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Showing posts with label Monthly Updates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Monthly Updates. Show all posts

Thursday, October 1, 2015

October Updates

Greetings all!

It is a FANTASTIC month for natives all around so get ready! Cardinal Flower is in full bloom at Burden and Frenchtown, along with Bear's Foot and Crownbeard and a number of others. Activities abound. 

Cardinal Flower on the Burden Woods Trail


Our Field Trip this month will be to Maypop Hill Nursery / Gloster Arboretum on October 17th. Maypop Hill is our nearest and dearest native plant nursery, run by Betty Miley, a co-founder of the Capital Area Native Plant Society and long-time native planter. Gloster Arboretum, just down the road, boasts a number of rare and unusual plants for our region, including wild Mountain Laurel, Silky Camelia and Bigleaf Magnolia. You're in for a real treat with this one.

carpool group will leave Baton Rouge around 7:00 a.m. to arrive at Maypop Hill Nursery around 8:00. We will tour the property while waiting for stragglers and then head on to Gloster Arboretum around 9:00. We will return to Maypop Hill for lunch, where Betty Miley will provide Taco Soup. You can bring chips, appetizers, desserts, etc. as pot luck. On the way back some folks might want to visit the Mary Ann Brown Preserve, which is not far.


Heres the flier:





Plant Fest @ Hilltop Arboretum Oct 3-4
CANPS has teamed up with Hilltop Arboretum and First Graphix, LLC to help label native plants so that you can be sure what you are buying is native. Look for plants with "Certified Native" tag, for plants native to Louisiana. There is an outstanding selection of regional natives at this sale and you don't want to miss it. CANPS will have a table to provide additional information on Saturday, October 3rd. Volunteers are welcome but sign up soon at http://goo.gl/forms/96wT9GMvRK.

Cutleaf Coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata), a wildflower of rich woods, for sale at Hilltop


CANPS Board Meeting Oct 7th @ Hilltop Arboretum from 6-7pm
We have our board meetings on the first Wednesday of every month. We are exploring a permanent business meeting location at Hilltop Arboretum. This time around we will be planning for fall activities, discussing membership dues/benefits and fall leadership elections. 

Central South Native Plant Conference Oct 29-31st @ the Birmingham Botanic Gardens, Alabama 
A few members will be driving up to this AMAZING conference for Oct 30-31. Treat yourself and come along to meet the movers and shakers of Central-Southeastern native plant movement. Inspiring talks, exquisite native landscaping and field trips to pristine habitats that you will remember for years to come. RSVP at http://goo.gl/forms/96wT9GMvRK.



The native plant propagation program (next workday Oct 18th 4-6pm @ Burden Botanic Gardens) has picked up and we are in full-force fruit and seed collecting mode. If you have fruit or seed in your garden or see some on roadsides, please help us gather them up. For an upcoming fall flowering meadow mix we will need ironweed, boneset, blue mistflower and crownbeard in bulk. Remember to only take 10% of fruits and seeds and leave the remaining 90%  for wildlife and the general health of the plant population. Read more about the ethics of seed collecting at http://canps.weebly.com/exchanging-and-collecting-seeds.html 

As usual, we cannot possibly fit all of the events out there in one blast. Please check: http://canps.weebly.com/calendar.html for additional events.

Best wishes,

Matthew and Lauren
Capital Area Native Plant Society
Carolina Crownbeard (Verbesina walteri) at Blackwater Conservation Area

Monday, August 3, 2015

August Updates

Wooowee, its hot... and dry!

But some natives like it hot. This time of year, we look to the pine country for botanical satisfaction. Late summer boasts a number of beauties along the coast and into the open uplands...

This month we will be taking a road trip to see Louisiana's rare and beautiful native orchids and lilies with Dr. Charles Allen for Lily Orchid Days, August 14-16. If you would like to carpool from Baton Rouge, please RSVP below.


There is at least one car leaving from Baton Rouge (Lauren and I). We are leaving Friday at 6pm and returning Saturday evening. Call and check for bunk availability at Allen Acres Bed and Breakfast, phone number 337-328-2252. The option to camp in nearby Kisatchie or onsite exists, but call first! The attached images are from Lily Orchid Days 2013 and show just a few of gems we might see. The orchid is Yellow Fringed Orchid (Platanthera ciliaris) and the lily is Carolina Lily (Lilium michauxii).

Inline image 1
Yellow Fringed Orchid (Platanthera ciliaris)
Inline image 2
Carolina Lily (Lilium michauxii)

In other news, we are starting monthly board meetings on the first Wednesday of the month from 6-7pm Our next meeting is September 2nd, location TBD. If you have experience in non-profit management or would like to learn, please consider stopping by. For the next few months we will be taking care of some very important business, including recruiting new executives, restructuring our membership and planning Fall-Winter activities. These meetings are open to the public!

Please continue to check out the blog "ludoviciana" for field reports, board meeting minutes and informational articles. Here's the link: http://canpsbr.blogspot.com/ 

Volunteer Opportunity
  • PlantFest tabling/outreach 10/3-4. This year is all about natives and we would like to play a major role.  If you can work the table, let us know!  The teaser for the event is Sept. 27th, and we invite CANPS members to come out for some great presentations on native plants! More info: http://sites01.lsu.edu/wp/hilltop/
  • Native iris plantings in St. Francisville and Baton Rouge in collaboration with BREC and the Patrick O'Connor of Zydeco Irises. Contact aatroy@aol.com orMHerron@brec.org for more information.
  • CANPS Plant Propagation: monitoring plants for watering/fertilizing; repotting, seed collection, etc. Next work day: Sunday, August 16, 4:00pm.
As usual, there are too many things going on to include them all here. Please consult the CANPS Calendar for more events! Below are a few important events that you should go ahead and pencil into your calendar:

Best wishes!

Matthew and Lauren
Interim Co-Presidents


Weekend, August 14-16,Lily Orchid Days
@Allen Acres, Pitkin, LA

Sunday, August 16, 4:00pm, Plant Propagation Workday
@ Burden Botanic Gardens, Baton Rouge, LA

Tuesday, September 8-13, William Bartram Trail Dedication
@various locations in Baton Rouge, LA

Sunday, September 13, 5:30pm, Lecture: "Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation"
@EBRP Main Library on Goodwood Blvd

Sunday, September 27, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm, PlantFest! Teaser - Bringing Natives Home!
@ Hilltop Arboretum, Baton Rouge, LA

Saturday, October 3-4, PlantFest! Bringing Natives Home
@ Hilltop Arboretum, Baton Rouge, LA

Friday-Saturday, October 30-31, Central South Native Plant Conference
@ Birmingham Botanic Gardens in Alabama