Taylor Berry shows visitors a male great horned owl at the spring Native Plant Sale at Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center. The fall sale is scheduled this weekend.IF YOU GO• What: 27th annual Native Plant Sale & Open House• When: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Sept. 12-13, noon-5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14• Where: Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center, 400 Garden Road• Admission: Free• Phone: 423-821-1160• Website: reflectionriding.org
To visit Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center is to immerse yourself in the wonders of the natural world. This weekend, you can even take some of those wonders home.
The 27th annual Plant Sale & Open House is set for Friday through Sunday, Sept. 12-14. Along with 110 native plant species to add to your landscape, visitors can admire the more than 1,000 species growing naturally, hike 13 miles of trails, canoe Lookout Creek, see exhibits and resident animals, spy other wildlife that populates the area and take part in some of the all-ages activities planned especially for the event.
Organizers say one of the main goals for the sale is to help educate the public in the use of native flora in garden settings. All of the species available are nursery-propagated plants, many from seeds gathered from native populations of wildflowers, woody shrubs and trees growing on the slopes of Lookout Mountain and the surrounding parts of the Cumberland Plateau.
The sale will feature native plants that volunteers have propagated in the on-site nursery for a variety of garden conditions. Greenhouse manager Dr. Paola Craddock says native plants are a good choice for introducing into the home landscape for a number of reasons. Among them: they are beautiful; they are sustainable; they contribute to habitat conservation by creating biodiversity and an environment favorable to wildlife.
"We are anxious to share with our community the beauty, serenity and adventure to be found all on one site, right here, just minutes from downtown Chattanooga," Craddock says. "And we hope many people will take advantage of the free admission all weekend."
PROGRAM SCHEDULE
Friday, Sept. 12
• 11 a.m.-noon. "Plant Now for Spring Hummingbirds"
• Noon-12:45 p.m. Guided tour of the Butterfly Garden
• 1-2:30 p.m. Natural history walk
Saturday, Sept. 13
• 10:30-11:30 a.m. "Why and How To Plant Natives in the Fall"
• 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. "Fall Foraging in the Forest"
• 1:-2:30 p.m. Natural history walk
• 2:30-4 p.m. Fern walk
Sunday, Sept. 14
• 1-2:30 p.m. "Teaching Nature to Children"
• 2:30-4:30 p.m. Mushroom foray
• 3:30-5 p.m. C.E. Blevins Bird Eggs Exhibit and the Wildlife Wanderland