[log in to unmask]" align="left" hspace="12" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_1">The Tennessee Valley Chapter of Wild Ones is holding its third annual Native Plant Symposium, “Native Plants, Natural Landscapes” on Saturday, March 8 at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga University Center from 9 am to 4 pm with registration beginning at 8 am.  The symposium is co-sponsored by the UTC Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and features practical information and advice on how to improve your landscapes and gardens through sustainable landscaping practices.  The program is designed to provide plenty of time for questions, with a Question and Answer panel at the end of the day.

You don’t need to be an expert to attend.  In fact, the symposium was created with both casual and experienced gardeners in mind.  You will leave with practical tips and suggestions on plant selections.

Speakers and Topics:

Fred Spicer, Executive Director, Birmingham Botanical Gardens “Good Things from the South”

Matt Whitaker, Landscape Architect, “Piedmont Garden, Beautiful Habitat”

Johnny Randall, PhD, Director of Conservation Programs, North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill “Invasive Plants: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow”

Duane Marcus, Organic Farmer, owner of “The Funny Farm” in Stone Mountain, Georgia, “The Soil Food Web is the Web of Life”

There will also be time to browse exhibits, as well as buy native plants from Overhill Gardens (Vonore, TN), Sunlight Gardens (Andersonville, TN) and the Friends of the Cumberland Trail’s Trailhead Nursery (Signal Mountain, TN), and art from artists from the region.  Lunch, door prizes, and friendly people will complete the day.

For more information and to register, go to http://tennesseevalley.wildones.org/2014-symposium/ or download the attached brochure.

Many thanks to our sponsors the Reflection Riding Arboretum and Nature Center, the Master Gardeners of Hamilton County, and the University of Tennessee Chattanooga Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences.