched on any available sofa, blocking traffic and tripping people, with my nose in the book. So I had to buy it. Nelsons book does address the needs of what can be very different groups: homeowners, gardeners, and professionals. For those new to the idea of gardening with natives, there are discussions of: native plant communities, invasives, theme gardens such as wildlife and butterfly gardens, and plant families offering dependable plants for the garden. For professionals, there is detailed information on cultivars, diseases, plant families and references to classic texts on various sidebar subjects. Excellent photographs are scattered throughout. Nelsons book is a treasure chest of information. But it is not always easy to find things in a treasure chest. One tends to rummage through them, tossing things here and there to find the interesting bits underneath, and then losing those under the next fascinating discovery. The book is not organized in a way that makes it easy to find things and then remember how to find them again. (Luckily, there is an index.) But that is also what makes it so much fun. The section on hollies and the discussions and photographs of many of the other recommended plants are an excellent addition to the books I frequently consult as a design professional. It is also useful to have so much related information--ecological history, classic references, new diseases, invasives, and so forth--in one book. I must remember to allow myself time when I consult Nelsons book, however, because I will almost certainly get lost in his treasure trove of stories.

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NativeSCAPE January 2011

Native Plant Rescue News
By Lynn Almand

I've just sent the rescue year-end report to the board, and I'm still all puffed up like the birds on the feeder outside my window. Yes, it's cold, but my puffed-up-ed-ness is due to pride. Our rescue stats surpassed 2009, and that means our facilitators gave you even more rescues than the year before. Here are the stats: Total number of rescues: 69 Facilitator activity: Led a rescue 69 Co-facilitated 131 Number of active facilitators: 36 Number of requests to attend rescues: 731 That's a lot of planning and time spent by our facilitators to make sure we are saving plants from destruction, teaching members (and guests) about our lovely natives, and collecting plants for our GNPS projects. And of course you are right out there with us collecting plants for GNPS projects, the plant sale, your own projects, or your garden. Bravo to the facilitators and the rescuers! We added one new site in 2010, and we are looking for more. Development seems to be waking up in some areas, and we need lots of eyes to find new rescue sites. Mike Strickland, our webmaster and fellow facilitator, created a place on the website (www.gnps.org) for you to tell us about potential sites. On the rescue schedule page find the words, Potential Rescue Site Information Form, and complete the online form. This creates an email to the site procurement team: Andrea Greco, Sheri George, Paul Shivers, Russell Brannon, and Lynn Almand. Do you have an interest in being even more involved with finding potential rescue sites? Please contact me. For more information about finding potential sites, please visit the Plant Rescue FAQ on our website. Favorite rescue plant I asked our facilitators to send me the name of their favorite rescue plant. Lisa Betz and Andrea Greco submitted Hepatica americana, or Round-lobed Hepatica, Liverleaf. Heres what they had to say about this little beauty: Why its my favorite: (Lisa) It is a charmer. Even though Hepatica is a very delicate looking plant, its probably the toughest wildflower in my woods. Spotting it on a rescue is a rescue blessing and absolutely delights everyone who finds one. It blooms very early in the year, sometimes even when its partially covered with snow. Also the evergreen leaves are very attractiverounded, leathery, evergreen; sometimes mottled with red or purple. (Andrea) Its ADORABLE and has a really pretty flower, subtle but nice. The best way to dig and transplant it: (Lisa) Make sure you get most of the roots and transplant it in a similar setting. Its preferred habitat are woods, light, acid soil on hillsides. Sometimes we find it growing on top of rocks. I have never lost a Hepatica that I rescued. Needs some sunlight for flowering. Be patient, Hepatica roots grow slowly. (Andrea) Digging: Dont tear the roots, but otherwise its not a deep onenot hard to dig. Good companion plants: (Lisa) mountain laurel, rue anemone, wild ginger, ebony spleenwort, partridge berry, bloodroot. (Andrea) Good in partial shade, put it somewhere youll notice it, because its tiny. The February rescue schedule will be out soon. Maybe well find your favorite plant in 2011.

Hepatica americana Photo: Mike Strickland

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NativeSCAPE January 2011

Chapter News
By Flo Hayes

On October 16, the West Georgia Chapter held its 2nd annual Fall Workshop. The program began with a presentation by Dr. David Morgan, Professor of Plant Systematics at the University of West Georgia. He discussed the plant survey he's conducting at McIntosh Reserve in Carroll County, sharing photographs taken during collection trips. He also spent some time talking about the impact of the historic flooding that occurred in September 2009. During a break after Dr. Morgan's talk, Gina Strickland demonstrated how to create a small planter using natives. Afterwards, Tom Patrick, Botanist with the Georgia Natural Heritage Program, gave a wonderful talk and slide presentation on Trilliums of Georgia. Each year, the Carroll County Extension Office presents Ag Heritage Days. For two days, students from around the county come to learn how settlers and American Indians lived in the area. On the third day, the exhibits and demonstrations are open to the public. The Chapter was invited to have a manned display. Our display centered on using native plants as dyes. There were six dyes demonstrated. Each had a dyed piece of cotton and linen displayed, along with a jar containing the solution used to dye the materials. There were also samples of the plants as part of the display. The display board also told about food, cordage and other ways native plants were used. There was quite a bit of interest in the display and many questions were asked about the display and our organization. The display was manned by Mike Strickland and Wendell Hoomes. Our annual business meeting was held on December 21. After enjoying a wonderful pot luck dinner, we got down to business and elected the 2011 Board of Directors: Flo Hayes (President), Carol Hight (Vice President), Joyce Leighty (Secretary), Fran Forsyth (Treasurer), Gina Strickland (Past President), Marc LaFountain (Chair Education Committee), Wendell Hoomes (Co-Chair Plant Rescue Committee), and Mike Strickland (Co-Chair Plant Rescue Committee). Afterwards, Mike Strickland gave a talk and slide presentation on Identifying Plants in the Off Season. Following the talk, attendees were encouraged to visit the table of plant samples and ask questions. We continue work on the Buffalo Creek Outdoor Education Area. We have had several workdays this fall and have accomplished both removing invasive plants and planting some rescued and donated natives. We planted a nice drift of Christmas ferns to separate the picnic tables from the area designated and already planted with some shadeloving natives. This created a nice area where folks can picnic and view a variety of native wildflowers. We are excited to be working with Wendell Hoomes, who has offered to GPS map the area and give us elevations and other needed information. Georgia Master Gardeners and others from the community continue to be excited about the project and offer their support.

(L-R): Mike Strickland (Co-Chair Plant Rescue Committee), Marc LaFountain (Chair Education Commitee), Joyce Leighty (Secretary), Flo Hayes (President), Gina Strickland (Past President), Carol Hight (Vice President) Not Pictured: Fran Forsyth (Treasurer), Wendell Hoomes (Co-Chair Plant Rescue Committee)

To learn more about the West Georgia Chapter and our programs and projects, please visit WWW.wgawildflowers.org.

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NativeSCAPE January 2011

Plant Focus: Pipsissewa (Chimaphila maculata)
By Denise Hartline

A small evergreen plant found in dry, shady, woods with acid soil, Pipsissewa charmed me the first time I saw its beautifully marked leaves peeking out from the leaf litter along a trail in Sweetwater Creek State Park. I even loved its unusual sounding and fun to say common name (pip-SIS-eh-wah). In addition to the name Pipsissewa, Chimaphila maculata has many common names including Spotted Wintergreen, Striped Wintergreen, Striped Princes Pine, Rheumatism Root, and more. Its genus name Chimaphila comes from the Greek word chima for winter and phila for love, which is a well chosen name for an evergreen plant. The species epithet maculata comes from the Latin word macula, meaning spotted. The popular common name Pipsissewa comes from the Cree Native American word pipsisikweu which means "It-breaks-into-small-pieces." In the past, Pipsissewa leaves were thought to contain a substance that could dissolve kidney stones, so it was used in folk medicine for that purpose. It was also used to treat rheumatism and for a myriad of other purposes. There have been reports that contact with the leaves may irritate the skin of some people. Although one of this plants common names is Spotted Wintergreen and it is in the Wintergreen family, it is not the edible wintergreen used to flavor candy. The edible wintergreen is Gaultheria procumbens. Pipsissewas thick, waxy, lanceolate and serrated leaves are embellished with white to light greenish stripes, and look almost like small tapestries worked on a darker green background. During early summer, Pipsissewa sends up a reddish stalk with one to three white to pinkish bell-like nodding flowers. The small, inch flowers are exquisite, and definitely worth bending down for a closer look at them! After the flowers are pollinated they turn upward 180 degrees and then develop brown seed capsules that often persist through the winter. Pipsissewa reproduces both sexually with seed and asexually with underground rhizomes, so where you find one you should be able to see more coming up from the rhizomes. Pipsissewa is a pipsqueak of a plant at only about 2 to 8 inches of height. Often you wont see it until your footsteps happen to kick up some leaf litter and uncover it. Pipsissewa is supposed to be easily recognizable by its evergreen leaves with the prominent white to light greenish stripe down the middle. However from about September to May, when Pipsissewa is not in bloom, I have on more than one occasion confused Pipsissewa with Downy Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyera pubescens) if the plants happen to be missing their bloom stalks and seed capsules.

Chimaphila maculata in Bloom Photo: Janet Novak, CT Botanical Society, 2000

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NativeSCAPE January 2011

Plant Focus: Pipsissewa (Chimaphila maculata)
(Continued from Previous Page)

The two plants are in different families (Downy Rattlesnake Plantain is in the Orchid family) and are very different plants. But without the flower clues provided by a flower, bloom stalk or seed capsule, these two plants can be confusing since they both have evergreen leaves with a prominent stripe down the middle and grow in the same areas. After I had seen both non-blooming plants together in the same area enough times, I finally figured out the differences. Here are photos of both plants with some details that may help in differentiating Pipsissewa and Downy Rattlesnake Plantain when they are not in bloom:

Downy Rattlesnake Plantain

(Goodyera pubescens) - Leaves are in rosette form close to the ground - The oval leaves have smooth edges - Fine white netlike veins are present on the leaves -The beginning of a new flower stalk is present in this photo Photo Credit: Janet Novak, CT Botanical Society, 2000.

Pipsissewa
(Chimaphila maculata) -Leaves are not all close to the ground; several are elevated on a stem - The lance shaped leaves have serrated (toothed) edges - The white veins on the leaves are not as fine and not as netted - Dried flower stalks and seed capsules are present in this photo Photo Credit: Michael Strickland, Discoverlife.org, 2008.

Pipsissewa is native to the eastern U.S. with a disjunct population in Arizona. It is considered endangered in Illinois and Maine, and Exploitably Vulnerable in New York. Fortunately, here in Georgia its fairly easy to find Pipsissewa on many GNPS rescues. It will generally transplant well as long as you remember to locate it where its happiestin shady woods with leaf mold, acidic soil, and good drainage. I usually bring along some of the soil and leaf mold from where I dig the plant to help it adjust to its new location, but that may not even be necessary. Propagation by seed is reportedly not easy to accomplish, but if your rescued Pipsissewa is happy in its new location, you may get some more thanks to the spreading of the underground rhizomes.

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NativeSCAPE January 2011

Member Focus: Mike Strickland, Webmaster
By Sharon Parry

Mike Strickland, a Georgia native, has been interested in native plants since his childhood. Growing up surrounded by many acres of undeveloped woodlands, he spent many long days wandering and rescuing plants. As an adult, while searching for others interested in native plants, he and his wife Gina discovered GNPS. They joined immediately and have been lifetime members since April of 1999. Mike has served as a Member-at-Large on the GNPS Board of Directors, is a current plant rescue facilitator, and a founding board member of the GNPS West Georgia Chapter. He and Gina live on 26 wooded acres, with a pond, which provides Mike with plenty of native plant habitats to photograph and enjoy.

Mike and His 'Assistant' Thrill DuJour Photo Credit: Gina Strickland

Mike has been a serious computer hobbyist since the early 1980s. His first computer was an Apple II+ that had 48K of RAM and the first disk drive offered for personal computers - a 5.25 inch floppy. He learned Apple BASIC and DOS by studying programs and reading books. In the late '80s Mike purchased an Apple IIgs - a big step up with 256K of RAM and 3.5 inch floppy drives. He also purchased a PC Transporter - a card that mounted into a slot in the Apple, and would run PC applications. His first PC was a PS/2 and came with DOS and OS/2 installed. It was his first computer with a hard drive. He used his knowledge of Apple DOS and BASIC to learn PC DOS and OS/2, along with QuickBASIC. He used both DOS and OS/2 until OS/2 developed a desktop environment. His interest in computers prompted him to contact the GNPS webmaster, Ken Gohring, about being a member of the website committee. Ken proposed that he work on a project to take photos of plants in different stages of growth, throughout the year. He was thrilled to take this on, since it used three of his interests: computers, photography and native plants. The Native Plant Gallery is one result of this project. The other is Mike's personal website, which shows photos of plants that were taken in the current month, to aid plant rescuers with plant identification. He started dabbling with HTML in 2004 and discovered that he really enjoyed building web pages. He used QuickBASIC to write applications that allowed him to automate building the web pages for his website, A Rescuers Guide to Georgia Native Plants. In 2008, he volunteered to serve as webmaster for the GNPS website. One of his first objectives was to move the website to another hosting service, one that was less expensive and included more features, like PHP, email accounts, email forwarding and databases. The new service also provides much more web space than we previously had.

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NativeSCAPE January 2011

Member Focus: Mike Strickland, Webmaster
(Continued from Previous Page)

The implementation of PHP throughout the site has been one of the major improvements, as far as maintenance and making the website interactive. For visitors, it allows the ability to fill in forms and send emails to relevant parties. For the webmaster, it provides many functions, from sorting lists and building tables (used on the Homepage, Plant Of the Year page, and the Plant Gallery), to providing our new discussion forum. Using PHP and utility programs, Mike automated a number of the page updates. These updates are based on an on and off datethe items appear when the on date arrives and are removed on the off date. This functionality allows Mike to set up activities in advance, and also keeps the website current. It is used on the Homepage, Announcements, Rescue Schedule and Events of Interest. Mike has created online forms for the membership page, the rescue program, for email contacts for Board Members and Committee Chairs, Plant of the Year nominations and voting, and Symposium registration. His most recent project, the Native Plant Habitat Certification Form, is now online. In 2009, GNPS started publishing the NativeSCAPE newsletter electronically. To supplement the PDF, which is downloaded and read offline, Mike creates an online version, using PHP templates to create the pages. Mike found new Discussion Forum software (at no cost) that is a big improvement over the old version. Photos are now allowed as part of the forum postings. There is a Plant Identification Forum, users can choose to be notified when someone responds to their posts, and spam has been greatly reduced. Our webmaster enjoys his duties, and the membership has enjoyed the results of his efforts. Our website is the voice of GNPS, and we are very fortunate to have Mike Strickland, one of our most dedicated members, volunteer as Webmaster.
One of Mikes Many Beautiful Photos: Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium fistulosum) and an unusual female Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

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NativeSCAPE January 2011

Upcoming Events
January 1st: Membership Renewal Time
It is time to renew your membership in the Georgia Native Plant Society. It is still one of the best deals going at $20 per membership for those under 55 and just $15 per membership for those 55 and over. This can be a couple or family, not just an individual. Corporate/commercial/educational memberships are $50, and full-time students are $15. Or you may become a lifetime member for just $250. Go to the website at www.gnps.org, click on Membership, and fill in your renewal form online. Then print and send with your check to the P.O. Box listed, or if you prefer, use the form on page 23. Gift memberships may be given, and the recipient will receive a membership packet letting them know of your gift and the benefits of membership. Don't miss out on another great year of informative meetings, interesting field trips, plant rescues, the symposium, the plant sale and members only garden tour. Plus, you will continue to receive the NativeSCAPE newsletter. Membership rolls are purged each March 31st, so don't delay. Renew now!

February 19th: GNPS 16th Native Plant Symposium

The speakers are booked, the facility is reserved and the brochures are mailed! Now would someone please alert the weather to cooperate in 2011? Please plan to join us on Saturday, February 19 th, 2011 for our 16th Symposium. The event this year will return to Mercer Universitys Atlanta Campus near I-85 and I-285. The speakers will present a variety of topics: Gardens Inspired by Nature When Plants are Affected by Transportation Projects Showy Native Trees and Shrubs The Soil Food Web Invasives: Making a Difference in Your Back Yard If you cant find your copy of the brochures, visit the website to get the details and register: http://gnps.org/shortterm/Symposium_Announcement.php If youd like to help, please contact Ellen Honeycutt via symposium@gnps.org.

Please refer to our website for current information on project workdays and times. Thank-you!

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NativeSCAPE January 2011

Upcoming Events
(Continued from Previous Page)

March 13th (Sunday): Field Trip to the Len Foote Hike Inn
The Georgia Native Plant Society will again be going on a field trip to the Len Foote Hike Inn near Dawsonville, Georgia. Only this year, we will be going in March instead of May. Sorry, if you wanted to see the pink ladys slippers. We will more than likely be seeing trout lilies instead! The date is set for Sunday, March 13th. The rates will be the same as last year. Two people may stay in a room with two bunks for a rate of $146.05, or one person may reserve a room to him or herself for $100.05. This is a discounted rate, and we have ten rooms reserved for our group. This is one of the best ways to get in two days of hiking and botanizing without having to drive twice or camp out. You will be served two delicious meals (dinner on Sunday night and breakfast on Monday morning), given an enlightening tour of the facility, an after dinner program, and a warm bed to sleep in. There are even indoor toilets and hot showers! What more could you ask? Go to www.hike-inn.com to see what the Len Foote Hike Inn is all about. To sign up, e-mail Jane Trentin or call 770 978-1839.

April 30th (Saturday): GNPS Annual Spring Plant Sale

Mark your calendars! Begin potting your wayward native plants! (Click here for helpful tips.) Tell your friends that the Spring Plant Sale will be held again at McFarlane Nature Park on Saturday, April 30th. (Setup will be on Friday, April 29th.) There will be a new parking and shopping configuration to make the whole event more enjoyable. Thanks go to our Logistics Committee members: Don Stewart, Marcia Dworetzky, Dianne Wooldridge, Barbara and Paul Virostek. I look forward to working (okay, having fun) with all of you! Sheri George GNPS Plant Sale Chair

May 7th (Saturday): GNPS Garden Tour

The GNPS Garden Tour is a benefit of membership - our tour is never open to the public. Make plans now to save the date for this special event. The 2011 GNPS Garden Tour will be held on Saturday, May 7th. So far, we have two gardens in Cherokee County lined up: Marcia Winchester and Debbie Meadows. Woodlands Gardens in Decatur has agreed to be on the tour and we are still looking for one more garden in the Decatur area to round out the tour. Please contact Jane Trentin at garden_tour@gnps.org if you know of a native garden to suggest in that area.

Please refer to our website for current information on project workdays and times. Thank-you!

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NativeSCAPE January 2011

Website Update
By Mike Strickland

Weve made many improvements to our GNPS website this year, most of them a result of our conversion to PHP, a scripting language that builds a webpage from templates and information, as each page is requested. Some of the improvements include: Interactive forms which allow the senders information to be forwarded to relevant parties. These forms are used for signing up for plant rescues, registering for the symposium, volunteering for the plant sale, and for contacting Board Members and Committee Chairs. Replacing links that move down through a long, scrollable, list with links that only display the pertinent information. For example, clicking a book title in the listing will display only that book's review. Thumbnails throughout the site that provide larger picture images with captions and detailed plant information (as on our main page). A Maps page, which enables clickable links on a number of different pages to provide a Google map of a specific location with an option to obtain driving directions. A Countdown feature, which was used to count down the number of days until the 2010 Plant Sale. Sortable lists, templates for page information, central name storage and PHP-built tables have all made the site easier to keep current and operate smoothly. We also added several new webpages in 2010, including the 2010 Southeastern Flower Show, the Plant Sale Announcement, the Volunteer Form, and a number of restoration update pages. The Plant Rescue pages have been updated to include the reorganization of the committee, new FAQ information, the ability to display more information when no rescues are scheduled, and the ability to let visitors know if a rescue is full. We have a new and improved online Discussion Forum, which provides four specific forums: General Discussion, Native Plants in the Garden, Plant Identification, and Garden Shots. Visitors can attach pictures, receive emails when postings are made to specific topics/forums, and sort or search specific topics/posts. GNPS now has a single email address for visitors to contact for general information, info@gnps.org. This address is also included on printed information distributed by the organization. For those interested, there is a webpage where GNPS websites statistics can be viewed.

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Georgia Native Plant Society Membership & Renewal

Memberships are effective for one calendar year, beginning January 1st. Hydrangea quercifolia

Choose membership level: (Select one) ___Individual/Family ($20) ___Full-Time Student ($15) ___Lifetime Individual/Family ($250) ___Senior, 55 and older ($15) ___Corporate/Commercial/Educational ($50)

Affiliation: ___No Chapter Affiliation ___West Georgia Chapter

___Check here if in addition to my membership renewal, I have included ______ to be distributed as follows: ___Education ___Jeane Reeves Memorial Grants and Scholarship Program Total Enclosed: ____________ ___Conservation/Propagation/Restoration ___Unrestricted Check # _______________

Trade Name (if applicable):

_______________________________________________________________________

First Name: ______________________ Middle Initial: ____ Last Name: __________________________________ If Family, list additional names: ____________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Address: ________________________________________________________________________________________ Home Phone: ___________________________________ Work Phone: ____________________________________ Email Address: ___________________________________________________________________________________ (Email address is required if you wish to receive the Listserv and/or Electronic Newsletter.)

___ Check here if you prefer NOT to receive emails from our list server which contain information about meetings, plant rescues, work parties and other items of interest to the membership.

The full-color newsletter will be sent electronically. If you require a print version, which will be black and white, check here: ___

Please mail completed renewal form to the following address: GNPS, PO Box 422085, Atlanta, GA 30342-2085