2023 Native Plant Festival

From the Organizers

Welcome to the Eighth Annual Native Plant Festival!

This year’s Festival is again two events in one, with educational events at the New Hanover County Arboretum and native plant sales elsewhere, at five sites throughout the community. We hope you will enjoy learning about native plants, and then venturing out to buy some to take home. Learn (at the Arboretum)

(Note: NO Plants will be for sale at the Arboretum)

At the Arboretum you can enjoy gardening-related exhibits and hourly gardening presentations. The schedule of lectures appears on our back cover. We have lots of information to share through helpful Master Gardener handouts. Please tour the native plant demonstration garden, to see plants that thrive in our coastal climate and might be candidates for your garden. Buy Plants (throughout the Community)

This year’s plant sale is again a self-guided tour of nurseries that specialize in native plants: you can buy directly from the growers and ask questions about how to care for plants once you get them home. Eleven different plant sellers are participating this year, at five locations in Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender Counties. See our map on pages 4–5 for locations. (Plants will not be for sale at the Arboretum.)

The mission of the Native Plant Festival is to educate the public on the benefits and importance of native plants for our local ecosystems, and to promote and support native plant growers to increase demand and supply of native plants in our region.

By visiting various local sellers, you can get familiar with growers available to you not just the day of the Festival, but all throughout the year. We encourage you to continue to patronize local, independent growers of native plants.

We appreciate your interest and hope you enjoy the Festival.

— The Native Plant Alliance Festival Planning Committee

Why Go Native?

Native plants are a wonderful choice for the home gardener. Plants that have evolved in your home region are suited to thrive with minimal care once established. They have also co-evolved over time to be part of the whole ecological system of the area: beneficial insects live on native plants (and not non-natives), and in turn are available as food for birds rearing their young and other wildlife.

See page 7 for information on the Nature at Home program to help gardeners incorporate natives.

Natives or Cultivars?

True native plants are those that are found in the wild in their original geographical areas and environments. Cultivars are plants that have been cross-bred either naturally without human intervention or those bred to have favorable traits, such as color, form, productiveness or hardiness. If the cultivars are used for decorative purposes, no harm done. If the cultivars are used for commercial or scientific purposes, it is important to preserve information about the plants used to create the cultivars. Whether you use true natives or cultivars, enjoy the plants and treat them well.

On the Cover

Monarda punctata forms a beautiful display in the garden, attracting a wide variety of pollinators.

Cape Fear’s Going Green is a quarterly publication promoting eco-friendly resources and lifestyles in the Lower Cape Fear River Basin.

Publisher & Editor in Chief: Valerie Robertson

Sister City: Eugene, Oregon (Voted “Greenest City” 2006 by The Green Guide)

Eugene Contributing Editor: Mary Robertson

Advisors & Editorial Contributors: Caitlyn Andrews, Shelby Diehl, KQ Ferris, Amy Mead, Karen Mulcahy, Nancy J. Ondra and the following iNaturalist contributors of photography: lmaddison.

Cape Fear’s Going Green Going Green Publications

P. O. Box 3164 • Wilmington, NC 28406 (910) 547-4390 publisher@goinggreenpublications.com www.goinggreenpublications.com

Cape Fear’s Going Green is available by subscription or on our Web site. Print copies are available at eco-friendly businesses and locations, including: New Hanover County Arboretum, Aunt Kerry’s Pet Stop, Lovey’s Market, New Hanover County Public Library branches, Old Books on Front Street, Pomegranate Books, Tidal Creek Co-op, UNCW, Shelton Herb Farm, and many Harris Teeter and Food Lion stores throughout the region.

Editorial: If you have story ideas or calendar items to suggest, email us at editor@goinggreenpublications.com, or call (910) 547-4390.

Advertising information: Email advertising@goinggreenpublications.com.

Cape Fear’s Going Green is distributed free through Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover, Onslow, and Pender counties. If you have a business and would like to receive multiple copies for the public, please contact us. The views and opinions expressed in articles in this magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of this publication.

Photo by Nancy J. Ondra.

Special Thanks to Friends of the Arboretum, Primary Sponsor of the 8th Annual Native Plant Festival

Invite Beneficial Pollinators to Your Garden With Native Monarda Punctata

by Shelby Diehl

As invasive plants continue to outcompete native vegetation in the Cape Fear region, it’s more important than ever that we opt for native plants when designing gardens. From native rudbeckia to coneflowers, there are plenty of options to choose from. However, there’s one wildflower that’s sure to invite beneficial pollinators to your garden this year: Spotted Bee Balm.

Spotted Bee Balm (Monarda punctata)—also called Spotted Horse Mint—has three native varieties across North Carolina that can be found throughout the coastal plain, scattered across the Piedmont and sparsely in the southern counties of the Mountains. There’s the common var. punctata, the rare var. arkansana (found in Polk and Haywood counties) and var. villicaulis. Unlike the first two, var. villicaulis isn’t considered native to the coastal plain. So when planting your native garden, it’s best to consider the classic variant, var. punctata.

With Monarda punctata occurring naturally in dunes, sandy flats, sandy fields and open pine/oak sandhills, it’s safe to say this native plant loves dry, sandy soils. Whether the soil is good or poor, you can expect this plant to thrive as long as it has full to partial sun. What’s better is that if the Cape Fear region were to see a dry spell, this plant would stick around as it’s drought tolerant.

Monarda punctata tends to grow in clumps, which are spread by runners to ensure that large clumps form without becoming too aggressive. This makes the native flower best suited for prairies, meadows, perennial borders and wild gardens where it has room to spread and thrive. Space is especially important for these flowers as without good air circulation, they risk developing powdery mildew—a fungal disease that impacts numerous plants.

Under the right growing conditions, Spotted Bee Balm will bloom from late July into September,

(continued on page 6)

Bring your gardening questions to your local cooperative extension office. The Plant Clinic at the New Hanover County Arboretum is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. and can help you with plant identification, solving plant health problems and sending soil samples for testing.

photo by Amy Mead Monarda punctata spreads by sending out runners. Look for this plant in the native plant demonstration garden at the New Hanover County Arboretum.

photo by Amy Mead

A wasp enjoys nectar from a cluster of Monarda punctata. This plant is a good choice for supporting wildlife, as it is a favorite of pollinators—and those who like to photograph them.

native plants

Invite Beneficial Pollinators to Your Garden with Native Monarda Punctata – continued from page 3

Plant Walk on Lea-Hutaff Island

Paul Hosier will lead a plant walk on Lea-Hutaff Island sometime late in September. The group asks that all participants be fully vaccinated. Contact Charley Winterbauer at cewinterbauer39@gmail.com for details and to sign up for the walk.

Cape Fear Audubon Fall Programs

and fruit nutlets from September to October. At full bloom, Spotted Bee Balm can range anywhere from six inches to three feet tall with an unbranched or sparsely branched stem. A few paired leaves decorate the stem, with leaf blades averaging 2.5 inches long and half an inch wide.

Cape Fear Audubon hosts monthly programs of interest to birders. Autumn Programs on Zoom - Links to these programs will be sent out by email to members and by posts on the Cape Fear Audubon Facebook page. All programs begin at 7:00 p.m.

September 15

What makes this species unique compared to other Monarda species in North Carolina is instead of having one single flower cluster at the end of the stem, Monarda punctata has two or three whorls of flowers. These flowers are yellowish, purple-spotted and tubular, and form a long, dense spike at the top of the stem. Each whorl—which consists of approximately ten flowers— is subtended by large leaf-like bracts.

So the next time you walk past Spotted Bee Balm for sale, consider picking up this intriguing native plant to promote beneficial wildlife in your garden. After all, combating environmental issues like invasive plants starts with the small actions we take–including planting some Monarda punctata.

Sources:

https://lee.ces.ncsu.edu/ monarda-punctata/

https://www.wildflower.org/plants/ result.php?id_plant=MOPU

https://www.gardenia.net/plant/ monarda-punctata

Meteorologist Tim Armstrong of Wilmington’s office of the National Weather Service has a really cool program on bird migration and radar. We’re calling it “Feathered Forecasting.” Tim will discuss BirdCast, a program of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, that has been coordinating data and images from more than 120 radar stations across the country. It tracks migrating birds and helps create data for phenomena when birds and weather collide—such as when seafaring birds become trapped within a hurricane’s eye, sometimes depositing them miles away.

https://auth1.dpr.ncparks.gov/flora/ species_account.php?id=1785

October 6

If you plant Spotted Bee Balm, butterflies, hummingbirds and beneficial wasps and bees are certain to fall in love with your garden. However, the aromatic foliage won’t be as appealing to other wildlife. In fact, rabbits, deer and other herbivores find Monarda punctata to be quite unpalatable. Interested in seeing what side you stand on? Try using the plant as a tea flavoring!

Join the Native Plant Society!

• Want to learn more about native plants?

• Go on plant walks with knowledgable experts?

• Meet folks who share your interest?

Shelby Diehl is a senior at the University of North Carolina

Wilmington studying environmental science with a concentration in conservation and creative writing with a certificate in publishing. She is a Going Green contributor and plans to pursue a career in forest communications.

Dr. Christopher Tonra, Associate Professor of Avian Wildlife Ecology at Ohio State will introduce us to MOTUS, an international collaborative research network that uses coordinated automated radio telemetry to facilitate research and education on the ecology and conservation of migratory animals. Motus is a program of Birds Canada in partnership with collaborating researchers and organizations. Cape Fear Audubon is funding the placement of a MOTUS tower at Lea-Hutaff Island.

Ask for Native Plants at Local Retailers

Your local nursery wants your business. If you’d like to buy more native plants from a particular store, let them know of your interest in using North Carolina native plants.

“I will be discussing the basics of how Motus works, and what types of research and monitoring questions it can be used for, and the limitations in its use. Throughout, I will provide examples of projects I have been involved with applying Motus. This will include work my lab has done on Rusty Blackbird, White-throated Sparrow, and Black-crowned Night-Heron.” (See photo of a MOTUS tower, below.)

November 10

We’re Back! (to doing walks)

“Our mission is to promote the enjoyment and conservation of North Carolina’s native plants and their habitats through education, protection, cultivation, and advocacy.”

After over a year of staying isolated we are happy to get back to doing plant walks. We look forward to going to new places and are open to your suggestions.

The North Carolina Native Plant Society offers plant walks, workshops and other plant-related activities. To receive the schedule of events, go to www.ncwildflower.org to join the state-wide NC Native Plant Society. Based on your address, you will automatically be assigned to a local chapter. Those in the SE portion of the state automatically become members of the SE Coastal Area Chapter.

If you would like to be informed on the walk schedule and other plant-related activities, go to www.ncwildflower.org and join the state-wide NC Native Plant Society. Based on your address, you will automatically be assigned to a local chapter. For the SE portion of the state, that is the SE coastal area chapter.

Here is a blank coupon you can use: photocopy or photograph with your phone and print it. Fill it out and leave it with the store if you don’t find the plant you’re looking for. The more people express an interest in purchasing natives, the more readily available they will become.

Southeastern Coastal Area Chapter

Questions? Email cewinterbauer39@gmail.com.

Visit ncwildflower.org/se-coast for photos of recent activities. Questions? Email cewinterbauer39@gmail.com.

I use North Carolina native plants in my garden.

Marae Lindquist West is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Biology and Marine Biology Department at UNC-W. A member of Dr. Ray Danner’s lab she studies the winter population biology and impacts of sea level rise on Saltmarsh and Seaside Sparrows in tidal marshes in Southeastern North Carolina. This program is being co-presented with Island Wildlife - Cape Fear Region. Learn more about Cape Fear Audubon at their website: https://capefearaudubon.org/.

Today I was looking for:

If you stock this in the future, please contact me: Thank you!

Photo by wildlife biologist David Bell MOTUS receiver station similar to that planned for Lea-Hutaff Island.

Photo by Lara Berkley Paul Hosier will lead a NC Native Plant Society walk to Lea-Hutaff Island.

Monarda punctata. Observation © lmaddison, www.inaturalist.org/observations/137334540. No changes made.

Nature at Home Program Helps

Gardeners Grow Wild

Home gardeners are at the forefront of helping support widlife in our area. No matter what size your gardening area— from extensive yard to flower pots on the porch—you can make effective use of your space to help birds and other wildlife.

Did you know that a nesting pair of chickadee parents feed their babies somewhere between 350 and 570 caterpillars every day? Thanks to the research of Doug Tallamy,* we know it can take at least 6,000 caterpillars to raise one family of birds. Ninetyfive percent of songbirds depend on the availability of caterpillars and other insects in order raise their young. And where do insects live? On native plants!

Cape Fear Audubon and NC State Extension/Master Gardeners of New Hanover County have formed a partnership committed to educating and encouraging residents to support wildlife by planting native plants and removing non-native, invasive plants. The program is called Nature at Home and is based on the work of Doug Tallamy. The program advocates the following management practices:

• Plant native plants;

• Replace invasive, non-native plants;

• Include water features;

• Increase garden beds and reduce lawn;

• Reduce use of synthetic herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers;

• Leave the leaves to add organic material to the soil;

• Provide structures that support wildlife.

Here is how the program works:

For a one-time $30.00 application fee, a New Hanover County resident go to newhanover.ces.ncsu.edu/nature-at-home to apply to be a certified Nature at Home site. This site also has a brochure describing the program and some links to resources. (The program is in New Hanover County, for now.)

A team of two trained Master Gardener Ambassadors will visit your site and find out what you have in mind. The ambassadors will make recommendations, providing helpful feedback and information on valuable resources.

Once certified, a resident receives a Certified Nature at Home yard sign.

If you’d like to add wildlifefriendly landscaping at home but aren’t sure how to start, visit newhanover.ces.ncsu.edu/ nature-at-home/ to see how this program might help you.

Would you like to be on the planning committee for our 2024 Native Plant Festival? If so, please email Amy Mead at afmead@ncsu.edu.

Thanks to the North Carolina Cooperative Extension, for hosting the Festival and providing staff.

Thanks to Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Association of New Hanover County for making this print publication possible.

photo © [KQ Ferris] Adobe Stock 255623754

Eastern Bluebirds feed insects to their young.

* Douglas W. Tallamy is the author of Bringing Nature Home—How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants and Nature’s Best Hope—A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard. Both are available at the New Hanover County Arboretum gift shop.