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Native Plant Festival Comes To Westchester County Sept. 6-7

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. -- Fall is a perfect time to plant - the warm days and cool nights of fall are ideal for the root establishment of many plants.  Why not replace some lawn, extend your garden beds, and fill in some gaps in your landscape with environmentally-supportive native plants this fall?  

Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale) and native bumble bee.

Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale) and native bumble bee.

Photo Credit: Contributed by Kim Eierman

Over the weekend of Sept. 6 and 7 you will have a chance to shop for many hard-to-find native plants at the 5th annual Native Plant Festival.  Rosedale Nurseries in Hawthorne, New York hosts the event with the participation of many volunteers from The Native Plant Center in Valhalla, New York.  A portion of every purchase will go to supporting The Native Plant Center, an affiliate of The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Rosedale brings in hundreds of native plants just for the Native Plant Festival, making it a “do not miss” event for gardeners and nature lovers.  Richard Schnall, Vice President of Rosedale Nurseries says:  “We are proud to be partnering with The Native Plant Center in offering the area’s best selection of woody and herbaceous native plants.  Since locally-grown plants are best adapted to our regional conditions, “the plants are coming from both our own growing farms in Orange, Ulster and Westchester counties, as well as from outstanding growers in the tri-state area,” says Schnall.

Need some recommendations of the best native plants for your landscape?   Volunteers from The Native Plant Center will be on hand to serve as your personal shoppers and answer your questions.  To make your shopping easier, native plants will be marked and easy to identify.

The festival also includes two free presentations given by instructors from The Native Plant Center’s Go Native U, an educational program designed to teach people about the sustainable use and conservation of native plants.  On Saturday, Sept. 6 at 11 a.m., Carolyn Summers will present:  “Native Substitutes for Overused Species. “ On Sunday, Sept. 7 at 11:00 a.m., I will be presenting:  “Host Plants That Support Butterflies and Other Pollinators.”   

The Native Plant Festival offers area residents a unique shopping and learning experience that also supports a local non-profit organization.  “We appreciate this exceptional opportunity Rosedale provides the public by bringing in a large inventory of native plants for the event—and for its generosity in supporting The Native Plant Center’s work,” says Carol Capobianco, Director of The Native Plant Center.   “The free informational talks by instructors of Go Native U emphasize the importance and benefits of native plants and introduce the community to this unique educational program.”

When approached over five years ago about creating The Native Plant Festival, Rosedale embraced the idea immediately.  “Rosedale Nurseries recognizes the importance of planting native plants to support our wildlife and is pleased to be a partner with The Native Plant Center in educating the public on their advantages,” says Pat Colwell, Co-Manager of Rosedale’s Nursery Center.  

The Native Plant Festival will be held on Saturday, Sept. 6 and Sunday, Sept. 7 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Rosedale Nurseries, 51 Saw Mill River Rd (Route 9A), Hawthorne, New York.

Kim Eierman, a resident of Bronxville, is an environmental horticulturist and Founder of EcoBeneficial!  When she is not speaking, writing, or consulting about ecological landscapes, she teaches at the New York Botanical Garden, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, The Native Plant Center and Rutgers Home Gardeners School.

 

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