Ohio's Pawpaw Festival

If you are a fan of native plants and butterflies, I hope you'll come on out and join us at the Ohio Pawpaw Festival on Sept. 11th. 

Here is the schedule for Friday night Sept. 11th at the Ohio Country Fair Tent.  Our good friends at Columbus Wild Ones are sponsoring my program.

Ohio Country Fair Tent Schedule

Friday, Sept. 11, 2015

Time	Workshop
4:10 p.m.	Mona
5:15 p.m.	Pollinator Gardens
6:30 p.m.	Bee Keeping
7:45 p.m.	Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly

Mark that 7:45 program down on your calendar, and we'll cover some little known fact about Pawpaw and the butterfly it hosts- the Zebra Swallowtail.  Look for this program:

Lots of Paw-tential!

It’s bona-fide. The Pawpaw is a comer. It even has a festival!  Unlike many other plants, the deer resistant Pawpaw, a member of the Custard- apple Family (Annonaceae), is expanding its range and thriving in wetter, hotter weather.  And what’s good for Pawpaws is good for Zebra Swallowtails.  Learn more about the life history of the Pawpaw and the stripe-laden butterfly that it benefits.

Supply Equals Demand

Serviceberry- a spectacular Ohio native plant!


Supply equals demand: a basic tenet of economics, and it is true in landscape too. If people ASK for native plants at the local nurseries, they will have to start carrying them.

So ASK for serviceberry, elderberry, redbuds, wild cherry, river birch, Ohio native viburnums and dogwoods! And tell those good people working at your local stores about the Wild Ones and our mission to spread the good news according to St. Fiacre, the patron saint of gardeners everywhere!

I made a foray to the local plant-yards in Richland county, and the sales people were surprisingly clueless as to actual native plants, or why folks would want them.

Now I know I am preaching to the choir, but let's get out there and ask for these plants that host the moths, beetles and butterflies of Ohio- 'cause the birds of Ohio want to eat them!

And if you aren't sure which plants we are talking about- go to the Wild Ones link above and sign right up for the Midwest Native Plant Conference. I will look forward to seeing you there!