Ethics and Native Plants

We are both delighted and concerned about the growing trend towards natural landscaping.

We are delighted because we know that backyard habitat is vitally important. As we continue to pave over land (100 acres a day here in Kentucky!), wildlife habitat, and with it wildlife, disappears. Natural landscaping plays a crucial role in providing lost habitat. The use of native plants also helps protect our natural resources. Properly sited, natives thrive without watering, chemical pesticides, or fertilizers.

Unfortunately, the growing demand for native plants is also a cause for alarm. Most of the woodland flowers are difficult to grow in a nursery setting and take several years to reach saleable size. Consequently, unscrupulous people are digging wildflowers from the wild to sell, threatening remaining populations. If you see woodland wildflowers for sale at a very cheap price, you are probably buying wild collected plants. There are no federal or state regulations governing wild-collecting.

We do not sell plants that are wild-collected. All of our plants are nursery propagated. We are currently expanding our research into developing better methods for propagating the woodland natives. However, at this time, our woodland plants are available on a limited basis and must be sold at a higher cost.