Meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month at various locations TBA.

When winter is at its half-way point, native gardeners who have banned turf grass and evergreen foundation shrubs from their property may yearn for something green in their landscapes. A walk or drive in the country immediately makes clear what is missing from the urban and suburban environment: the Eastern Red Cedar, which is the only evergreen tree native to the Bluegrass region. These oval-shaped trees grow by the thousands along our roads and in abandoned fields that are reverting to forest.

They are not actually Cedars, their botanical name is Juniperus virginiana. Most Kentuckians think of them as weed trees, because they are so common. They establish themselves as the first succession tree in an area disturbed by fire or construction, which is why we find them in such abundance along the Interstates. Other trees eventually join them and will shade them out over time, but it takes quite a few decades for a mature forest to spread the kind of canopy that deprives the Cedars of needed light. Cedar wood is extremely hard and resistant to decay. We can find Cedar skeletons in our forests made of beautifully veined wood that has been dead for years but whose structure is still intact.

Juniperus virginiana grows happily in the inner and outer Bluegrass. It is hard to imagine a plant better suited at creating a visual link between our suburban landscapes and the countryside beyond. It seems to me that a clump of 3 or 5 Cedars, well situated in a sunny front yard, will be more effective than any other plant at embedding our gardens in our regional environment.

-- Beate Popkin, President

All new members and those renewing at the "wilder" or "wildest" level will receive a free DVD of the updated how-to film Wild About Wildflowers.

We have included sources that carry non-native plants as well as natives. We want to support our local businesses, and encourage their promotion of native plants. Shooting Star Nursery, Georgetown, Ky., only 1/2 hour from Lexington, mail-order and local retail, carries a very large selection of plants native to the US. Michler's Gardens and Greenhouses, Lexington, Ky., carries many plants native to the US. Springhouse Gardens, Nicholasville, Ky., off Harrodsburg Rd., 4 miles south of Man-o-War, carries some plants native to the US. Dropseed Nursery, near Louisville, Ky., carries plants of local genotype from Kentucky, southern Indiana and southern Ohio. Highland Moor Nursery, Midway, Ky., carries some natives of local genotype. Mostly a wholesale nursery, but sells retail at some farmer's markets, and may ship to retail customers. Porterbrook Native Plants, Racine, Ohio, 3 hrs. from Lexington, carries plants native to the mid-Appalachian states, will ship upon request. Missouri Wildflower Nursery, mail-order source. Focus is on plants native to Missouri, many of which are also native to Kentucky.

These are some places you can visit in and around Central Kentucky to see native habitat and vegetation. Some are only open by appointment. Others have scheduled guided tours. If you know of another place that belongs on this list, send it to Eve Podet.