MARSHALL — The Friends of Turkey Run and Shades State Parks want to help get more plants, native to Indiana, into gardeners’ hands for spring planting.
Making it an easy job, the volunteer group is offering an online Native Plant Sale during the month of April where people can order seedlings, pay online and pick up their plants at Turkey Run State Park in time for spring planting.
The website, with instructions for purchasing and prepaying for the plants, is www.32auctions.com/Nativeplants25 . The site will be live from April 3 through May 3 which is when the plants will be ready for pick up from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Pick up will be in Turkey Run State Park where a tent will be set up near the swimming pool.
Some of the native plants available for purchase are Columbine, Common Milkweed and New England Aster. There will be a limited number of seedlings of each variety so for best selection, order early. Any left over plants will be available for purchase on pick up day.
All of Indiana’s flora and fauna would benefit tremendously from gardeners committed to repopulating their lands, no matter how small, with species of plants that have adapted to thrive there.
Native plants provide food and shelter for the insects, birds and other animals that evolved alongside them, strengthening the local ecosystem. They offer the right types of nectar and pollen, essential for the survival of local pollinators like bees and butterflies.
The extensive root systems of native plants help stabilize the soil, preventing erosion, conserving water and protecting landscaping. They are also often naturally resistant to pests and diseases. Since they are growing in their familiar environment, natives are usually lower maintenance and more sustainable than most non-natives.
The Indiana Native Plant Society urges, “Our best hope in maintaining our state’s native biodiversity is to protect the mix of native plants and animals that exist in our few surviving natural areas. Restoring degraded areas to their natural condition, and even planting a variety of native plants in our backyards, can also help. We need to preserve native biodiversity where it exists and “create” it where it does not.”
For more information about the Friends of Turkey Run and Shades State Parks or the Native Plant Sale, visit www.turkeyrunshadesfsp.org/.
