Asheville – On May 17th The Rotary Club of Asheville, Bee City USA-Asheville, and Carolina Native Nursery are bringing an important environmental conference to the area: Habitatscaping, Supporting Nature with Native Plants. Dr. Douglas Tallamy, a renowned author, is the keynote speaker. As the author of recently published “How Can I Help?” “Nature’s Best Hope,” “The Nature of Oaks,” and “Bringing Nature Home,” Tallamy will inspire attendees on the critical role native plants play in supporting ecosystems and biodiversity. Dr. Tallamy is recognized by organizations such as Audubon and The National Wildlife Federation as a leading voice in conservation. His talk is sure to inspire with his expertise on the critical role native plants play in supporting ecosystems and biodiversity and what you can do at home to make a difference. There will be plants from many local native plant vendors and exhibits from local environmental nonprofits.
Dana Owen, an owner of Painters Greenhouse, in Old Fort will be there. She said: “We are incredibly excited to be part of the Habitatscaping event! Do NOT miss this opportunity to see Doug Tallamy speak – such a rare treat! Tallamy’s work in the last several decades has been transformative–his books, his presentations, and most recently, the Homegrown National Park movement online has been such a critical catalyst to the native gardening movement. We are facing rapid development here in our beautiful WNC mountains, which of course leads to loss of natural habitat. But especially in the wake of Helene, gardening with native plants is incredibly poignant. The flooding has both washed away native plants and dispersed invasive species, and a large number of landowners are needing to replant their properties. Now’s the time to make the shift to native plants!! The increase we’ve seen in customer awareness and enthusiasm for native plants this last decade has been incredibly hopeful – we are so excited to be part of this day and talk with other growers and gardeners in the area who are dedicated to supporting our stunningly diverse WNC ecosystem. As Tallamy has reported, our wildlife gardens ARE making a difference!”
Coined by Gardening for Life, the term habitatscaping emphasizes gardening with a greater purpose—creating thriving ecosystems that support pollinators, birds, and other wildlife. By planting natives, we restore the balance between people and nature, one garden at a time. Bill Jones, President of Carolina Native Nursery in Burnsville, says: “Carolina Native Nursery welcomes the opportunity to sponsor the Habitatscaping Conference and looks forward to hearing from Dr. Tallamy speak. He is our nation’s leading advocate in planting regional native plants in the home garden to aid in the restoration of local ecosystems. Our nursery grows close to 200 species of eastern U.S. native perennials, ferns, grasses and shrubs. We specialize in rhododendrons, azaleas, and mountain laurels indigenous to the Southern Appalachian mountains that we grow from seed. Carolina Native’s clients range from landscape architects, landscape design and installations firms, independent garden centers, commercial developers, and gardeners that want native plants for their backyards. In fact, you can find our plants on the Biltmore Estate, in Central Park, on the Mall in D.C., at Monticello, and gardens both public and private from Atlanta to Maine.”
Due to Dr. Tallamy’s popularity and our community’s commitment to creating more resilient ecosystems following Hurricane Helene, the Conference has had an overwhelming response to this event. While the 700 event tickets have sold out, the limiting factor for the conference is the seating capacity of the AB Tech Conference Center auditorium, which is 700. Therefore, for non-ticket holders, you are invited to visit the native plant vendors located outside, on the Conference Center perimeter. You are also welcome to attend morning presentations in Ferguson Auditorium and the Sycamore Building Lecture Hall since concurrent morning presentations have excess capacity. You will find a schedule of morning presentations at https://beecityasheville.org/habitatscaping. Dr. Tallamy’s lecture will be recorded and posted on the event webpage following the conference:https://beecityasheville.org/events/doug-tallamy-may-2025.
In addition to the keynote address at 1:00 pm for ticketholders in the Conference Center, presentations from a number of regional experts in the mornings at Ferguson Auditorium and the Sycamore Building Lecture Hall will be held, which the public can attend. Emily Driskill will speak of growing native plants from seed; Adam Bigelow will discuss Native Plants for the Vegetable Garden; Raven Sterling will talk about Identifying and Removing Exotic Invasive Plants; Phyllis Stiles will discuss “Pollinator Syndromes: or Match.com” for Flowers and Pollinators; Mike Hill will present Edible Forest Gardens: Creating a Resilient, Beautiful and Bountiful Yard; and April Wilson: Tree Management Lessons from Helene.
The importance for all of us is to understand the ways and means to help nature by planting native plants. This cannot be overemphasized. Go to beecityasheville.org for more information.