Midwest Native Plant Conference 2015

Having recently returned home from the Midwest Native Plant Conference in Dayton, I am excited to share news of all the fun and festivities!

One of the many native plant sales booth and a few of the conference organizers,
L to R- Judy Ganance, Kathy McDonald and Teri Gilligan.

NATIVE PLANTS: Everyone wants native plants.  It used to be so difficult to find them and virtually impossible to find knowledgeable sales people. Now it is shop-til-you drop natives all at one location!  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this event with numerous vendors and an incredible selection of native plants.

The Bergamo Center's ground are the perfect location for this event.

DAY FIELD TRIPS at Bergamo: Brother Don Geiger (center) has been a major player in the development of this ecologically sound environment.  The Bergamo grounds hold many acres of native plantings and wood lots. It is perfectly suited to field trips- both day and night.  This photo is from a day-time nature walk lend by arguably Ohio's best naturalist, Jim McCormac (far right), and aided by Brother Don.

John Magee speaks on water features- and some native plants.

SPEAKERS: There are so many wonderful speakers and topics to choose from. The keynotes were author Don Leopald on "Native Plants for Sustainable Landscapes," John Magee (Magee Design) on "Water in the Landscape," and Kenn Kaufman of the Kaufman Focus Guides on "Why Butterflies are Better than Birds."

The breakout sessions make it harder on attendees- you have to choose! I didn't get to attend all the programs I would have liked, but here is a shout out to the excellent program given by Hal Mann, Erika Galentin, Michelle Banker, Jason Larson, Carol Mundy, Judith Nastlly and especially to new comer Bethanny Majeski. Her program on mycorrhizal fungus was amazing!

Thanks also, to the many folks who stopped by for my "Urban Landscapes- Life in the City." It was wonderful to see so many friends in the audience and their kind words were greatly appreciated.

Evening sessions: Moths were covered  by Elisabeth Rothchild and night singing insects are the domain of Lisa Rainsong.  These women are powerful educators and and they are helping people understand in importance of our insect world.

Common Milkweed at night.

 NIGHT FIELD TRIPS: This incredible plant is working a double shift. I have a whole new respect for milkweed, and I am going to make more trips out to my garden at night to learn about my own pollinators.

Moths encircled for your viewing pleasure.

 I have circled the night fliers on the same milkweed photo.  This was an eye opening experience for me and I thank Elisabeth for encouraging us in the field.  This was very timely for me as my newest garden at home is specifically for night blooming plants and pollinators.

Kenn and Kim = Kaufman2

FRIENDS and co-conspirators:  Midwest Native Plant Conference is a wonderful place to connect and share time with friends and like minded conservationist.  They may not even know they are fellow conservationist yet.  But if you grow native plants, you are my kind of people!

It is always a special treat to be with friends like Kenn and Kim Kaufman, Hugh and Judy Rose, and Jim Davidson. It makes the whole event feel like a family reunion.

Cecropia caterpillars at the Flora-Quest booth.

ORGANIZERS: Thank you to all of the organizers for the excellent program they bring to Dayton, Ohio. Most of all, a special thank you goes out to organizers Kathy McDonald (speakers), Yvonne Cecile (field trips) and Karen Arnett (venders) for making it easy for me to attend, with my caterpillar buddies in tow.